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]

Benelux Interparliamentary Assembly

  • Benelux Interparlementaire Assemblee (Dutch)
  • Assemblée interparlementaire Benelux (French)
  • Interparlamentarische Versammlung der Benelux-Länder (German)
  • Benelux interparlamentaresch Versammlung (Luxembourgish)
Coat of arms or logo
Type
Type
Structure
Seats49 members
Political groups
  •   SGD/SVD (13) [a]
  •   Christian (14) [b]
  •   Liberal (11) [c]
  •   Unaffiliated (11) [d]
Meeting place
Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg
Website
beneluxparl.eu

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

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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

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As of July 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 Šehović   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 Goot   Netherlands Senate OPNL None
Olger van Dijk   Netherlands House of Representatives NSC Christian
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

Party groups

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The Benelux Parliament comprises the following party groups:

Name Ideology Political Group Benelux Parliament
Christian Group Christian democracy
Liberal conservatism
Conservatism
Centrism
EPP Group, ECR
14 / 49
Liberal Group Liberalism
Conservative liberalism
Classical liberalism
Social liberalism
Renew
11 / 49
Socialists, Greens and Democrats Social democracy
Green politics
Democratic socialism
GUE/NGL, Greens/EFA, S&D
13 / 49

Seat

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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

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  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 (2)
      CDA (1)
      CU (1)
    Luxembourg:
      CSV (2)
      ADR (1)
  3. ^ Belgium:
      MR (2)
      Open VLD (2)
    Netherlands:
      VVD (4)
      D66 (1)
    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

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  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. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 5 July 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 5 July 2024.
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