1. INTERNATIONAAL
A liberal view on
democratisation
Should democratisation be a key pillar of the
EU foreign policy?
A seminar organised by the European Liberal Forum
asbl (ELF) with the support of
VVD International/Haya van Somerenstichting
(The Netherlands) and Prometheus Liberaal Kenniscen-
trum (Belgium).
Funded by the European Parliament
27 november 2010
Location: Hotel Carlton Beach, Scheveningen, Nederland
Moderator: Mark Dijk, former VVD International Secretary

2. Welcome!
My name is Pieter van de Stadt, International Secretary
of the VVD board. I am in charge of VVD International,
where we take care of VVD’s international contacts and
cooperation abroad. The main objective of VVD Inter-
national is to maintain and strengthen relationships
with sister parties and to contribute to capacity buil-
ding of liberal parties in Eastern Europe, the Balkans
and the developing world.
I am pleased to welcome you at today’s seminar, ‘A
liberal vision on democratisation’, organized by VVD International and
Prometheus Center of International Knowledge, with the support of
the European Liberal Forum.
A number of prominent members of the international liberal family has
gathered here today. We invite you to join them in an effort to pin
down what role democratisation should play in the foreign policy of
the EU and its member states.
We will start with a welcome of myself and of MEP and president of
ELDR Annemie Neyts, after which Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Uri
Rosenthal and Hans van Baalen, president of Liberal International and
delegation leader of the VVD in the EP, will deliver a speech. Our panel
will then continue by discussing the central question of the day:
‘Should democratisation be a key pillar of the EU foreign policy?’ In the
final part of the program we will grasp the conclusions of the day in a
resolution (of which you will find a concept in this booklet), that will be
offered to the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and to the ALDE faction
in EP. Furthermore, we will distribute it amongst European liberal par-
ties and organisations.
I wish you a pleasant and informative day!
Pieter van de Stadt
Chairman VVD Internationaal/International Secretary

3. INTERNATIONAAL
Program
12h00 Registrations and welcome buffet
13h00 Plenary
Pieter van de Stadt, Director VVD International
Annemie Neyts, MEP and President of ELDR
13h15 First keynote speech
Hans van Baalen, Leader of the VVD-delegation in the
European Parliament and President of Liberal
International
13h40 Question & Answers
14h00 Second keynote speech
Uri Rosenthal, Minster of Foreign Affairs The Netherlands
14h25 Question & Answers
14h50 Coffee break
15h15 Panel discussion & Introduction panel members
15h25 Introduction of panel members on subject
Arjen Berkvens, Chairman of ENoP and Director of AMS
Annemie Neyts, MEP and President of ELDR
Han ten Broeke, VVD Party, Member of the House of
Representatives, Dutch Parliament
Dr. Hans Vollaard, Leiden University, The Netherlands
15h45 Discussion with the panel
16h15
Ketevan Tsikhelashvili, Director Liberal Academy Tbilisi
Ivan Grnja, Executive Director LIBSEEN
16h40 Resolution
16h45 Drafting political advice with the panel and the audience
17h15 Closing remarks
17h30 Reception

4. Lecturers
Moderator:
Mark Dijk is council member in Utrecht and a member of
the VVD Commission on European Affairs. Between 2005
and 2009 he was International Secretary at the board of
VVD. He has been actively involved in VVD’s
democratisation program for Eastern Europe, also
through his past work at the Netherlands Institute for
Multiparty Democracy. In daily life he works as senior
manager at TNT Express.
Speeches:
Annemie Neyts, member of European Parliament and
president of the European liberal party ELDR, started her
career as a French teacher. Her transfer to politics
brought her an impressive career. Amongst others she
worked as election leader in the Brussel-Halle-Vilvoorde
district for the Open VLD, as Minister of State and
Minister of Foreign Trade and European Affairs.
Hans van Baalen is President of the Liberal International
and leader of VVD’s delegation in the European
Parliament. He is ALDE spokesman on the Foreign Affairs
Committee and the Security and Defence Committee, as
well as Chairman of the Delegation for relations with
Japan. Before entering the European Parliament in July
2009, he was a member of the Dutch Parliament.
Prof. dr. Uri Rosenthal is Minister of Foreign Affairs in the
current government. He started his career in academics;
he was professor political science and public
administration in Rotterdam and Leiden. He was a
member of the Senate for over 10 years, with the
portfolio of Justice, Foreign Affairs and Defence. Since
2005 he was also leading the VVD-fraction in the Senate.

5. Panel:
Han ten Broeke This is his 5th year in parliament as VVD's
spokesperson EU, with the recent addition of Defence.
He started his career as political assistant to Annemarie
Jorritsma, former minister of Transport. He has worked in
telecommunications in the 10 years prior to his
membership of Parliament.
Arjen Berkvens is Coordinator of the European Network
of Political Foundations and Secretary General of the
European Forum for Democracy and Solidarity. Further-
more, he is Director of the Alfred Mozer Foundation of
the Labour Party and author of “Becoming a better
politician, political skills manual.” He also worked as
political advisor and deputy campaign manager at his
party.
Dr. Hans Vollaard teaches Dutch and European Politics at
Leiden University. He received his PhD in 2009 after
research on the impact of European integration on
borders. Furthermore, he has published on European
and Dutch security policy.
Our fourth panel member is Annemie Neyts.
Foreign experts:
Keti Tsikhelashvili heads her own think tank, the Liberal
Academy Tbilisi. She has been working with the Friedrich
Naumann Foundation and VVD International, organising
many events aimed at strengthening party capacity and
democratisation.
Ivan Grnjais is Libseen Executive Director and a valued
member of the Croation Peoples Party. He has worked as
International Officer of the liberal student network LDSU.

6. Concept note:
‘Should democratisation be a key pillar of the EU foreign
policy?'
Background
Democratisation is a major theme in international politics. In the begin-
ning of the 1990’s a wave of democratisation emerged not only in
Central Europe, but also in Africa, Latin America and Asia. Liberal
democracy came to be considered a model which would bring prospe-
rity and freedom around the world. Various developed countries inclu-
ded a special democratisation programme to
their development cooperation and/or
foreign affairs budgets. Furthermore, many
organisations emerged that were specialised
in the support for human rights, political
parties and elections. The EU has been a
frontrunner in this field and has a long and
respectable score card in democracy
assistance. It is generally held that EU accession has done more for the
cause of democratisation and stability in Central and Eastern Europe
than any other initiative. Liberal political parties and institutions
contributed to that process significantly.
Nonetheless, at the beginning of this century it became clear that the
sudden boom of electoral democracies would not automatically result
in sustainable liberal democracies for all countries. Discussions
emerged about whether western democracy was applicable to all
countries, as did discussions about the relationship between demo-
cracy and such issues as economic development and security. This
spurned a debate about the feasibility of this ambitious zeal of sprea-
ding democracy around the world, especially as the Bush administra-
tion adopted the policy of linking military intervention and democrati-
sation.
Twenty years down the line, it has become time for western
governments to again formulate their position on the matter of
democratisation. This seminar aims to discuss among a wide group of
liberal politicians, researchers and practitioners the question: ‘Should
democratisation be a key pillar of the EU foreign policy?’. As the
European External Action Service is taking shape, the EU is also
assessing its position on democratisation. The position of its member
states on this subject within a context of rapidly shifting development
cooperation paradigms will be decisive.

7. Democratisation in the new decade
Democratisation can mean a lot of different things: from free and fair
elections, to the separation of powers, a system of checks and
balances, the rule of law and the protection of human rights. Some
make a distinction between liberal and illiberal democracy so as to
separate true democracies from regimes such as Belarus and Birma,
who do organise elections but ignore civil liberties nonetheless.
Another oft-heard discussion focuses on whether democracy is feasible
and desirable in all countries, cultures or economies. The example of
China, which manages to combine staggering growth rates with an
autocratic regime, are used by some to question the gains of democra-
tisation. However, steep growth figures in long-standing democracies
such as India, Japan, Brazil, South Africa and Botswana show that
theories around the superiority of benevolent autocracies have little to
go by.
Although the question what democracy exactly entails is certainly not
irrelevant, this seminar tries to steer clear of discussions on semantics
or cultural interpretation. Instead, it focuses on whether our society
should still want democracy to be a leading principle for association
with other countries and how this falls amidst other priorities of EU
external policy.
One such other priority concerns trade and economic association.
Others are security and stability. As new world powers emerge, such as
the BRIC-economies, Europe reorients in order to try and maintain a
leading role at the global scene. To do so, it needs to determine its
vantage point vis-à-vis other actors.
Economic sustainability and the security
of its territory are of primary concern.
Ways to achieve this, however, transpire
also at the political level. Democracies
such as India, Brazil and Indonesia are
natural democratic allies to the EU.
These emerging economies show that
sustainable economic development and
democracy do go hand in hand very
easily. Both concepts may actually
strengthen each other, as a result of democracy’s ability to allow
citizens to hold corrupt and weak government into account for their
misbehaviour.

8. What does this mean for the EU and its foreign policy? The sustainabi-
lity of economic development seems to be enhanced by its being
rooted in democracy, since this offers better guarantees to creating a
fair and transparent investment climate. EU trade and foreign
investment therefore seem better off in a more democratic world.
Moreover, in an increasingly polarising world the global rise of
democracies offers a guarantee for better EU relations among
democratic allies in the rest of the world and therefore greater security
for its citizens. The EU has a rich history as democracy’s birthplace and
harbinger of multiparty democracy. As a result, it has a unique global
selling point in assisting local democratisation initiatives within
emerging economies, developing countries and the rest of the world.
Support for democratisation cannot occur in a forced manner but is
only sustainable if it entails strengthening existing local initiatives. The
EU should pay careful attention this fact.
EEAS
The EU is currently developing its own foreign policy. The installation of
the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security
Policy (HR), Catherine Ashton,
can be considered one of the
first steps in trying to establish
this joint EU foreign policy.
After some delay, Mme Ashton
has recently begun to shape
the European External Action
Service (EEAS). One prominent
topic on the agenda concerns
the implementation of the EU
Council Conclusions on
Democracy Support of 17
November 2009. This agenda
established an EU framework
for the development of a more coherent and coordinated policy in the
field of democracy assistance.

9. Catherine Ashton is currently assessing her position on the
implementation of these Council Conclusions in the new EEAS. At stake
is the EU’s capacity to address the interconnections between
development, the quality of democracy and security and stability in
third countries. Placing democratisation together with these issues at
the top of the EU’s foreign agenda allows Europe to use its unique
selling point to better its own cause and that of other countries at the
same time. However, in order to do so, EU member states will first need
to press Mme Ashton to include this priority. Secondly, the EU will have
to increase the coherence and co-ordination of its policy instruments
for democracy assistance. Thirdly, in doing so it is to build strategic
partnerships with European democracy support organisations that can
deliver EU support professionally in partnership with local institutions.
This seminar aims to come to a joint policy recommendation on this
matter, thus assisting the government of the Netherlands in bringing
forward a joint position at the European level.
Finally, this seminar intends to offset a similar debate among liberals
worldwide. That debate should allow liberals to reflect on recent
democratic developments and to reformulate how best to assist their
peers in bringing about more sustainable democracies, both in Europe
and worldwide.

10. Resolution on enhancing democracy assistance by the
EU and its member states
European liberal institutions, gathering in Scheveningen, The Nether-
lands, on 27 November 2010,
Considering that the 1990’s brought about a wave of democratisation,
that in the years thereafter the accession of Central European
countries to the EU did more for the cause of democratisation and
stability of this region than any other initiative, and that liberal political
parties and institutions contributed to that process significantly;
Noting, however, that in recent years support for democratisation has
come under pressure and as a result of forced democratisation
attempts in Iraq and Afghanistan, in combination with the economic
successes of such non-democratic states as China and Singapore;
Observing, though, that the cases of India, Brazil, Indonesia and many
other emerging economies around the world show that sustainable
economic development and democracy do go hand in hand;
Believing that democracy’s capacity to allow citizens to hold corrupt
and weak government into account for their misbehaviour strengthens
economic development;
Noting that the entrenchment and sustainability of economic develop-
ment in any society is enhanced by its being rooted in democracy, since
this offers better guarantees to creating a fair and transparent invest-
ment climate;
Believing that in an increasingly polarising world democratic countries
form natural allies, that the global rise of democracies therefore gua-
rantees the EU better relations with the rest of the world and thus
greater safety for its citizens;
Emphasizing that the EU, through its rich history as democracy’s bir-
thplace and harbinger of multiparty democracy, has a unique global
selling point in assisting local democratisation initiatives within emer-
ging economies, developing countries and the rest of the world;
Observing that no two democratic systems are the same and that all
democracy assistance is therefore to carefully take into account local
contexts and demands so as to avoid imposing beliefs on others;

11. Call upon the European Union and its member states:
To implement the EU Council Conclusions on Democracy Support of 17
November 2009 in the new European External Action Service (EEAS);
To better the capacity of EU policies to address the interconnections
between development, the quality of democracy and security and
stability in third countries;
To build strategic partnerships with European democracy support
organisations that can deliver EU support professionally in partnership
with local institutions, however always prioritising local demand and
home grown initiatives.
Call upon European liberal institutions:
To organise similar discussions on prioritising democracy assistance in
all member states and to formulate proposals for follow up and
implementation;
To assist sister organisations elsewhere in their democratisation
attempts, and to single out political parties as key drivers in the
well-functioning all multiparty democratic systems.

12. About the organisers
The VVD International/Haya van Someren has a long history in suppor-
ting liberal parties in Eastern Europe in building up their party organi-
sation, strengthening their campaign techniques, etc. Since the foun-
dation of the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy in 2000,
VVD International has also been engaged in supporting democratisa-
tion processes elsewhere in the developing world, such as in the South
Caucasus and Africa, Latin America and Asia.
Founded in the fall of 2007, the European Liberal Forum, asbl (ELF) is the
non-profit European political foundation of the liberal family. ELF brings
together liberal think thanks, political foundations and institutes from
around Europe to observe, analyse and contribute to the debate on
European public policy issues and the process of European integration,
through education, training, research and the promotion of active citi-
zenship within the EU.
Prometheus Liberaal Kenniscentrum is a strong advocate of democrati-
sation and the rule of law. In their bilateral contacts with liberal col-
leagues from all over the world they have always pleaded for human
rights, democracy and equal rights. Prometheus Liberaal Kenniscen-
trum has supported democratisation processes in their policy work and
will continue to do so in the future.
Colofon
VVD Internationaal/Haya van Someren
Laan Copes van Kattenburch 52 INTERNATIONAAL
2500GV Den Haag
Tel. +31 70 316 30 61
Website: www.internationaal.vvd.nl
European Liberal Forum asbl.
Square de Meeûs 38/40
1000 Brussels (Belgium)
Tel:+32 (0)2 401 61 11
Mail: info@liberalforum.eu
Web:www.liberalforum.eu
Prometheus Internationaal Kenniscentrum
Melsensstraat 34
1000 Brussels (Belgium)
Tel: +32 (0) 2 549 00 20
Fax: +32 (0) 2 512 60 25
E-Mail: Ruben.Lecok@openvld.be
Web: www.liberaalkenniscentrum.be