Anna Gerbrandy about her work at the Social and Economic Council of the Netherlands: "Combatting inequality is a priority"

Her eyes sparkle when she talks enthusiastically about her recently completed assignment for the SER: an exploration of the possibility of a national agricultural agreement in the Netherlands. Anna Gerbrandy  has been a Crown-appointed member of the Social and Economic Council since July 2020 and is one of the two scouts who prepared the exploration. In addition to her work as a professor of competition law at Utrecht University and research director of the School of Law, Gerbrandy has recently held talks with fifty different organisations related to agriculture. “My legal knowledge is now nourished with social aspects.”

It was the outgoing Minister of Agriculture Schouten who had asked the SER for advice in order to get out of the deadlock between the agricultural sector and politics. Protesting farmers drove tractors to parliament, political parties want to halve the amount of livestock, there are too much nitrogen emissions and CO2 emissions: the future of the agricultural sector seems uncertain to many. After discussions with stakeholders, the SER says that there is certainly perspective, but also an urgent need for a widely supported agricultural agreement. Such an agreement helps to accelerate towards an economically, ecologically and socially sustainable agriculture.

What was it like to have those conversations with stakeholders?

“Very exciting. The interaction with stakeholders such as entrepreneurs and social organisations makes me, as a scientist, deal differently with the knowledge I have. I make new connections between topics, people provide you different views. My fellow scout, Katrien Termeer (Professor and Chair Public Administration and Policy Group at Wageningen University & Research) and I felt the urgency of the debate on agriculture in the conversations, but certainly also the desire to find solutions."

“Yes, there is polarisation between farmers and society, but our discussion partners also saw a better future for the sector. At least if a long-term, predictable and coherent policy is pursued from now on. When trust between governance officals and farmers is restored. We as scouts also warn politicians: do not go looking for the edges of existing legal frameworks.”

You are a professor of competition law, not top of mind to advise on agriculture?

“Before I became a Crown-appointed member, I had previously participated in a Competition Law and Sustainability working group of the SER. I entered from my field, I had published about the tension between competition law and sustainability. My inaugural lecture was on that topic! Remarkably, you often encounter problems with competition law in the transition to sustainability. The tension between: having to cooperate and not being allowed to cooperate according to the law. Inequality is also an issue connected to that. You have to find solutions.”

The tension between: having to cooperate and not being allowed to cooperate according to the law. This is typically an issue you encounter in the transition to sustainability.

“My expertise and knowledge is complementary to what my colleague Sybe de Vries does at the chair of Public Economic Law at Utrecht University: studying the interaction between economics and law, government regulation of the market and legal instruments. We had already discussed the European Union's agricultural policy together, based on the internal market and competition law. I conduct research into the role of competition law in societal changes, for example in a European-funded project on digitisation and the power of large tech companies: "Modern Bigness".

"In an issue such as the future of agriculture, the relationship between economic rights and public interests such as sustainability also comes into play. Much of what we included in our exploration is not directly related to competition law, but it is embedded in questions of economic public law, which of course makes it so interesting.”

Much of what we do, is embedded in questions of economic public law, which of course makes it so interesting.

“Our work at the SER revolves around the question: what kind of society would you like to live in?  How do you ensure that everyone is on board ? Combating inequality is high on the agenda. I also notice that the pursuit of broad prosperity is reflected in everything at the SER. Broad prosperity and better well-being is also a topic that Utrecht University has put on the political and administrative agenda through Institutions for Open Societies.”

You have been a Crown-appointed member of the SER for almost a year now. What did you think of it so far?

“It is very honourable and very interesting to be part of one of the most important advisers to the government and parliament. I hadn't always thought of it, if you asked me years ago whether I aspired to this, but that applies to more steps in my career. Major societal changes, such as the Energy Agreement, the Climate Agreement and the Pension Agreement, are being prepared by the SER and thus partly "made" over here. I really like to set things in motion in society. We provide solicited and unsolicited advice. We now also want to put digitisation on the agenda.”

Are you already good at “poldering”?

"Well, I've had a book on my shelf for years by two historians from Utrecht University, Jan Luiten van Zanden and Maarten Prak: “Nederland en het poldermodel”. have to admit that I've only really read it now and it's a fantastic book! It explains why the Netherlands is a polder country and also why not! It is a very nice history book about how we always come together in the common interest. I learned something from it. Furthermore,'poldering' is also: thinking together about the design of the Netherlands; it is a privilege to be able to think along about this. In the agricultural exploration I learned from Katrien, who has been a Crown-appointed member for some time. How do you listen, how do you have conversations about topics that sometimes also contain a lot of emotions? There were widely divergent points of view. Then the art is ultimately how you can bridge the differences and hold on to the common ground. How do you arrive at a guideline: Which way should we go?”

Does this additional position influence your academic research?

“It broadens and deepens my academic work. Sometimes pieces fit directly into what I do in science, but sometimes they don't. At the SER, the general interest always comes first, that commonality. I don't always have to take this into account in other parts of my work as a scientist. I hope to be able to continue to combine it with my other work, because I find it very inspiring.”