The most influential Dutchman in Brussels studied Economics at the VU Amsterdam. Together with Minister Dijsselbloem, senior official Hans Vijlbrief raced to deal with the European financial crisis. VU Magazine spoke to him in Brussels about his career and his motivations. ‘I was Vice-Director of the CPB, which wasn’t a good choice in retrospect. It was much too quiet for me.’
You’ve been the chair of the Euro Working Group for a month now. What does your work entail, exactly? “One of the major issues I’m working on, is Greece. The third aid programme will end this summer. If Greece wants to get out of the programme successfully, then it will have to stand on its own two feet from now own. That will take a lot of work. I talk about it with the other creditors, and of course with all of the institutions involved, such as the IMF, the Commission, the ESM, the European Central Bank, and I try to keep them all working together towards the same goal. Then we talk about it at length with the Greeks.”
“Another important dossier is the elaboration of the European Monetary Union (EMU). During the crisis, we noticed that things weren’t running smoothly, to put it mildly, so we took some measures. Now we’re re-thinking the architecture of the EMU, and how we can make it better.”
What are your workdays like? “My days consist of a lot of meetings, phone calls, conversations and reading. I’m responsible for preparing two meetings per month, including one with the Ministers of Finance. I also have to travel abroad a lot. In my first week, I went to Canada, the president of the G7, which includes the Eurozone. I also conduct a lot of background meetings with analysts from the banking sector, investment firms and think tanks, for example. And I received at least 10 invitations to give speeches, to explain a bit of what we do in the Eurozone. I haven’t done it yet, but I will soon, because it’s part of my job.”
‘You have to have good ideas, better than the rest’
What does one need to be able to do to perform your work? “You have to sense which way the wind is blowing. A big part of my job involves talking on the phone with people, and asking them: what do you think about all of this? You could say that my influence is based on knowing what other people think. And having good ideas, better than the rest.”
“During the Euro crisis, Dijsselbloem and I were able to deal with a few glitches in the banking system, because we had some good ideas. It sounds like some kind of divine spark of brilliance, but it’s really more a question of hard work.”
What do you like most about this position? “The intellectual challenge for me as an economist. We have to deal with fundamental issues, which are also politically charged. I think that’s more interesting than the issues they’re dealing with in The Hague. Those are interesting too, but I’ve worked on them for 25 years, so it’s all old hat. I’m fortunate to be here during a deciding moment for Europe: what kind of union do we want to be? How can we make sure it works as it should? What should we do, and what should we not do? I like dealing with those kinds of questions more than the delineated ones. I want to have space to think big, and I have that space here.”
What makes working in an international environment different from working in The Hague? “As a Dutchman, I have to try not to be too Dutch sometimes – especially when I’m irritated or tired. I have to try not to express every opinion I have, or say that I think it’s a bad idea. We usually don’t realise it, but we’re actually very blunt. We underestimate the damage we can cause by being too direct. And it’s really not necessary: be friendly, and try to put a positive spin on your message sometimes. Try it sometime; people will understand you eventually. When I chair meetings, I constantly have to make sure that I don’t formulate my statements too short and sweet. Sometimes you need to use more words.”
‘If you want a fun job, you need to study General Economics’
Why did you choose to study Economics? “After my fourth year in university preparatory education, I switched Biology for Economics. I was able to catch up over the summer holidays, and I loved it. I understood everything right away. I had a talent for it; I could just see it. So I made a conscious decision to enrol in General Economics. I always say: if you want a fun job, you need to study General Economics. If you want to earn lots of money, choose Business Economics instead. But money doesn’t interest me as much as the actual work involved. In my experience, people who do what they truly love simply perform better. And people can tell if you enjoy your work or not.”
Have you ever made a bad career choice? “I spent a year as the Vice-Director of the Central Planning Bureau, which wasn’t a good choice in retrospect. It was much too quiet for me; I couldn’t deal with the lack of pressure. I’m not someone who can keep himself busy. I need stimuli. For that exact reason, I had a lot of trouble finishing my thesis at the VU in the 1990s. When I have to work on my own, it doesn’t go well. I can’t keep myself moving. I would wake up in the morning, and I had to force myself to continue where I had left off the day before. It was hard to work on articles day in, day out for three years.”
‘I was sick for six months’
Did you finish it out of pure willpower? “I am extremely persistent, and eventually I can force myself to do it. But I was sick for six months straight, with stress complaints (or procrastination complaints). I just didn’t feel good.”
You referred earlier to your time with Jeroen Dijsselbloem. What was it like to work so intensively with him for five years? “It was very special. A bit of a lucky coincidence, really. We’re completely different. I’m irritable, hyperactive, talkative, and I have a loud voice. Jeroen is an introvert; calm, thoughtful, scholarly. It was a symbiosis between two completely different people who had one thing in common: we’re both passionate about our field. That’s why we worked so well together, I think. We saw each other more than we saw our respective partners.”
Has your wife ever asked: when will I get to see you again? “She’s so used to it by now. She doesn’t mind the fact that I work in Brussels and spend a few nights away from home every week. But it took on extreme forms during the crisis. There were whole weeks that we didn’t see each other, and when I was at home, the telephone never stopped ringing. In my farewell speech at the Ministry of Finance, I mentioned that I had just enjoyed my first uninterrupted holiday of my career. Before then, I had always had to come home early to the Netherlands.”
‘I’ve learned a lot over the past few years. Yet again.’
What were the best times in your career? ‘In 1992, I graduated from the VU and went to work at Economic Affairs. When Minister Wijers started there in 1994, I was just starting to build momentum. As a new employee, I gained a lot of experience in four short years, because I was allowed to do a lot of different things. My time with Minister Brinkhorst from 2003 to 2007 was also a good time, when I had important responsibilities as Director General. Another wonderful period was with Dijsselbloem between 2011 and 2017. It was very intellectually challenging. I’ve learned quite a bit over the past few years. Yet again.”
What insights have you gained over your career? “Manly ones in the field of monetary financial issues. And I’ve learned more about politics, about the rise of populism. There are a lot of parallels between European countries when it comes to the effects the crisis has had on politics. That’s what I mean by the growth spurts in your life. They can never last for 20 years. You also need periods that life moves more slowly.”
> In the list of the Top 200 most influential Dutch people in the Volkskrant, Hans Vijlbrief has risen a few places every year. In the latest edition, he was ranked 29th.
CV Hans Vijlbrief
1963 Born in Voorschoten | 1981- 1987 General Economics, VU Amsterdam | 1987-1992 PhD research in Economics, VU | 1992-1997 Various positions at the General Economics Policy Directorate, Ministry of Economic Affairs (EA) | 1997-1999 Adjunct Director of General Economics Policy, Ministry of EA | 1998-2000 Director (part-time) of the research centre for financial-economic policy, Erasmus University Rotterdam | 1999-2001 Vice-Director Central Planning Bureau | 2000-2010 Endowed Professor of Economic Policy, VU | 2001-2004 Director of General Economic Policy, Ministry of EA | 2004-2010 Director-General of Economic Policy, Ministry of EA | 2009-2010 Chairperson of the broad Re-evaluation of Security and Terrorism group |2010-2011 Director-General of Energy, Telecom and Markets, Ministry of EA, Agriculture and Innovation | 2011-2017 Treasurer-General, Ministry of Finance | February 2018 Chairperson of the Euro Working Group.
