Netherlands, mirror of Europe
One shouldn't forget that the Netherlands is one of the seven founding countries of the European Union 50 years ago. However, many Dutch citizens don't want the enlargement of the Union.
One should look at the Netherlands to understand what is going on in Europe. The Netherlands has an image of a very tolerant and socially advanced country. It was one of the first to legalise euthanasia and marihuana, for instance. However, all that changed three years ago, when the filmmaker Theo Van Gogh was murdered by a Muslim radical. Many Dutch people look at Muslims with suspicion and believe there are too many immigrants in their country.
The result was the rise of the Liberal Party, which defends the expulsion of Muslims from the Netherlands. But, at the same time, many Dutch people don't trust those parties that have governed up to this moment, Christian Democrats and the Labour Party.
This rising tendency towards extremist parties can be felt all over Europe. One shouldn't forget that the Netherlands is one of the seven founding countries of the European Union, 50 years ago. However, now many Dutch people think that they have nothing to do with Romania or Turkey, and they don't want the enlargement of the Union. That is why they voted no to the European Constitution.
The Netherlands has now, like France, a serious identity problem, wandering who they are and where they go. After all, the same problem that starts to affect the whole European Continent.
One shouldn't forget that the Netherlands is one of the seven founding countries of the European Union 50 years ago. However, many Dutch citizens don't want the enlargement of the Union.
One should look at the Netherlands to understand what is going on in Europe. The Netherlands has an image of a very tolerant and socially advanced country. It was one of the first to legalise euthanasia and marihuana, for instance. However, all that changed three years ago, when the filmmaker Theo Van Gogh was murdered by a Muslim radical. Many Dutch people look at Muslims with suspicion and believe there are too many immigrants in their country.
The result was the rise of the Liberal Party, which defends the expulsion of Muslims from the Netherlands. But, at the same time, many Dutch people don't trust those parties that have governed up to this moment, Christian Democrats and the Labour Party.
This rising tendency towards extremist parties can be felt all over Europe. One shouldn't forget that the Netherlands is one of the seven founding countries of the European Union, 50 years ago. However, now many Dutch people think that they have nothing to do with Romania or Turkey, and they don't want the enlargement of the Union. That is why they voted no to the European Constitution.
The Netherlands has now, like France, a serious identity problem, wandering who they are and where they go. After all, the same problem that starts to affect the whole European Continent.

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