Presidents of the States General received the President of the European Council

On Wednesday January 6, The President of the Dutch Senate, Mr Rene van der Linden, and the President of the Dutch House of Representatives, Ms Gerdi Verbeet, received the President of the European Council, Herman van Rompuy. It was the first official visit of the President of the European Council.

Treaty of Lisbon
As of 1 December 2009, mr Herman Van Rompuy is the new President of the European Council. With the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon on 1 December 2009, the European Council has become an institution. The new Treaty recognizes national parliaments as central to the democratic fabric of the Union, and as such, they are involved in a number of specific new procedures.For the first time in the history of European treaties, national parliaments will be consulted directly in the European decision-making process. They will have the power to intervene at a very early stage, when a European legislative act is still a Commission proposal awaiting adoption by the European Parliament/Council of Ministers.

European Flag
It was the first official visit of Mr Rompuy to a Member State of the European Union. Prior to the visit, the Dutch Presidents hoisted the European Flag on a flagpole at the Dutch Senate, a symbol representing the new status of the European Council under the Lisbon Treaty.