Friday 25 April 2014, De Doelen, Rotterdam
Ladies and gentlemen, fellow liberals,
Welcome to the 59th congress of the Liberal International. Welcome to Rotterdam, the biggest port in the Western world, and the city where Liberal International president Hans van Baalen was born. The motto of Rotterdam’s football team, Feyenoord, is ‘Deeds not words’. A motto that Hans has made his own. He has worked day and night to make sure that you could all be here today. And you are! Thank you, Hans, for all your hard work.
Friends, I’m delighted to see the numbers here today. With so many liberals here, I think it’s fair to say that today the Netherlands is the freest country in the world. So let’s take this opportunity to talk about what our countries need, both now and in the years ahead.
Many of you will instinctively say: we need more freedom. We are liberals after all. But freedom for whom? To do what? The Liberal Manifesto we adopted in 1997 – the Oxford Manifesto – gives a clear account of the challenges we still face at the beginning of the twenty-first century. The section I would like to discuss today is called ‘The challenge of creating open markets’. The first four sentences give a fine summary of our liberal convictions and the task we face.
‘Open societies need open markets. A liberal, open and tolerant society needs a market economy. Political freedom and economic freedom belong together. With the markets of ideas and innovations, with the competition for the best solution, the market economy creates a dynamic progress that provides the best opportunity for an independent life.’
These convictions are what unite us as liberals. The belief in freedom, ideas, innovation, the open market economy and the opportunities it offers. Both within and beyond our national borders. Most other political movements are less willing to open their countries to trade across borders. Especially in times of crisis, conservatives and socialists have a strong impulse to protect national markets. Especially now, with Asia, Africa and South America on the rise as economic powers, some politicians are anxious.
But you and I see opportunities in the rise of China, in Africa’s emerging economies, and in a more liberal South America. Slowly we are beginning to put the years of crisis behind us. We have avoided the mistakes of the 1930s, when borders slammed shut and protectionism took over. This time we’ve kept our borders open – especially in Europe. And now it’s time to boost free trade with the rest of the world. That’s what creates the most jobs in the end – here in the Netherlands, in the rest of Europe, in Latin America, in Côte d’Ivoire. Everywhere.
So it’s no accident that we’ve come together here in Rotterdam today. For Dutch people, Rotterdam means trade, industry and jobs. The work ethic is an integral part of the mind-set here. People from Rotterdam like to say that they were born with their sleeves rolled up. And when I see my friend Hans van Baalen at work – both as a European MP and as Liberal International president – I can confirm that it’s true. No cufflinks for Hans – he always has his sleeves rolled up.
Rotterdam is a symbol of work. Its port is a gateway, not only to Europe, but to the whole world. For the Netherlands, and for the rest of Europe, free trade is absolutely vital. And of course Rotterdam, as an engine of employment, benefits from it. More imports, exports and transit mean even more jobs. So more free trade means more jobs. Free trade agreements are bold steps in the right direction.
The EU’s new free trade agreement with Canada means Dutch people are now eating Canadian steak and Canadians are drinking our milk. By smoothing the way for business, the agreement will allow the Netherlands to earn an extra 600 million to 1.2 billion euros each year from trade with Canada. By opening our markets to one another, we have united our economies. This will lead to more trade, more imports and exports, and – as a result – more jobs. We are keen to create this same dynamic with the free trade agreement between the EU and the US: the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, better known as the TTIP.
I’m very pleased that the EU’s chief negotiator on the TTIP is the liberal European Commissioner Karel de Gucht. I‘d have liked to say a few words to him now, but he had to leave this afternoon. I suppose he has to get back to the negotiating table as quickly as possible. Trade treaties don’t negotiate themselves. And of course, we’re keen to see a successful outcome. It’s good to have a liberal taking the lead, and we hope the talks will end in agreement very soon.
With Europe now emerging from the crisis, a free trade agreement with the US could be a tremendous boost. So we should encourage Commissioner De Gucht to speed up the TTIP talks even more. If the agreement turns out to be comprehensive and coherent – without exceptions, without cherry picking – the European and American markets will benefit enormously. Some countries will hesitate to sign this kind of agreement. But free trade and protectionism simply don’t mix.
Today the European economy has a total product of 16 or 17 trillion euros. The US has a total product of 14 or 15 trillion dollars. Together, they account for almost 50 per cent of the world economy. We now have an opportunity to unite them in one great free trade area.
This would mean: more trade.
This would mean: more prosperity.
And this would mean: more jobs.
Not only for multinationals, but above all for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Let’s take Dutch agriculture as an example. The Netherlands is the second-biggest food exporter in the world. In 2013, our farming sector exported a record 79 billion euros. One in ten Dutch employees works in the agricultural supply chain. The TTIP can enlarge the market for the Dutch agri-food sector. So one day, high-quality Dutch products, like our delicious drinking yoghurt, could be on US supermarket shelves. So the TTIP offers plenty of opportunities for Dutch farming to sustain and expand its leading position.
A bigger market will help increase demand, which in turn creates more jobs. In other words: employment is not a by-product of a free trade agreement; it’s at the heart of a free trade agreement. That’s why I hope that after the European elections we will have more liberals in the European Parliament and Commission. To bolster the internal market. And to boost foreign trade with agreements like the TTIP. Since these are clearly liberal goals, you can count on liberals to achieve them.
In short, there’s a world to win out there – literally. And everyone here this evening has a role to play. Liberals are not afraid of that world. We have a keen eye for opportunities, wherever they may be. So I am full of optimism about the European Parliament elections at the end of May. People are optimistic about our growing economies and with good reason. We have the means to make sure the recovery continues. So we need to get to work. Not immediately: the main course is about to be served. But make good use of tonight and tomorrow to exchange ideas and cards, so that you can get to work with a fresh perspective once you’re back home.
Ladies and gentlemen, before I conclude I would like to thank the VVD for the excellent work they did in organising this congress. And of course, I have to thank my good friend Hans van Baalen for his five years as president of the Liberal International. He has now been actively committed to the International for a quarter of a century. So I think it is only fitting that the Executive Committee decided yesterday to make him a President of Honour. But his work is still not done. Like many of you, Hans is fully absorbed by the election campaign for the European Parliament. And I am sure that these will be good elections for us. With our sleeves rolled up like Hans, we are going to export the Rotterdam mentality to Brussels. So: Deeds, not words! I wish you every success with your campaigns. Never forget what we are ultimately all about. I can sum it up in three words: jobs, jobs, jobs.
Thank you.
