Parliamentary committee of the Dutch parliament



A parliamentary committee is a committee set up by the House of Representatives or the Senate for a specific substantive or procedural subject. The committees consult in so-called committee meetings.

Standing committees
A standing committee is a committee set up to monitor a policy area of a ministry. They are defined in the Rules of Procedure of the House of Representatives (Netherlands). Standing committees were established in 1953 to relieve the plenary of overly detailed discussions. In 1980 the House of Representatives had 30 permanent and 60 special committees.

In the period from the 2023 Dutch general election, there are a total of fifteen standing committees. Except for the Ministry of General Affairs, there is a permanent committee for each ministry that deals with subjects in the field of that ministry. For some ministries, the portfolio is divided over several committees. In addition, there are standing committees without a ministry for European Affairs and Digital Affairs.

Temporary committees


Temporary committees differ from general committees in that they have a precisely defined mission. As soon as that assignment has been carried out, i.e. as soon as the committee has issued a report and this has been discussed in the House of Representatives, the committee will cease to exist.
 * Parliamentary inquiry into the approach to the corona pandemic
 * Parliamentary inquiry into natural gas extraction Groningen