The Netherlands Unitary state
| THE NETHERLANDS | / HISTORY |
History and trends
The Netherlands is a constitutional parliamentary monarchy. Its constitution entered into force on 17 February 1983.
In the Middle Ages, what is now the Netherlands was part of the Carolingian Empire, then the (Christian) Holy Roman Empire. Over time, the territory became divided into multiple fiefdoms, including the County of Holland, which appeared in the 11th century.
The 17th century was the Dutch “Golden Age”, when the Netherlands became a military and trading power with a vast colonial empire, most of which was under the control of the Dutch East India Company. At this time, the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands experienced exceptional economic and cultural growth.
Following the revolution (the Batavian Republic was formed in 1795), the monarchy was restored in 1815 and the north and south were reunified until the Netherlands declared independence from Belgium in 1830 and the kingdom made a transition to a parliamentary system (1848 constitution). The country’s division along religious (Protestant and Catholic) and social lines, and questions around education, gave rise to specific political parties.
The Netherlands was occupied by Germany in World War II. Its biggest colony, Indonesia, declared independence in 1949.
As the country shifted towards democracy (universal suffrage in 1917-1918), the parliamentary regime gained strength and a unique political system emerged, founded on socio-cultural and political “pillarisation” and consensus between ruling elites. This democratic model has come under fire since the 1970s as new political parties have come into being, and most notably since the late 2000s with the growth of right-wing populism.
Local level :
The municipalities and provinces have almost exactly the same structure. At both the municipal and provincial levels, both the legislative and administrative branches are governed by the sacred principles of joint management and collegiate decision-making.
The Netherlands is a signatory to the European Charter of Local Self-Government and the Charter of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities (CLRA). In 1998 and 1999, the country was the subject of several reports, opinions and recommendations (notably Recommendation 55 of 1999, Resolution 77 of 1999, and CLRA Report CG 6-4), which urged the authorities to improve certain aspects of local democracy.
Following the tabling of a draft bill on 5 July 1997, a commission was created on 30 September 1998 to look into ways to reform how mayors (for municipalities) and king’s commissioners (for provinces) were appointed.
In 2002, this process resulted in the Dualisation of Provincial Government Act, which introduced a raft of new provisions. One year later, the provinces passed a similar law.
Local level :
Each province has a legislative body known as the states provincial, whose members are elected via direct universal suffrage for a four-year term. The states provincial elects a permanent representation, known as the “states deputed”, which makes decisions on a collegiate basis.
Under a new law passed in 2003, no person may be a member of both the states provincial and the states deputed.
The states provincial is the province’s legislative body. The king’s commissioner, who is appointed by the government for a six-year term, chairs both the states provincial (but does not vote) and the states deputed.
Although the king’s commissioner is a senior civil servant appointed by the government, the role is not exclusively a central government representative. The commissioner is selected from a list of candidates put forward by the states provincial and, in practice, the commissioner’s powers are almost exclusively provincial in nature.
The provinces continue to be under-resourced when compared with the municipalities and lack recognition for their role. As such, there is a widespread belief, especially among provincial leaders, that the government should devolve more powers and allocate more funding to the provinces.
The provinces and municipalities have their own powers but, in practice, most of these powers come under joint management – a central principle of the Dutch political system.
Local authorities at various levels share power in many areas with the central government. This joint management arrangement may either be compulsory or discretionary, depending on the sector in question.
Local finance: Dutch local authorities enjoy extremely limited financial autonomy. In 2002, provincial and municipal funding accounted for less than one-quarter of total public spending. The provinces and municipalities receive funding from three main sources: a small amount from their own resources (mainly the municipal property tax), a fixed allocation from the government, and specific subsidies.
Supervision: A fundamental law of 1983 sets out the supervision arrangements in precise detail. Supervision is carried out by the government and, in some instances, by the provinces. While supervision tends to be light-touch in practice, preventive supervision is a feature in many areas.
Examples include the creation of municipal consortia (see below) and land-use planning. In most cases, supervision tends to happen after the fact, wherein local authority actions may be suspended or cancelled by royal decree. The local authority in question always has the right to appeal to the courts. In theory, supervision does not focus on the expediency of a given action. Yet, in practice, joint management often results in a particularly effective form of supervision.
Inter-municipal cooperation: authorities can join forces to create single-purpose or multi-purpose consortia, which possess legal personality pursuant to the 1985 law on cooperation between public authorities. The provincial authorities have divided the provinces into inter-municipal cooperation zones. In many cases, this has meant that consortia have been limited to the boundaries of these zones.
Municipal mergers – a widespread practice in the Netherlands.[1]
In 2013, the Netherlands (population: 16.7 million) was divided into 431 municipalities (489 in 2009). New mergers are rubber-stamped on 1 January each year.
In 2010, each Dutch municipality had an average population of 38,620, compared with an average population of 1,770 in France (across 36,700 municipalities).
The decentralisation programme introduced in the 1980s included strong incentives for municipal mergers. By joining forces, municipalities are better able to handle their ever-growing powers.
The minimum population per municipality is laid down by law:
- In the 1970s, the minimum population per municipality was 5,000 people.
- Since the 1990s, the minimum population per municipality has been 25,000 people.
Key reforms:
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[1] iFRAP article, 2013