The House of Representatives will immediately abolish most of the remaining corona measures and will meet again in the normal way. All MPs are again allowed to be present during voting and the ushers will no longer clean the microphone and the lectern after each speaker. This has been decided by the executive committee of the House, the Presidium.
Chamber president Bergkamp writes in a letter to all MPs that not all measures will disappear yet. Visitors will not be able to attend committee meetings again in the small rooms of the House of Representatives until after the May recess.
In those small rooms, space must first be made for the public, by changing the meeting set-up. During the corona crisis, the MPs were one and a half meters away from each other.
No renovation is required in the plenary hall, so all restrictions there will be lifted with immediate effect.
Roll-call votes
The changes also mean that roll-call votes, where everyone has to shout ‘for’ or ‘against’, no longer has to vote in groups of 50. All 150 MPs may again be present at the same time.
In her letter, Bergkamp writes that she is happy that the House can return to normal, but she does insist that politicians take each other into account, especially people with vulnerable health. “The coronavirus is not gone,” she emphasizes.
Next Wednesday, the last mandatory corona measures in our country, such as the mouth cap in public transport, will expire. They are converted into advice.
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