Interparliamentary Kingdom Consultation (IPKO) concluded

THE HAGUE - The Interparliamentary Kingdom Consultation (IPKO) has ended. Delegations of the States General, the Dutch Senate and the House of Representatives and of the Parliaments of Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten met under the leadership of the chairman of the permanent committee for Kingdom Relations of the House of Representatives, Mariëlle Paul, about important topics affecting all countries of the Kingdom.  

 

 

The central themes this time were: the unsolicited advice of the Council of State of the Kingdom on the Kingdom, treaties and Union law, consensus kingdom laws, cooperation within the Kingdom and democratic deficit, and colonialism and the history of slavery.  

 

Program and appointment list  

 

The consultation started on Tuesday 27 September with an opening meeting in the plenary room of the Senate. Representatives of the Caribbean States delegations and the delegation leader of the States General delegation, Paul Rosenmöller (GroenLinks), gave a presentation on recent developments in the four countries.  

 

In the afternoon the meeting continued in the House of Representatives, with the unsolicited advice of the Council of State of the Kingdom and the subject of Consensus Acts on the agenda.  

 

On Wednesday, September 28, the participants reflected on cooperation within the Kingdom and the democratic deficit, as well as colonialism and the history of slavery.  

 

On Thursday 29 September, a working visit was made to the Floriade on the theme of food safety and sustainability. That day there was also input from researchers from Wageningen University Research.  

 

The interparliamentary consultations ended on Friday 30 September with the adoption and signing of the appointment list and a joint press conference of the chairmen of the four delegations.  

 

About the IPKO  

 

The IPKO takes place once every six months, usually in January in one of the Caribbean countries of the Kingdom and in May/June in The Hague. During the semi-annual IPKO meeting, the parliaments of the Netherlands, Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten exchange information about current themes that affect the countries of the Kingdom. 




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