Benelux Parliament

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Benelux Interparliamentary Assembly

  • Benelux Interparlementaire Assemblee (Dutch)
  • Assemblée interparlementaire Benelux (French)
Coat of arms or logo
Type
Type
Structure
Seats49 members
Political groups
  •   SGD/SVD (13) [a]
  •   Christian (13) [b]
  •   Liberal (12) [c]
  •   Unaffiliated (11) [d]
Meeting place
Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg
Website
www.beneluxparl.eu

The Benelux Parliament (officially known as the Benelux Interparliamentary Assembly) is one of the institutions of the Benelux economic union. The Parliament was established by an agreement signed by Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg on 5 November 1955, which means it had already existed for three years when the Benelux Union was signed on 3 February 1958. The Benelux Parliament provides the governments with advice on economic and cross-frontier cooperation. Its recommendations may also concern other matters if common interests or current events so dictate. The parliament also keeps the three governments informed about the opinions that move in the parliamentary assemblies from which its members originate.[1]

In its session on 12 and 13 June 2009, the Benelux Parliament unanimously adopted a recommendation to modernise its way of working and to review the agreement signed between the three Benelux states.[2] After some years of discussions about the extension of the competences of the Benelux Parliament, a new agreement was signed on 20 January 2015.[3] It strengthened the right to interpellation and improved the parliament's ways of working. An extension of its competences to include a right of decision was not included. This new agreement changed the official name of the Parliament from the previous Benelux Interparliamentary Consultative Council to its current official name.

Members[edit]

The Benelux Parliament consists of 49 members: 21 Members of Parliament from Belgium, 21 from the Netherlands and 7 from Luxembourg. The 21 Belgian members are elected from amongst both Chambers of the Belgian Federal Parliament and by the Parliaments of the Communities and Regions of Belgium. The 21 Dutch members are elected from the Senate and House of Representatives of the States General of the Netherlands. The seven Luxembourg members are elected from amongst the Chamber of Deputies of Luxembourg. There is also one acting member for each of the 49 members, who can replace that member if necessary.[1]

The members of the Benelux Parliament are divided into four factions. The Christian faction includes members of the CD&V, the CSP and the N-VA from Belgium, the CDA, the CU and the NSC from the Netherlands, and the CSV and the ADR from Luxembourg. The socialist/green SGD/SVD faction (Dutch: Socialisten, Groenen en Democraten, French: Socialistes, Verts et Démocrates)[4] includes members of the PS and Ecolo-Groen from Belgium, GroenLinks, the PvdA, and the SP from the Netherlands, and The Greens and the LSAP from Luxembourg. The liberal faction includes members of the VLD and the MR from Belgium, the VVD and the D66 from the Netherlands, and the DP from Luxembourg. The VB and the PVDA-PTB from Belgium and the BBB, and the OPNL from the Netherlands are not part of any faction.[5] In the past, Vooruit from Belgium sat in the SGD/SVD faction and CDH from Belgium was in the Christian group,[6] while the FvD, JA21, and the PvdD from the Netherlands were not part of any group.[7]

List of members[edit]

As of February 2024.[8][5]

Name Country Chamber Party Group
Barbara Agostino  Luxembourg Chamber of Deputies DP Liberal
Fatimazhra Belhirch  Netherlands Senate D66 Liberal
Ilse Bezaan  Netherlands Senate PVV None
Theo Bovens  Netherlands Senate CDA Christian
Glimina Chakor  Netherlands House of Representatives GL SGD/SVD
Francine Closener  Luxembourg Chamber of Deputies LSAP SGD/SVD
Steven Coenegrachts  Belgium Flemish Parliament Open VLD Liberal
Patricia Creutz  Belgium Parliament of the German-speaking Community CSP Christian
Roberto D'Amico  Belgium Chamber of Representatives PVDA-PTB None
Johan Deckmyn  Belgium Flemish Parliament VB None
Daan de Kort  Netherlands House of Representatives VVD Liberal
Peter De Roover  Belgium Chamber of Representatives N-VA Christian
Wouter De Vriendt  Belgium Chamber of Representatives Groen SGD/SVD
Emile Eicher  Luxembourg Chamber of Deputies CSV Christian
Jeff Engelen  Luxembourg Chamber of Deputies ADR Christian
Yves Evrard  Belgium Parliament of the French Community MR Liberal
Jean-Philippe Florent  Belgium Parliament of Wallonia Ecolo SGD/SVD
Gusty Graas  Luxembourg Chamber of Deputies DP Liberal
Gwenaëlle Grovonius  Belgium Parliament of Wallonia PS SGD/SVD
Rik Janssen  Netherlands Senate SP SGD/SVD
Roelien Kamminga  Netherlands House of Representatives VVD Liberal
Saskia Kluit  Netherlands Senate GL SGD/SVD
Joris Nachtergaele  Belgium Flemish Parliament N-VA Christian
Mohammed Ouriaghli  Belgium Parliament of the French Community PS SGD/SVD
Amandine Pavet  Belgium Parliament of the French Community PVDA-PTB None
Benoît Piedboeuf  Belgium Chamber of Representatives MR Liberal
Anita Pijpelink  Netherlands House of Representatives PvdA SGD/SVD
Artie Ramsodit-de Graaf  Netherlands Senate PvdA SGD/SVD
Tinne Rombouts  Belgium Flemish Parliament CD&V Christian
Daniel Senesael  Belgium Chamber of Representatives PS SGD/SVD
Meris Sehovic  Luxembourg Chamber of Deputies DG SGD/SVD
Hendrik-Jan Talsma  Netherlands Senate CU Christian
Olivier Vajda  Belgium Chamber of Representatives Ecolo SGD/SVD
Pim van Ballekom  Netherlands Senate VVD Liberal
Thom van Campen  Netherlands House of Representatives VVD Liberal
Jef Van den Bergh  Belgium Chamber of Representatives CD&V Christian
Tim Vandenput  Belgium Chamber of Representatives Open VLD Liberal
Wim Van der Donckt  Belgium Chamber of Representatives N-VA Christian
Auke van der Groot  Netherlands Senate OPNL None
Lisa van Ginneken  Netherlands House of Representatives D66 Liberal
Alexander van Hattem  Netherlands Senate PVV None
Ton van Kesteren  Netherlands Senate PVV None
Karl Vanlouwe  Belgium Flemish Parliament N-VA Christian
Elly van Wijk  Netherlands Senate BBB None
Henk Vermeer  Netherlands House of Representatives BBB None
Hans Verreyt  Belgium Chamber of Representatives VB None
Geert Wilders  Netherlands House of Representatives PVV None
Femke Zeedijk-Raeven  Netherlands House of Representatives NSC Christian
Laurent Zeimet  Luxembourg Chamber of Deputies CSV Christian

Seat[edit]

The seat of the Benelux Parliament rotates among the cities of Brussels, The Hague and Luxembourg. Each of these cities hosts the plenary meetings of the Benelux Parliament for two consecutive years. The Benelux Parliament met in Luxembourg in 2013 and 2014, in Brussels in 2015 and 2016, and meets in The Hague in 2017 and 2018. The Secretariat of the Benelux Parliament is located in Brussels.

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Belgium:
      PS (3)
      Ecolo (2)
      Groen (1)
    Netherlands:
      GL (2)
      PvdA (2)
      SP (1)
    Luxembourg:
      LSAP (1)
      DG (1)
  2. ^ Belgium:
      N-VA (4)
      CD&V (2)
      CSP (1)
    Netherlands:
      NSC (1)
      CDA (1)
      CU (1)
    Luxembourg:
      CSV (2)
      ADR (1)
  3. ^ Belgium:
      MR (2)
      Open VLD (2)
    Netherlands:
      VVD (4)
      D66 (2)
    Luxembourg:
      DP (2)
  4. ^ Belgium:
      PVDA-PTB (2)
      VB (2)
    Netherlands:
      PVV (4)
      BBB (2)
      OPNL (1)
  5. ^ 10 Chamber of Representatives
    5 Flemish Parliament
    2 Parliament of the French Community
    2 Parliament of Wallonia
    1 Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region
    1 Parliament of the German-speaking Community
  6. ^ 12 House of Representatives
    9 Senate
  7. ^ 7 Chamber of Deputies

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Benelux Parliament Archived March 3, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, benelux-parliament.eu. Retrieved 2014-3-4.
  2. ^ Conseil interparlementaire consultatif du Benelux, Compte rendu in extenso des séances, Session 2009, Séances des vendredi 12 et samedi 13 juin 2009, SS. 37-45
  3. ^ Legixlux: Loi du 3 février 2018 portant approbation de la Convention entre le Royaume de Belgique, le Grand-Duché de Luxembourg et le Royaume des Pays-Bas concernant l’Assemblée Interparlementaire Benelux, fait à Bruxelles le 20 janvier 2015.
  4. ^ "Plenumvergaderingen van 6 en 7 december 2019" (PDF). p. 49.
  5. ^ a b "Politieke fracties". beneluxparl.eu (in Dutch). Benelux Parliament. 25 January 2024. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  6. ^ "Groupes politiques". Benelux parliament (in French). Archived from the original on 5 April 2019. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  7. ^ "Groupes politiques". Benelux parliament (in French). Archived from the original on 20 May 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  8. ^ "Ledenlijst". beneluxparl.eu (in Dutch). Benelux Parliament. Retrieved 6 February 2024.

External links[edit]