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Parliamentary inquiry into the approach to the corona pandemic

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The parliamentary inquiry into the approach to the corona pandemic is an ongoing parliamentary inquiry by the Dutch House of Representatives that is investigating the government response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On 4 November 2021, the House of Representatives unanimously adopted a motion by VVD MP Aukje de Vries calling for this parliamentary inquiry. Due to disagreement about the research proposal, the Speaker of the House of Representatives Vera Bergkamp decided to postpone the inquiry. A motion by PVV parliamentary leader Geert Wilders after the House of Representatives elections of 22 November 2023 to continue the inquiry was unanimously adopted. The committee carrying out the investigation first convened on 6 February 2024.

Temporary committee

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A temporary committee had been established to prepare for the inquiry, most importantly a research proposal. At the start on 6 July 2022, this consisted of the members:[1]

After the start of the committee, the Presidium of the House of Representatives received reports about inappropriate behavior by Arib when she was Speaker of the House of Representatives. The immediate reason for the reports was the fact that Arib, as committee chairman, directed the civil servants of the committees. When these reports came out in September 2022 and an investigation was announced, the committee's civil servants unanimously indicated that they were happy to work with Arib.[2] However, Arib felt so damaged by the reports and the announced investigation that she decided to leave the House and thus the committee.[3] As committee chair, she was succeeded by vice-chair Mariëlle Paul, who after a few months had replaced party colleague Ellian as committee member and vice-chair.

Van Houwelingen and Van Haga's membership of the committee was controversial from the start, because they regularly spread conspiracy theories about corona and corona vaccines. The committee mutually agreed to be cautious in expressing party political positions regarding corona. At the end of September there was a fuss because Van Houwelingen had edited and posted a photo in which it appeared as if Minister of Health Ernst Kuipers was raising a Nazi flag. Van Houwelingen also continued to speak out about corona in various programs. Van Haga also took part in a debate about corona in February 2023, against the agreements. Part of the committee indicated anonymously in the NRC that it therefore intended to ask Van Haga and Van Houwelingen to resign from the committee.[4] Another part of the committee was surprised by that intention and frustrated about the leak.[5] After the subsequent committee meeting, no one left the committee.

The research proposal was sent to Parliament on 25 May 2023. Under that proposal, the inquiry would last until 2026. Only four parties registered for the inquiry; PVV, FVD, Group van Haga and Independent Den Haan. VVD, D66, CDA and GroenLinks wanted to wait for the Dutch Safety Boards third report before deciding whether they wanted to delegate MPs. GroenLinks also indicated that the question was too one-sided, namely focusing on whether too many measures had been taken. Because this was not the intended broad composition, Speaker of the House of Representatives Vera Bergkamp decided in June 2023 to postpone the inquiry.[6] A motion by Van Haga in September 2023 to start the inquiry as soon as possible was rejected by a wide majority.[7]

Inquiry

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The committee conducting the inquiry first convened on 6 February 2024, and Daan de Kort (VVD) was selected to serve as its chair. Freek Jansen (FVD) had stepped down from the House of Representatives the month before such that Van Houwelingen (FVD) could succeed him and thus participate in the inquiry on behalf of his party.[8][9] Newspaper NRC noted that all other members of the committee were newcomers in the House, having been sworn in two months before.[10] The committee's goal was to investigate the political balancing of public health and other societal interests, the observance of basic rights, and the role of the healthcare sector in decisions during the pandemic. The inquiry's conclusion is planned for late 2026.[11]

De Kort warned in October 2024, during its initial preparatory phase, that the inquiry might be delayed due to a disagreement with the Schoof cabinet. The committee had requested unredacted chat messages of civil servants, while the government had asked the Council of State for advice before providing any due to the potential presence of sensitive personal data.[12]

Committee composition

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References

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  1. ^ "Kamer installeert Tijdelijke commissie Corona". tweedekamer.nl (in Dutch). 28 June 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  2. ^ van Dijk, Ton F. (3 October 2022). "Brief Bergkamp rammelt: ambtenaren coronacommissie hebben géén probleem met Arib". HP/De Tijd (in Dutch). Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  3. ^ "Oud-Kamervoorzitter Arib (PvdA) vertrekt uit Tweede Kamer na 'aanvallen op waardigheid'". Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (in Dutch). 1 October 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  4. ^ de Koning, Petra; Van den Dool, Pim (3 February 2023). "Crisissfeer in coronacommissie: positie Van Houwelingen en Van Haga ter discussie". NRC (in Dutch). Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  5. ^ "Heibel in commissie parlementaire enquête corona: 'Zo kunnen we niet verder'". RTL Nieuws (in Dutch). 3 February 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  6. ^ Rutten, Rik; Wieringa, Rein (27 June 2023). "De parlementaire enquête naar het coronabeleid komt er nu niet, en misschien nooit". NRC (in Dutch). Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  7. ^ "Motie van het lid Van Haga c.s. over uitspreken dat er zo snel mogelijk een parlementaire enquête naar corona moet komen". tweedekamer.nl (in Dutch). 21 September 2023. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  8. ^ "Parlementaire enquêtecommissie corona na hindernissen van start" [Parliamentary inquiry into corona commenced after obstacles]. NOS (in Dutch). 6 February 2024. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  9. ^ "Parlementaire enquête naar corona van start" [Parliamentary inquiry into corona commences]. House of Representatives (Press release) (in Dutch). 6 February 2024. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  10. ^ Van den Dool, Pim (6 February 2024). "De nieuwe parlementaire enquetecommissie corona is klein en sceptisch" [The new committee carrying out the parliamentary inquiry into COVID-19 is small and sceptical]. NRC (in Dutch). Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  11. ^ "Parlementaire enquête corona gaat tweeënhalf jaar duren" [Parliamentary inquiry into the corona pandemic will take 2.5 years]. NOS (in Dutch). 24 April 2024. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  12. ^ Van den Dool, Pim (10 October 2024). "Conflict tussen commissie en kabinet over het delen van 'ongelakte chatberichten': vertraging voor enquête dreigt" [Conflict between committee and cabinet about sharing of 'unredacted chat messages': Potential delay for inquiry]. NRC (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 October 2024.
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