THE HAGUE, 20/03/07 - Dutch officials in the EU are poor negotiators. They think that decisions are made on the basis of arguments, but that is hopelessly naive, says former top official Derk-Jan Eppink in a book about the EU power culture.

"The Dutch official thinks to just win automatically by good arguments. He argues from a preacher's right." But "what counts is power, not ethics," in Eppink's view. Unlike colleagues from other countries, Dutch officials do not adequately understand how the decision-making process of national interests hangs on these, he notes.

Eppink was assistant to the former Internal Market Commissioner, Frits Bolkestein. In his book, to be launched in Brussels tomorrow, the official sketches a revealing picture of the European Commission. He shows with reams of examples how the officials make the decisions for the commissioners. Completed plans went straight to the European Parliament, even some which had been rejected by the commissioners involved.

The controversial services directive and decisions on Turkey were scarcely discussed by the EU commissioners themselves, writes Eppink. And the decision that the internal payments traffic in the EU should be free took place during a plea by Bolkestein against this decision, during which Commission President Romano Prodi fell asleep. Prodi's assistant then decided to sent he proposal to the government leaders, who approved it.