Exhibition on the 100th anniversary of universal suffrage

Visit the exhibition Ik vier mijn stem (I celebrate my vote). It will be open for viewing Monday through Saturday from 10:00 to 17:00 in the Central Passageway, the central hall of the House of Representatives. The exhibition tells the special history of general suffrage and demonstrates that it is still in constant motion.

The statue of Suze Groeneweg, created by Siemen Bolhuis.

Government Committee for the Parliamentary System publishes final report

Is the Dutch parliamentary system in need of adjustment? This is the question that the government committee chaired by Johan Remkes has been addressing throughout the past year. On Thursday 13 December, the committee presented its recommendations in a final report. Earlier this year, on Thursday 21 June 2018, it published an interim report on the status of its investigation.

Statue of Thorbecke, the founder of parliamentary democracy, on Lange Voorhout in The Hague.

Inter-parliamentary lead group for EU climate policy launched during climate summit in Poland

In the second week of December, a delegation of members of the Dutch House of Representatives attended the UN Climate Summit (COP 24) in the Polish city of Katowice. On Wednesday 12 December, the Economic Affairs and Climate Committee and the Benelux Parliament launched a ‘National Parliaments for EU Climate Ambition’. This was the first meeting of an inter-parliamentary lead group that will focus on EU climate policy. In this lead group, national parliament members from EU member states will discuss the necessity of an ambitious EU climate policy and exchange national developments and challenges relating to climate.

From left to right: MP Agnes Mulder (CDA), Pieter Terpstra (climate-policy coordinator for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and MP Isabelle Diks (GroenLinks).

Evaluation committee: Cabinet formation proceeded in an orderly fashion

In general, the cabinet-formation process of 2017 proceeded in an orderly fashion, despite is protracted duration. This provides evidence that the procedure as amended in 2012, which is directed by the House of Representatives, can also be applied under difficult circumstances. “This report lays a solid foundation for a subsequent cabinet formation, as well as for a subsequent generation of politicians,” observed Khadija Arib, Speaker of the House of Representatives, who received the first copy of the report on the investigation.

Speaker Khadija Arib receives the first copy of the report on the investigation by the Bovend’Eert Committee

New Secretary General of the House of Representatives sworn in

On Thursday, 7 June 2018, Ms S.M. (Simone) Roos was sworn in as Secretary General of the House of Representatives, at the beginning of the afternoon sitting of the House. In its sitting of 29 May 2018, the House of Representatives had approved Simone Roos' appointment as Secretary General, with effect from 11 June 2018.

Simone Roos, secretary general of the House

V100 - Accountability Day

Involving citizens in overseeing the government: that was the purpose of the meeting of the citizens' panel V100 in the House of Representatives on Friday, 18 May 2018. On that day, citizens were given the opportunity to pose questions about the ministries' annual reports, concerning a number of pre-selected topics. Two days earlier, on Wednesday, 16 May, it was Accountability Day, the counterpart of Prince's Day, in the House of Representatives. On Accountability Day, instead of debating plans, the House examines how these plans have been implemented. That is why Accountability Day is an important moment for Parliament's scrutiny of the work of the government.

People in the plenary hall

NATO Secretary General visits Dutch Parliament

On Thursday, 19 April 2018, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg visited The Hague. The president of the House of Representatives, Ms Khadija Arib, and the president of the Senate, Ms Ankie Broekers-Knol, received him in the historical Stadholder's Room in the building of the House of Representatives. Mr Stoltenberg also met with members of the Foreign Affairs and Defence committees of both chambers.

Stoltenberg and the presidents of both chambers
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