Van Witteloostuijn and Oosterhaven: ‘The north must take control of its own future’

According to faculty economists Van Witteloostuijn and Oosterhaven, the north of the Netherlands should take the helm in order to ensure a healthy future for the region’s economy. It is patently obvious that The Hague has abandoned its development policy for the region, they claim.

One of the main messages in their report on the economic future of the north ( Van eigenwijsheid naar eigen wijsheid; Over de economische toekomst van het Noorden ) is that the focus must be on innovation. The report was recently presented to Minister Joop Wijn of Economic Affairs, Hans Gerritsen of the Provincial Executive, and to the Northern Netherlands Assembly (SNN).

‘The cabinet policy document Peaks in the Delta and the cancellation of the Zuiderzee Line project are another sign that the north is back to square one’, Oosterhaven commented. ‘A national policy has been drawn up from the perspective of the Randstad conurbation, so once again the north has been condemned to the begging circuit and the yo-yo policy of The Hague.

This dependency should be consigned to the past. The only way to deal with it is to adopt a moderately federalist approach, in other words, steer our own firm course and decide on our own future. The wisdom of the north will surely be more beneficial than the self-assertion of The Hague.

The region must identify its own peaks, and make sure that these are not followed by troughs. We must aim to create a plateau instead. Focusing on innovation offers the greatest potential for success. The north has a large SME sector, which is usually the most innovative sector in an economy.

In order to ensure the right conditions, investment is needed in education, transport infrastructure, fibre-optic networks and computer centres. We think it’s perfectly reasonable that The Hague should reserve a share of the natural-gas revenues for this purpose.’

The report was commissioned by the Dutch trade union federation, FNV Bondgenoten, which is deeply concerned about the northern economy.