Late on Wednesday evening, the Flemish Parliament approved the establishment of a commission of inquiry for the dossier of PFOS pollution in and around Zwijndrecht. It has only happened once before that such a drastic step has been taken at the Flemish level.
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Last week, Flemish Minister for the Environment Zuhal Demir (N-VA) called for the establishment of the committee. The opposition immediately took the initiative. The majority parties initially did not agree with this, but Open Vld was the first to tack. In the meantime, all parties are in favor of the establishment.
This is also necessary, because the government was barely able to defend itself against questions from the opposition during the current debate on Wednesday. Mobility Minister Lydia Peeters (Open VLD) had to admit that until a week ago she had never heard of the controversial settlement between 3M and Lantis.
“How is it possible that a minister who took over the responsibility for Mobility almost two years ago now comes to say that she was not informed?” sneered Groen party leader Björn Rzoska. PvdA member Jos D’Haese brought out a contaminated egg – “full of nonsense” – and rebuked the government that the “population is no longer allowed to eat it. Otherwise they might have given it to their children.” Vlaams Belang party leader Chris Janssens speaks of “guilty omission”.
While the government is working on the steps to be taken to protect the population now, the Commission of Inquiry will mainly focus on the past of the file. It should become clear next week who will sit on the committee and how they will handle matters. It is certain that many politicians will pass in review. Exactly how much will depend on how far back the commission goes. In any case, the list of politicians who have been empowered in one way or another in recent years is long.
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