Parliament censures entire far-right FvD faction over integrity issues
The Tweede Kamer voted on Tuesday to suspend Forum for Democracy MPs Thierry Baudet, Freek Jansen, and Gidion van Meijeren for a week for failing to report their additional activities outside their roles in the lower house of the Dutch parliament. These activities are required to be registered in a specific registry.
The suspension means that all three MPs are not allowed to participate in debates for one week, although they are still allowed to vote on laws and motions. They represent the entire FvD faction in the Tweede Kamer since the parliamentary elections in November 2023.
The sanction was proposed by the lower house's integrity committee. The three FvD members have been in management positions at a meal delivery company since December 2022.
The committee has repeatedly confronted the MPs for not complying with the rules, Nu.nl reported on Tuesday. They were requested to provide a response and explanation, but no feedback was received from Baudet, Jansen, and Van Meijeren. Due to their refusal to cooperate, the council recommended a harsher punishment, noting that they had "not or insufficiently" realized the importance of adhering to the rules.
"The suspension of our MPs is nothing less than an insult to the voter and a harsh undermining of the election results and democracy,” Forum for Democracy wrote in a statement. “We must never accept that a majority of parties decides that a democratic minority cannot be heard in the country's most important chamber.”
This marks the second suspension for Baudet due to non-compliance with integrity rules. In October 2023, the far-right leader was also suspended for failing to disclose additional job functions.
