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The capital of Holland is Amsterdam, its area measures 41.864 square kilometres, its population is made up of 16.192.572 inhabitants, the gross domestic product is 452,949 billions Euros; the inflation is 1.3%, the unemployment rate is 4,9%, the deficit is –2.9% and the National Debt is 55.7%.Holland is a Constitutional Monarchy ,it is a unitary country, bur Holland has traditionally a strong decentralization structure, with strong independence for sub-state administrative levels: there are 12 provinces, almost 500 municipalities, either provinces and municipalities have a strong autonomy. Holland has a form of a parliamentary government The Prime Minister, appointed by the President of Republic, due to the elections results and the Prime Minister himself chooses the members of the Council of Ministers. The legislative power is exerted by a bicameral Parliament, made up of a Senate, the first Chamber, appointed by the provincial councils. It lasts in office for 4 years and it includes 75 members; and a Second Chamber, that exerts most of the legislative powers, including 150 members, elected every 4 years by a proportional electoral system. The present Head of the State is Queen Beatrix Orange Nassau, while the Prime Minister in office is Jan Peter Balkenende. His Christian Democratic Party (CDA) won the anticipated elections on the 22nd January 2003. The Government is made up of the Christian Democratic Party within a coalition that includes the Liberal Party and the Progressive Liberal Party as well. Holland is one of the founding countries of the European Union; it joined Euro, yet in 2005 with a popular referendum, it rejected the Treaty that adopts a European Constitution, so stopping the ratification process. After the enlargement to the new 10 members, the number of the Dutch members of Parliament decreased from 31 to 27. The last European elections took place on the 10th June 2004, the affluence to the polls was low, 39.1%, better than the previous European elections, when in Holland less than the 30% went to vote. Anyway Holland is under the average level of partecipation recorded in the whole European union. These elections saw the victory of the Christian-Democratics, followed by the Socialdemocratics of the Labour Party. The result allowed to both the political forces gaining 7 seats for each one within the European Parliament. The Social-Democratics joined the European Socialis Party, whereas the Christian-Democratics the Popular Party. A new political formation, “Europe Transparant”, founded on this occasion by a former official of the communitarian institution in order to fight the corruption and the wastes within the Union, gained a good two seats, arousing a feeling of surprise. The remaining seats went to the rightist Liberals, to the Greens, to the Socialist Party and to a Movement of religious inspiration, as well as to the Progressive Liberals of “Democracy 66”, that gained a seat for each one. Within the present European Commission, leaded by Barroso, the Dutch Commissary in office is Neelie Kroes, Commissary for the Competition.
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