By Khadija Arib, President of the House of Representatives of the States General. Before her appointment as President of the House of Representatives in January 2016, Khadija Arib served as an MP for 18 years and spent many years as a member of the Council of Europe. In this capacity, she worked as an election observer on numerous occasions, including in Indonesia, the Palestinian territories and Morocco. ‘I was moved by how eager people are to exercise their democratic right to vote. The Dutch parliamentary system can play a role in the democratisation, or further democratisation of these countries, with parliamentary diplomacy playing a pivotal role.’   Dutch parliamentary democracy has a lengthy history. On 1 March 1796, Pieter Paulus opened the inaugural formal session of the National Assembly (Nationale Vergadering); at the time, the Netherlands still went by the name of the Batavian Republic. Even then, the members embraced the notion of a unitary state based on a constitution, the separation of church and state, and the conviction that members of parliament should be democratically elected. These are concepts that continued to be adhered to in the years that followed; in the Constitution of the Netherlands that was drafted in 1814 by a committee headed by Gijsbert Karel van Hogendorp, in the bicameral system of checks and balances that was introduced in 1815 with the first joint sitting of the States General, and in Johan Rudolph Thorbecke’s sweeping constitutional amendments of 1848. For us, democracy is a matter of course. Our political transactions are rooted in fundamental, shared convictions, such as equal treatment in equal circumstances, freedom of expression and lifestyle and an independent judiciary system – all focused on an inclusive, fair society. Our system of representation also ensures that parliament is a reflection of society. While that used to relate primarily to established religious or ideological movements, nowadays, ‘representative’ means that the voice of new, sometimes one-issue interest groups without historical ties is also represented in parliament. For example, there are parties in the House of Representatives that specifically represent the interests of Christians and the elderly, and the Netherlands is the only country with a party that specifically represents the interests of animals. Many countries lack these democratic foundations, and the first stones are now cautiously being laid. During my time as an MP, I worked as an election observer on numerous occasions. I visited places including Indonesia and the Palestinian territories, but also my native Morocco. I witnessed long queues, which people joined early in the morning to spend hours waiting in the rain or searing sun in order to exercise their democratic right to vote. There were often not enough polling stations, and it was not always guaranteed that the elections would be conducted honestly. I remember an elderly woman in Indonesia – she must have been in her nineties – who was absolutely delighted, especially as a woman, to witness a free election during her lifetime. It made me appreciate all the more what a great asset it is that our Dutch democracy functions as it does. It may seem perfectly normal to us, precisely because our system is centuries old, but many countries have yet to gain some rudimentary democratic principles. I believe that the Dutch parliamentary system can play a role in the further democratisation of such countries. They have started on the road towards democracy and can learn from the best practices of countries and parliaments that, like ours, are democratically elected and work based on the confidence and mandate of their voters – consider, for instance, our neighbouring countries such as Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Germany and the United Kingdom. Parliamentary diplomacy will be pivotal in such efforts. Not as an objective in itself, but as an instrument that we – as parliamentarians – can use to share experiences and learn from each other. This takes place during organised conferences linked to the Council of Europe, the EU, NATO or the OSCE, for example, as well as through bilateral relations. We discuss specific policy areas and mutual relations, but I believe that these discussions should also address the matter of how we can contribute to the realisation of a democratic process in countries where this is not a matter of course. The Netherlands has long had a reputation as an outward-looking country. It is in our nature to share our experiences with countries that intend to work towards becoming a democratic constitutional state, with elected MPs who act in accordance with a written constitution. That is not something that will happen overnight. We know from experience that democracy is something that develops organically. It did not emerge out of nothing in the Netherlands either; repeated steps were taken towards a more open, transparent and accessible system, with equal rights for all. In this regard, the introduction of universal suffrage in 1917 and women’s suffrage in 1919 are two significant milestones. And our political system remains in a state of flux. For example, the constitutional amendments of 1983 determined that the term of office of the Senate would be reduced to four years and that all senators would be appointed at the same time, while the decision was recently taken to appoint a government committee for ‘constitutional review’. Democracy is not static and can take many forms. In mutual relations, open dialogue is required, with due respect for each other’s political history and landscape, and culture. I believe that these are the most significant cornerstones of parliamentary democracy: mutual understanding, combined with an intrinsic desire to help each other advance and learn from each other. ——— Photography by Hans Kouwenhoven.

By His Excellency Mr Mir-Hamza Efendiyev, Ambassador of Azerbaijan to the Netherlands. Azerbaijan has started promoting the ‘Made in Azerbaijan’ brand in foreign markets. Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev approved the rule of defining and regulating the mechanism of paying a part of the expenditures from state budget, organizing export missions to foreign countries, exploring foreign markets and marketing activities abroad. Local companies will receive certificates and patents in foreign countries for export, research programs and projects for development of export. The energy-rich country announced its intention to develop potential mechanisms and economic growth models with a view to adapt its own model to those of most advanced.  Azerbaijani President described the 2016 year as year of economic reforms, which should lead the state of the economy in accordance with the requirements of the post-oil period. Regardless of the ongoing deep economic and financial crisis in the world, Azerbaijan is doing its best to protect the domestic economy against the negative repercussions. The main priorities of the new phase will be increase in competitiveness of the domestic economy. Over the past 13 years, the gross domestic product has tripled. Significant steps to reduce unemployment and poverty have been taken. Nowadays, both unemployment and poverty are about 5 per cent in our country. A significant part of the Azerbaijani economy is connected with natural resources. The government’s main objective is to ensure macroeconomic stability and the normal rate of inflation. At the end of 2015, inflation was less than 4 percent. Azerbaijan’s economy is diversified, with the non-oil sector accounting for about 70 percent of the gross domestic product. Azerbaijan, which is keen to ensure further economic growth through the non-oil sector, is currently engaged in the creation of its strategic road map, which is expected to become the main document of the economic strategy for the next ten years. The document will be comprehensive, as academic circles and the community were involved in its creation. The government is preparing a number of documents, which include a road map for the period of one year, the strategy of economic growth for 2016-2020 and improvement plan, as well as long-term vision till 2025 and target vision after 2025. The State Agency for Public Services and Social Innovations (ASAN) serves as an excellent example of Azerbaijan’s institutional reform in the fight against corruption. This is a network of centers where government services are delivered in a unified and coordinated manner by highly skilled and motivated public servants. All of the services in the center are processed online. The six core principles of the ASAN are: being customer-centric, connecting up government, building capacity, delivering on its promise to the public, innovation and fighting against corruption. Currently, ASAN service provides 30 legal and 32 various functional services. On the other hand, the directions of tax reforms approved in August 2016 will make it possible to apply more favorable value-added tax rates for the socially vulnerable layers of the population, reduce the tax burden on small and medium-sized business, resolve problems during taxation of trade operations. The tax reforms also implies reducing the tax burden. First of all, this will apply to small and medium entrepreneurs. Azerbaijani government has recently taken serious measures for the development of small and medium-sized business. Cancellation of all types of inspections of entrepreneurial activities for a period of two years in November 2015 is among such measures. In recent years, Azerbaijan has paid importance to boost local production, allocating funds to both public and private sectors. An important role belongs to the factors related to economic reforms, which will continue to improve the business environment in the country. The government continues to ensure the transparency of the economic and financial sector. Bilateral business forums, visit of the Minister of Economy Shahin Mustafayev to the Netherlands in 2015, and his Dutch counterpart Henk Kamp to Azerbaijan in 2016 established more solid basis for future cooperation. It is an interesting fact that more than hundred companies with Dutch capital are operating in Azerbaijan. Planned visit of Azerbaijani Agriculture Minister Heydar Asadov to the Netherlands at the end of October 2016 will give an additional impetus for further cooperation. Introduction of the brand “Made in Azerbaijan” creates new opportunities for Dutch investors by introducing their know-how to Azerbaijani market, and therefore we invite Dutch entrepreneurs not to miss this opportunity. ————— Photography by Azertac.

By The Honorable Dr Joseph Muscat, Prime Minister of the Republic of Malta. In January 2017, Malta will assume the Presidency of the Council of the European Union for the first time following its accession in 2004. That means we will be responsible for steering the legislative business of the most senior decision-making body of the EU, taking action on measures that will affect the lives of 500 million citizens. These include generating economic growth and jobs, ensuring financial stability, doing away with gender imbalance, creating access to new markets, combating climate change, improving access to digital goods and services, progressing a true energy union, and protecting our borders and security. Reform of the Dublin Regulation; elimination of roaming charges; a Cyprus peace deal; the creation of Travel Information and Authorisation Scheme (ETIAS) – these are just a few of the tangible things that we can achieve. Given the timing of our Presidency, I am reminded the old Irish joke about asking for directions and being told: “Well, I wouldn’t start from here if I were you.”

In the past eighteen months, structures and institutions have been stretched to breaking point by a series of complex, fast-moving and often inter-connected international crises. Differing views on how best to handle the migration crisis have revealed sharp divides among Member States; the closely related growth in extremism and nationalism has affected the domestic political landscape of many. The tussle with Russia over Ukraine has tested European resolve for a common security and foreign policy, while instability in north Africa, particularly Libya, threatens the EU Neighbourhood. The fragile state of the Greek economy, against a backdrop of stalled economic growth, continues to expose weakness in fiscal and monetary policy across Member States. And, on our watch, we have perhaps the biggest ‘Known Unknown’ of all…Brexit. That is a formidable cocktail of challenges. Yet, what better place to start from? Our small island in the middle of the Mediterranean looks north towards Europe, south towards Africa, and east towards the Levant. Our shores have seen Greek, Spanish, Italian, French, and British influence, blessing us with a truly pan-European outlook. We are the smallest, and one of the most enthusiastic of EU members – recent polling put support for the project at 82 per cent, which virtually any other Member States would struggle to match right now. Malta has enjoyed the fruits of EU membership, and we have positioned ourselves as a dynamic, high-performing economy, with the actual GDP growth for 2015 reaching a high of 6.2% in real terms. Our financial services and ICT sectors have grown exponentially, attracting significant foreign investment. Now is our time to give something back. First, we must leave our national hats at the door, and truly feel ourselves to be Europeans, playing the “honest broker” role that has worked so well for many of the EU’s smaller countries when they take on the mantle of leadership. The recent Presidencies of Denmark and Belgium spring to mind in this respect. In order to deliver results, we must accept compromises, and the quality of those compromises depends on the good faith between partners that we manage to create. Second, we need to talk in a language that European citizens can understand. It is little wonder that ordinary people roll their eyes at talk of trilogues, anticis, and Council configurations. We are two-and-a-half thousand kilometres from the conference rooms and glass towers of Brussels. In some ways, that is an advantage. Anyone who has ever been to Malta, and seen us debate, knows how forthright we can be, whether the subject is football or finance. Therefore, we will try and speak, write, and think plainly. We want to translate the dry, often thankless policy work of the Presidency into concepts that are easy to grasp. Finally, we believe in trying to find a new kind of leadership. This seems fitting as our Presidency coincides with the 60th anniversary celebrations of the signing of the Treaty of Rome, which brought into being the first iteration of the European Union. The rule of thumb is that when something in Brussels is a success, then 28 (soon to be 27) Member State governments all try and take the credit. But when something goes wrong, or expectations have to be lowered, it is always Brussels’ fault. That needs to change, if we are to preserve the European ideal that has bound us together for so long. As members, we have to accept that it is often our own differences that prevent consensus, and not some nebulous concept of “the institutions”. That is the first step towards fuelling the kind of debate we need on Europe’s future. We do not expect that we can solve all of Europe’s ills in the next six months. But we do hope to leave the Union in better shape than when we took over.