The implementation of EU directives in the Netherlands

General information
As a member state of the European Union (EU), the Netherlands is also involved in the legislative process of the EU. In this process, the Netherlands evaluates if some affairs should be regulated on an European level or a national level. Furthermore, the Netherlands is strongly supporting EU collaboration on the following affairs: migration, security, a strong and sustainable economy, climate, and protecting democratic norms and values in the world (Rijksoverheid, n.d.).

The Netherlands prefer using a literal interpretation of EU directives in the transposition and implementation processes. The reason behind using the literal interpretation method when transposing EU directives in the Dutch national law is to prevent delays in the implementation process of EU directives (Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken, n.d.).

Workgroup Beoorderling Nieuwe Commissievoorstellen (BNC):
Before a EU directive can be implemented, the Beoorderling Nieuwe Commissievoorstellen  (BNC) workgroup has looked into the transposition possibilities of the EU directive into the Dutch domestic law system. The BNC consists of experts from departments of several ministries. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the chair of these meeting and is assisted by the Department of European Integration. Since 2001, the Vereniging van Nederlandse Gemeenten en Interprovinviaaal Overleg (VNG) has also been involved in the BNC workgroup. The VNG is an association for municipalities and interprovincial consultation (Europa Nu, n.d. and Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken, n.d.)  .

Specific Ministry:
In the Netherlands, a specific ministry is responsible for the implementation of the EU directive. This ministry also has been part of the BNC workgroups search for the transposition possibilities. When the EU publishes the official EU directives, the chosen ministry has to come up with an implementation plan. In order to properly implement the EU directive, the specific ministry has to use the literal interpretation of the EU directive in order to prevent delays (Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken, n.d.).

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The implementation of EU directives are evaluated quarterly. When the implementation of the EU directive  is not in accordance to the implementation plan. The ministry of Foreign Affairs will inform the Council of Ministers. In other words, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has the functions as a guardian (Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken, n.d.)

The Provinces
The Netherlands consists of 12 Provinces and its headquarter the Interprovinciaal Overleg (IP) is located in the Hague. In the IP each Province had one representative. Besides, each Province has the Provinciale Staten as legislative body, and the Gedupteerde Staten as the executive body. The Gedupteerde Staten is responsible for the implementation of national and EU laws.

Municipalities
The Netherlands has 380 municipalities which are represented by the VNG. The municipalities are also responsible for the implementation of national and EU laws. In addition, the municipalities can create their own by-laws and collect certain taxes. However, implementing laws on a municipality level has its limitations. For instance, there is a lack of capacity in the field of finance and expertise. At last, the VNG is also part of European knowledge networks for municipalities to interchange knowledge, receive grants, and to increase their network (Vereniging van Nederlandse Gemeenten en Interprovinviaaal Overleg, n.d.).

The relationship between actors
The BNC is mainly responsible for the transposition of the EU directive into Dutch national law. When the BNC has decided over the transposition of the EU directives, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs wait for the official publication of the EU directive. Only then, a specific ministry gets the responsibility over the implementation of the EU directive. However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is still involved as a guardian of the EU directives in the implementation process. Furthermore, the specific ministry that is responsible for the implementation process coordinates with regional and local actors to implement the EU directives. The provinces are the regional actors with legislative and executive powers. Further, the municipalities are the local actors which coordinates the practical part of the implementation of the EU directives on a local level.