Frits Bolkestein

Frederik Bolkestein , known as ''' Frits Bolkestein ''' (click on the bond to hear it marked with the Dutchwoman, Bolkestenne ), born with Amsterdam on April 4th 1933, is a politician Dutch and old a European Commissioner.

Frits Bolkestein is a liberal, it directed the liberal Popular party and democrat (Netherlands). It is also known in its country for its frank speech and of the muscular declarations on immigration or the “values Dutchwomen”. It was made famous to France for the controversy around an European directive which it wrote, the Directive Services, often known as “Bolkestein directive”.

Course

It makes studies of Mathématiques, Physique, Greek and Philosophie with the Université of Amsterdam like to the the United States and the the United Kingdom. It obtains in 1965 a control of right to the Université of Leyde.

It enters the group Shell of 1960 to 1976, for which it works with the Honduras, with the El Salvador, in Africa, Indonesia and finally with Paris as a director of Shell Chimie.

It starts then a political career in 1976, within the VVD (Popular party for freedom and the democracy, liberals), and is elected appointed in 1978. From 1982 to 1986 he is Secretary of State to the foreign trade. From 1988 to 1990 he is Minister for Defense. He becomes then the leader of the liberals at the Dutch Parliament and the remainder until 1999. He holds of the remarks which make scandal on immigration, which ensures a reputation of outspokenness to him.

In 1996 it is blamed and constrained at the resignation to have tried to obtain the assistance of the Minister for Health for a pharmaceutical company of which he is administrator.

He was also president of the liberal Internationale (see this page) of 1996 to 1999, station which he only gives up to become European Commissioner.

Member of the European commission of September 16th 1999 at November 21st 2004, in charge of the relative questions at the Interior market, the taxation and the Customs union. The Directive Bolkestein is one of the headlights projects of its European mandate.

May 23rd, 2005 it is named to advise with the direction of the Menatep.

Directive Services

See also: Directive Services

This draft Directive proposed by Mr. bearing Bolkestein on the reciprocal opening of the markets of services without preliminary harmonization caused critical sharp within the Union, particularly in France, in spring 2005.

Frits Bolkestein, who is not any more European Commissioner at the time of the debate, thinks that “those which dispute its project are xenophobes, not to say worse”. It thus expresses its irritation caused by the Germanic pronunciation of its name, compared to that of Frankenstein. For him, to give a more liberal orientation to the European Union would be a reason for satisfaction, and he declares that “the French do not feel on their premises any more in Europe. ”

The April 5th and 6th 2005, visits some in France to defend the idea of its proposal for a Directive, it declares with the French journalists that “there will be no tsunami of Polish plumbers in France”.

The draft Directive presented by Frits Bolkestein as for him is retoqué by eurodéputée German the Evelyne Gebhardt and the the European Parliament on February 14th, 2006, version then approved in its broad outlines by its successor, the police chief Charlie McCreevy, then in first reading by the Conseil of the European Union on May 29th, 2006.

European draft treaty

Frits Bolkestein hardly shows himself saddened by the rejection of the Traité establishing a Constitution for Europe to which it will have largely contributed by having the appearance of a scarecrow. As of on June 19th, 2005, it indeed gives in a platform “Seven councils to set out again” addressed to the European Council in which it affirms his attachment at the institutions of Maastricht - Nice perennialized by the failure of the réferenda French and Dutch and its opposition to the reforms that the TCE would have brought. It estimates that the European Council must note his failure and the death of the European treaty then gives him successively 7 councils:

  • “not to call this treaty a constitution”,
  • “to remove the proposal of charter of the basic rights”, redundant with the European Convention of the human rights,
  • “you do not transform into institution”,
  • “the political equality of the citizens exists only inside one unit State”,
  • to give up the creation of a post of Foreign Minister of the European Union, “a foreign politics common to 25 Member States remains, in all the cases of figure, an illusion”,
  • “do not start the negotiations with Turkey”,
  • “Concerning budget, the hour is with modesty”, the European commission must “tighten the belt” like the Member States.

Software patents

Another proposal (discussed) for a directive resulting from its services is the draft Directive on the patentability of the inventions implemented by computer, also discussed with the Conseil and buried by the Parlement in 2005.

Business Clearstream 1

In 2001, the former Frits Bolkestein European Commissioner had announced to him even the refusal of the European commission to inquire into Cedel International - Clearstream after the publication of the book Révélation$ of Denis Robert (the Arenas, 2001). This book seriously blamed the Russian bank Menatep, with the sulfurous past and in which Frits Bolkestein collaborates.

In its edition of April 26th, 2006, the free daily newspaper 20 minutes affirms that by twice, the European commission refused to inquire into Clearstream. The Menatep deposited a dozen actions for libel against Denis Robert and his editor the Arenas.

References

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