Parliamentary Communication in Eu Affairs: Connecting With the Electorate? by Katrin Auel & Tapio Raunio

Author:Katrin Auel & Tapio Raunio [Auel, Katrin & Raunio, Tapio]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780367739355
Google: P8X8zQEACAAJ
Goodreads: 55835368
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2020-12-18T00:00:00+00:00

Shaming

The empirical findings indicate that Dutch MPs made hardly any use of information from the OMCs social inclusion, pensions and e-Europe/i2010. Before 2005, employment was the OMC used most by Dutch MPs. The information from the OMC employment is primarily used by (centre-) left-wing opposition parties (PvdA, Socialist Party [SP], Groen Links). The topics on which the Dutch governments were shamed by these parties were the low participation in the labour market (measured in hours), ineffective back-to-work schemes and differences in earning power between men and women. Information from the OMC education is used by MPs of opposition parties to put emphasis on the poor performance of Dutch policies on the benchmark with regard to early school leavers and the low number of students in technical studies.

An example of Dutch MPs using information from the OMC education is the comment by D’66 (social-liberals) MP Boris van der Ham that he is happy that the government is no longer making excuses for the bad results with regard to the early school leavers problem and is finally coming up with plans. However, he is still highly critical, especially with regard to the postponement by the government of the target date to comply with the OMC education benchmark on early school leavers. Another member of an opposition party (VVD, liberals) shares this criticism and also expresses disappointment. The minister for education responds that a lot of progress is made with regard to solving the early school leavers problems, but that the government still has many new plans, for example, for preventing the drop-out of students when switching between high school and higher educational levels (Tweede Kamer, 2008).

In the context of the OMC R&D, MPs of opposition parties from left to right use information from peer review reports to criticise the low (private) investment in R&D in the Netherlands vis-à-vis other EU member states. For example, the members of the SP (socialist) opposition party in the Tweede Kamer state in a written question that there has been no increase in R&D spending in the Netherlands since 2000. The minister responds that the numbers of the European Commission on R&D expenditure are all the more reason to support the government with its plans to stimulate investment in knowledge and innovation (Tweede Kamer, 2009).

In the case of the UK, the shaming activity is highest for the OMC R&D, touching upon the low investment of the government and companies in innovation and ICT. For example, Conservative MP James Brokenshire states in a plenary debate of the House of Commons on 27 March 2006 that:

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