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Dutch Parliament Had Some Influence on COVID Policy, but ‘the Approach Stayed the Same,’ Former SGP Leader Says
🇳🇱 Netherlands /Elections & Politics

Dutch Parliament Had Some Influence on COVID Policy, but ‘the Approach Stayed the Same,’ Former SGP Leader Says

From NRC Handelsblad · () Dutch

Translated from Dutch and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Kees van der Staaij told a Dutch parliamentary COVID-19 inquiry that the House of Representatives exercised some oversight but did not fundamentally alter the cabinet’s approach.
  • He cited the 2022 rejection of a proposed 2G access system and a call for an Impact Management Team as examples of parliamentary influence.
  • Van der Staaij also described tensions between public-health measures and religious freedoms, including restrictions on church attendance.

Kees van der Staaij’s testimony focused on a central question of the Dutch COVID-19 inquiry: was parliament controlling the government, or merely extending its reach during the crisis?

The former leader of the Reformed Political Party, or SGP, said the House did try to preserve its oversight role. In April 2020, a month after the first lockdown began, he and then-D66 lawmaker Rob Jetten submitted a motion asking the Council of State to examine the measures’ effects on fundamental rights. The cabinet was still relying on emergency regulations at the time. A replacement law did not enter into force until Dec. 1, 2020, nine months after the lockdown began.

Van der Staaij said lawmakers wanted that legislation to regulate all measures properly and prevent restrictions from going further than necessary. He also pointed to the House’s decision in spring 2022 to block a proposed 2G system, under which access to cafes and theaters would have depended on vaccination or recovery from COVID-19. “We recognize the value of vaccines, but we also value the freedom not to be vaccinated. 2G went too far for us,” he said.

Critics said, and there was growing unrest in society, that the law enabled the measures. But we wanted that law to regulate all the measures properly. We explicitly did not want the restrictions on freedom to go further than necessary.

— Kees van der StaaijHe explained why lawmakers sought legislation to replace the cabinet’s emergency regulations.

His testimony also highlighted the conflict between the right to life and health and the freedom of religious communities to assemble. Large churches, some with as many as 2,800 seats, were at one point limited to 30 worshippers. Van der Staaij said there was even a proposal to remove that allowance, making it difficult to judge whether the restrictions were proportionate. He added that some other churches found online services an easier alternative.

Van der Staaij also said parliament supported creating an Impact Management Team alongside the medically focused Outbreak Management Team. The ministry’s decision to ask him to write a press release for the Reformatorisch Dagblad, a newspaper widely read in SGP circles, came under scrutiny. He later said Justice Minister Ferdinand Grapperhaus should have written it himself.

We recognize the value of vaccines, but we also value the freedom not to be vaccinated. 2G went too far for us.

— Kees van der StaaijHe described why parliament opposed the proposed 2G access system.
About this summary

Originally published by NRC Handelsblad in Dutch. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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