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
| |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 49 members
|
 | |
Political groups | |
| 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
editThe 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
editAs of July 2024[update].[8][5]
Party groups
editThe 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
editThe 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- ^
Belgium:
PS (3)
Ecolo (2)
Groen (1)
Netherlands:
GL (2)
PvdA (2)
SP (1)
Luxembourg:
LSAP (1)
DG (1)
- ^
Belgium:
N-VA (4)
CD&V (2)
CSP (1)
Netherlands:
NSC (2)
CDA (1)
CU (1)
Luxembourg:
CSV (2)
ADR (1)
- ^
Belgium:
MR (2)
Open VLD (2)
Netherlands:
VVD (4)
D66 (1)
Luxembourg:
DP (2)
- ^
Belgium:
PVDA-PTB (2)
VB (2)
Netherlands:
PVV (4)
BBB (2)
OPNL (1)
- ^
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 - ^
12 House of Representatives
9 Senate - ^ 7 Chamber of Deputies
References
edit- ^ a b Benelux Parliament Archived March 3, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, benelux-parliament.eu. Retrieved 2014-3-4.
- ^ 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
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Plenumvergaderingen van 6 en 7 december 2019" (PDF). p. 49.
- ^ a b "Politieke fracties". beneluxparl.eu (in Dutch). Benelux Parliament. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
- ^ "Groupes politiques". Benelux parliament (in French). Archived from the original on 5 April 2019. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
- ^ "Groupes politiques". Benelux parliament (in French). Archived from the original on 20 May 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
- ^ "Ledenlijst". beneluxparl.eu (in Dutch). Benelux Parliament. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
External links
edit
Media related to Benelux Parliament at Wikimedia Commons- Official website of the Benelux Parliament
