House of Representatives news

On 31 March 2015 Mr Reinier van Zutphen was officially sworn in as the new National Ombudsman in the plenary sitting of the House of Representatives.

The European summit which will take place on Thursday 19 and Friday 20 March includes such topics as the negotiations on the free trade agreement between the European Union and the United States of America (TTIP). In preparation of the summit the House of Representatives had a debate with the Cabinet about the Dutch position. This debate took place on Monday 16 March in the Plenary Hall.

On Monday 16 March, MP Ard van der Steur (VVD) will visit Brussels to explain the House of Representatives' objections to the establishment of a European Public Prosecutor's Office.

On Wednesday 14 January 2015 the House of Representatives had a debate with the Cabinet about the Paris terrorist attacks and the consequences thereof for the Netherlands.

National parliaments have gradually increased their influence on Europe. Many parliaments actively use the tools provided by the Lisbon Treaty. 

On Monday 10 and Tuesday 11 November MP Ms Yasemin Cegerek (Labour Party PvdA) was in Berlin. On behalf of the standing committee on Infrastructure and the Environment she attended a European conference on the smart and economical use of raw materials and resources.

On Thursday 30 October the Parliamentary Committee of Inquiry into Housing Associations presented its final report ‘A Long Way from Home’.

On Thursday 30 October 2014 at 13.30 pm, the Parliamentary Committee of Inquiry into Housing Associations will present its final report. 

On Wednesday 13 October, the Temporary Committee on Government ICT Projects presented its final report on failures of government ICT projects. These failures have led to an unnecessary waste of taxpayers’ money.

The Netherlands will make six F-16s and 250 military personnel available for the international fight against ISIS. The Netherlands will also provide training and advice to Iraqi and Kurdish forces during this period. On Thursday 2 October, the House will discuss about the details of the Dutch contribution. On Monday 29 September Members of the House of Representatives were given a technical briefing on the Dutch contribution to the fight against ISIS.

A working group of the Public Expenditure Committee has recently published a report on the national right to approve and amend budgetary policy from a European perspective. An executive summary and the conclusions of the report are now available in English.

While in The Hague the House of Representatives held its annual general political debate on Wednesday 17 September, MP Ard van der Steur (VVD) was in Paris, in the French National Assembly, where he informed a number of European colleagues of the objections the House of Representatives has to the establishment of a European Public Prosecutor's Office.

Ms Stientje van Veldhoven, member of the House of Representatives, will attend the United Nations Climate Summit in New York, on 23 September, as rapporteur on behalf of the standing committee on Infrastructure and the Environment. At the Climate Summit, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon will urge the Member States to do more about climate change. He will also promote the UN climate negotiations.

On Monday 11 August from 14.00 to ca 16.00 hrs the standing committee on Foreign Affairs, the standing committee on Security and Justice and the standing committee on Defence were given a technical briefing on the repatriation mission.

On 29 July 2014 the standing committee on Foreign Affairs, the standing committee on Defence and the standing committee on Security and Justice engaged in a debate with Mr Frans Timmermans, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ms Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, Minister of Defence, and Mr Ivo Opstelten, Minister of Security and Justice, about the current situation surrounding the Flight MH17 disaster.Read the English summary of the report of the debate in the attached document.