House of Representatives news

Members of Parliament from the EU Member States gathered on 14 March in the Hall of Knights for the third interparliamentary conference organised by the States General as part of the Dutch EU Presidency. The focus of this conference was the question of what the influence is of continuing digitisation – has the internet changed patterns in human trafficking, and how can we use internet to protect victims and prosecute perpetrators? During the conference, attention was also drawn to the problem of migration which is currently a very hot issue among politicians and the general public.

On Thursday 28 January the House of Representatives held a public hearing and a videoconference on the Dutch Safety board's MH17 investigation report. Several international civil aviation experts were heard.

On 13 January, ms. Khadija Arib (PvdA) was elected the new Speaker of the House

On Friday 22 January the House of Representatives hold round-table discussions on the MH17 disaster. These round table-discussions focus on the Cabinet response to the investigation reports about the plane, which was downed by a missile.

On 7 January 2016, the Dutch parliament will meet the European Commission. The meeting is taking place against the backdrop of the Dutch EU Presidency in the first six months of 2016.

Following the strong statements by the Oosting Committee and the continuing publicity regarding Ms van Miltenburg personally, Ms van Miltenburg has decided to resign from her position, effective immediately. Ms van Miltenburg will remain as Member of Parliament for the VVD (People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy).

From January to June 2016 the Netherlands will hold the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The States-General will play a major role during this Presidency. In a press conference on Tuesday 24 November, the President of the Senate, Ankie Broekers-Knol, and her House of Representatives counterpart, Anouchka van Miltenburg, announced the conference dates and programmes.

On Thursday 19 November 2015, the House had a debate about the Paris attacks. The spokespersons of the parliamentary groups wanted to hear from Prime Minister Mark Rutte, minister Ard van der Steur (Security and Justice) and minister Lodewijk Asscher (Social Affairs and Employment) what the consequences of the violence in the French capital are for the policy of the Dutch Government.

The live streaming of meetings at www.tweedekamer.nl has been updated. This makes it easier for you to follow the meetings of the House of Representatives on your computer or mobile device.

On 5 and 6 November, the Eerste Kamer and Tweede Kamer (the Dutch Senate and House of Representatives) host a ECPRD seminar titled “The practicalities, advantages and disadvantages of unicameral and bicameral parliamentary systems”.

The Temporary Committee on a Broad Definition of Welfare investigates the way GDP is measured and explores measures of welfare in a broad sense.

On Friday 16 October a special joint meeting took place in the Hall of Knights. On that that day it was exactly 200 years since both chambers held a joint meeting in The Hague for the first time.

As of October 2015 you can go on several special guided tours of the premises of the House of Representatives, which are given in celebration of the 200th anniversary of the House. Until the end of January 2016 you can join these guided tours, which have three different themes. Make sure to book on time, because the number of places on the tours is limited.

On 1 september 2015 Ms (Renata) Voss was sworn in as Secretary General of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands. Since 1 July 2015 she had been in office as succeeding Secretary General.

The summer recess of 2015 has come to an end. The first meeting of the House was on Tuesday 1 September, when the new Secretary General, mrs. Renata Voss, was sworn in.