House of Representatives news

On Tuesday afternoon, 9 January 2018, members of the standing committee on European Affairs had a meeting with Michel Barnier. This Frenchman is the chief Brexit negotiatior on behalf of the European Commission. The MPs discussed with him the progress in the negotiations on Britain's withdrawal from the European Union (EU).

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In what direction should the European Union be heading? Should it strive for more cooperation in more fields? Or should it strive for less cooperation, of more efficiency? What topics should be given priority? Dutch Members of Parliament will discuss these and more issues with a number of experts as well as representatives from EU institutions, such as Mr Frans Timmermans, first Vice-President of the European Commission.

Members of Parliament are unable to monitor the EU effectively at present. This is particularly true of the consultations and negotiations between member states on new European legislation in areas such as agriculture, pensions and migration policy. Documents are not routinely made public, for example.

The Netherlands must be pepared for there being no agreement with the United Kingdom (UK) after Brexit. This is the the so-called chaos scenario, in which the UK leaves the European Union (EU) without a transition period and without any arrangements regarding the new EU-UK relationship.

On Thursday morning 26 October 2017, the Rutte III cabinet was sworn in by King Willem Alexander at Noordeinde Palace in The Hague, followed by the traditional photograph on the steps of the palace. The taking office of the new cabinet also causes changes in the composition of the House of Representatives. On Tuesday 31 October, twelve new MPs will be sworn in: six VVD, three D66, two CDA and one ChristianUnion MPs. The debate about the Government Statement will be held on Wednesday 1 and Thursday 2 November.

On Tuesday, 10 October 2017, VVD, CDA, D66 and ChristianUnion presented the Coalition Agreement entitled 'Confidencein the Future'. Early in the afternoon, the leaders of these four political groups commented on the Coalition Agreement in the Old Plenary Hall, shortly after the presentation by informateur Mr Gerrit Zalm of his final report to the President of the House, Ms Khadija Arib. Earlier that day, the VVD, CDA, D66 and ChristianUnion groups in the House agreed to the final version of the Coalition Agreement. On Thursday, 12 October, the House will hold a debate about the final report of informateur Zalm.

From Friday 22 September until Monday 25 September Mr Anne Mulder MP (VVD) will act as an observer at the parliamentary elections in Germany. On behalf of the Senate and the House of Representatives Mr Mulder takes part in an observer mission of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE PA).

On Wednesday 9 August 2017, the leaders of VVD, CDA, D66 and ChristenUnie have continued their preliminary talks aimed at forming a coalition government in the Netherlands. These talks are presided by Informateur Gerrit Zalm.

Saturday 9th September 2017, the House of Representatvies opens its doors for Heritage Day (Open Monumentendag). Visitors are welcome to see the Old Library and the Chamber of the House.

Thursday, 6 July, was the last sitting day of the House of Representatives before the summer recess. On that last day, the House often sits late into the night, but this year, due to the ongoing Cabinet formation, the House's schedule was less packed than usual in the weeks before the summer recess. The House is in recess up to and including Monday 4 September. The first plenary sitting after the summer will take place on Tuesday, 5 September. In the meantime, the negotiations on the formation of a new Cabinet will continue, except for a short holiday break.

On the afternoon of Tuesday, 6 June 2017, Informateur Herman Tjeenk Willink held discussions with party leaders Mark Rutte (VVD), Sybrand van Haersma Buma (CDA) and Alexander Pechtold (D66) regarding continuing the process of forming a new government. The meeting was held in the Stadholder’s Room in the House of Representatives. Earlier in the day, the Informateur held discussions with Jesse Klaver (GroenLinks) and Gert-Jan Segers (ChristenUnie).

On Wednesday 17 May 2017, the House of Representatives reappointed Edith Schippers as informateur in the Cabinet formation process, in a debate on the foundered negotiations between the parliamentary groups VVD, CDA, D66 and GroenLinks. Schippers was assigned the task to investigate, in the short term, the various possibilities for the formation of a new Cabinet that can rely on a productive co-operation with both the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Speaker of the House of Representatives Khadija Arib will inform His Majesty the King on the outcome of the debate.

The rules for non-disclosure of internal documents of the Council of Ministers of the European Union, including documents concerning new European legislation, are contrary to the Lisbon Treaty. That is what the parliamentary counsel concluded in an advice to the House of Representatives. A strong information position for MPs is one of the spearheads of the House of Representatives, hence the House asked the parliamentary counsel to prepare a legal analysis of public access to internal Council documents. This was done on the basis of the findings of the rapporteur on the provision of EU information, Mr Pieter Omtzigt MP (CDA).

Guarantee the rights of Dutch citizens in the United Kingdom and preserve the close trading relationship with the United Kingdom. Those are two of a total of five recommendations in the report delivered by Marit Maij (former Member of Parliament for the PvdA) and Pieter Omtzigt (Member of Parliament for the CDA) on Tuesday 21 March 2017 about the intended exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union (EU).