After Cora van Nieuwenhuizen resigned from her ministerial position and became a lobbyist, incl. Shell, Vattenfall and Gazprom, some political parties in the Netherlands want a ban on lobbying for former members of the government, the media inform.
The former minister is now expected to earn a quarter of a million euros a month, according to the daily De Telegraaf.
Until last week, Van Nieuwenhuizen was the minister of infrastructure and water management. She has resigned from the position she held in the office of Prime Minister Marek Rutte since 2017 and from October 1 she will become the head of Vereniging Energie-Nederland, an association of energy companies such as Shell, RWE, Vattenfall, BP and Gazprom.
Two years ago, the then minister announced that she would run for the position of Liberal Leader (VVD) and would like to replace Rutte.
The departure of Minister van Nieuwenhuizen is a symbol of the collapse of the political class
—The most popular Dutch daily, De Telegraaf, commented on its transition to the energy sector. According to the newspaper’s findings, the former minister is to earn 250,000. euro per month for two working days per week.
The Liberal VVD shows that it disregards any form of ethics
—Evaluates the capital’s daily Het Parool and calls for a 10-year ban on lobbying for former members of the government.
Both the opposition and some of the coalition parties voted in favor of tightening the regulations. The Labor Party (PvdA), the Socialist Party (SP), the right-wing JA21 and the coalition Social Liberals (D66) want former ministers to follow similar rules as former MEPs, informs the daily De Volkskrant.
MEPs are not allowed to work in the industry they dealt with in the European Parliament for 18 months after the expiry of their mandate, the newspaper recalls.
kk / PAP
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