XPost: 24hoursupport.helpdesk, alt.politics.scorched-earth, uk.politics.misc   
   XPost: uk.legal, alt.politics.uk   
   From: burfordTjustice@tues.uk   
      
   Dutch relations with euro up for debate after lawmakers commission probe   
      
      
   Feb 24 The Netherlands' future relationship with the euro will be   
   comprehensively debated by its parliament following elections in March, after   
   lawmakers commissioned a report on the currency's future.   
      
   The motion approving the investigation by the Council of State, the   
   government's legal advisor, coincides with a rising tide of euroscepticism in   
   Europe, which populist parties are hoping to tap into in a series of national   
   elections this year also    
   taking in euro zone powerhouses France and Germany.   
      
   The probe will examine whether it would be possible for the Dutch to withdraw   
   from the single currency, and if so how, said lawmaker Pieter Omtzigt.   
      
   Omtzigt, of the opposition Christian Democrats, tabled the parliamentary   
   motion calling for the investigation, which legislators passed unanimously   
   late on Thursday.   
      
   It was prompted by concerns the ECB's ultra-low interest rates are hurting   
   Dutch savers, especially pensioners, and doubts as to whether its bond   
   purchasing programmes are legal, he said.   
      
   Its findings will be presented in several months, by which time the make-up of   
   parliament will have changed dramatically.   
      
   While most Dutch voters say they favour retaining the euro, the eurosceptic   
   far-right party of Geert Wilders is expected to book large gains though it is   
   unlikely to win enough votes to form a government.   
      
   The most probable outcome of the March 15 vote is a new centrist coalition   
   including some parties, such as Omtzigt's Christian Democrats, that have been   
   vocal in their opposition to current ECB policy.   
      
   "The problems with the euro have not been solved," Omtzigt said. "This is a   
   way for us to look at ways forward with no taboos."   
      
   Thursday's motion instructs the Council to look at "what political and   
   institutional options are open for the euro," and "what are the advantages and   
   disadvantages of each."   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)