Outgoing prime minister Mark Rutte fired a parting shot at the incoming coalition in his final debate in parliament, warning the parties not to put narrow national interests first when choosing the next Dutch EU commissioner.

Rutte is heading to Brussels on Thursday for his last act as prime minister before he is succeeded by Dick Schoof next week, after nearly 14 years in the torentje, the name given to the prime minister’s corner tower office.

EU leaders will discuss the make-up of the next European Commission under Ursula von der Leyen, who is expected to be elected for a second term by the new European parliament.

The new right-wing government will have to decide whether to re-appoint former Christian Democrat (CDA) leader Wopke Hoekstra, who has been commissioner for climate action since last October, or nominate a new candidate.

In a debate on the upcoming summit on Tuesday, Pieter Omtzigt, leader of the centre-right NSC, one of the partners in the new coalition, said Rutte should push for the appointment of a commissioner who “supports the headlines of the outline coalition agreement on European policy”.

Henk Vermeer, finance spokesman for the famers’ interests party BBB, said he expected the new commissioner to “stand up for the interests of the Netherlands”.

Confrontational approach

But Rutte pushed back on the idea, arguing that the main role of European commissioners is to implement the policies drawn up by the commission, the European parliament and the council of ministers.

“They’re not the ‘Dutch commissioner’. They’re the commissioner who has been put forward by the Netherlands,” he said.

The new coalition’s outline agreement paves the way for a more confrontational relationship with Brussels on a range of issues, including agriculture and fishing.

The cabinet also wants to pass a law declaring the asylum situation in the Netherlands a “crisis”, allowing it to depart from EU migration agreements, and seek a Danish-style opt-out on European asylum quotas, even though this would require all 27 nations to agree to change the EU’s founding treaties.

Selfies

Omtzigt insisted it was “not at all strange” to expect an EU commissioner to represent national interests in Brussels.

“If you look at other countries you see they have much closer ties with their European commissioners than the Netherlands has,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to explain this debate in France, I tell you.”

Rutte posed for selfies with MPs at the end of the debate and received a gift of a giant EU flag to hang in his new office in Brussels, now he has been confirmed as the next secretary-general of Nato.

It is a tremendous honour to be appointed Secretary-General of NATO. The Alliance is and will remain the cornerstone of our collective security. Leading this organisation is a responsibility I do not take lightly. I’m grateful to all the Allies for placing their trust in me. I…

— Mark Rutte (@MinPres) June 26, 2024

The caretaker prime minister admitted he would “miss all this” and did not rule out dropping in on a debate in The Hague “as a tourist”.

He expressed the hope that parliament would continue to scrutinise ministers closely while looking for compromise solutions. “Maintaining good personal relations reflects our traditions,” he said.