the Netherlands

As with most countries, the Netherlands began as a result of a crusade to escape religious constraints and in this case it happened to be Spain and the Catholic Church. The Protestants that left Spain coincided with the Protestant revolt against the Roman Catholic church. Riots were spreading everywhere. When King Philip sent troops to enforce the Catholic church, open riots were the result. In 1579, an alliance of all the northern towns and some southern towns was formed. This alliance was known as the Union of Utrecht. Two years later the Union proclaimed its independence from Spain. Sixty-seven years after the alliance Spain recognized the Dutch Republic as a sovereign nation. The territories that did not join the Union later became Belgium. The Netherlands has suffered many hardships with the results of war. During World War I the blockades prevented trade to continue which made the Netherlands economy very fragile. With the occupation by Germany during World War II, the Netherlands suffered a lot of destruction. The Netherlands has taken a very active role in the advancement of the CFSP (Common Foreign Security Policy). This country believes that it is one of the original members of the European Union and with that in mind the people take upon themselves a bit of responsibility (sort of la big brother attitude). The concerns and suggestions by the Netherlands for a Common Foreign and Security Policy are as follows: 1. The Commission should implement joint action to be carried out on the ground or closely bound up with first-pillar activities; 2. The Council and the Commission could designate special representatives to implement specific CFSP decisions, reporting to the Council on their assignments; 3. The Presidency, in cooperation with an expanded CFSP secretariat, or even the Commission and such special representatives, should give effect to decisions basically requiring representations to be made, positio...