Late submission, the minister who ignores the Council of State; the N-VA requests clarification before debating the pandemic law

Parliamentary group chairman Peter De Roover wants Minister of the Interior Verlinden to clarify a number of issues before starting the debate on the pandemic law. The latter did not request new advice from the Council of State, despite that being mandatory. Moreover, she submitted the text to the House too late.

Discussion of the pandemic law in the Committee on the Interior on Wednesday got off to a very bad start. First and foremost, there was absolute uncertainty as to when the final text was officially delivered to the House. Minister Verlinden stated publicly - via Twitter and press release - that the text had been submitted to the House on Monday. However, President of the House Tillieux (PS) stated today that the texts were delivered to the House on Tuesday afternoon.

Minister Verlinden does not respect procedures

Minister Verlinden is creating a dangerous precedent by equating the informal submission of a text, note bene by the CD&V group on Tuesday morning, with the formal submission of a bill signed by the King, says parliamentary group chairman Peter De Roover. “Procedures are not just there for the sake of form. In a democracy, these procedures protect the minority from abuse by the majority. This majority spoke grand words about a new political culture and dialogue when it took office, which now sounds very ironic.”

New elements, but no new advice from the Council of State

A second precedent set by this government is the submission of a bill without the advice of the Council of State. After all, the Council of State stated that if the government were to amend its draft bill with elements that did not follow from the advice of the Council, the government is obliged to obtain new advice. “A first reading of the text shows that several comments made by parliament and legal experts have been included in the text. New advice from the Council of State is therefore necessary,” Peter De Roover continues.

“This situation must first be cleared up for us, before we can have the debate. A minister cannot ignore the Council of State, certainly not in such important legislation,” Peter De Roover concludes.