Prime Minister and officials must leave Binnenhof buildings by Sept. 18: Hague mayor
Prime Minister Dick Schoof and all remaining officials at the Ministry of General Affairs must leave the Binnenhof by September 18, the municipality of The Hague said on Monday. The fire hazard amid the renovations of the Hague square - the heart of national politics in the Netherlands - is too great to permit the Prime Minister and his officials to keep working there.
“The limit has been reached. There is no room to postpone the moment when the Binnenhof must be completely empty. A fire in the heart of The Hague is unacceptable and unimaginable,” Mayor Jan van Zanen of The Hague said.
The Ministry of General Affairs is the only building still occupied on the Binnenhof, which is undergoing major renovations. All other Ministries and politicians vacated their usual offices three years ago. Schoof and his officials were supposed to already have moved to the Ministry of Home Affairs and later to the Ministry of Economic Affairs. That has not happened yet because the digital security at Home Affairs is not up to the standards of protecting State secrets.
Van Zanen said that he understood the importance of protecting state secrets, but that can not come at the expense of officials’ safety. “The reasons given by the owner and user of the building to allow for longer use again are compelling, but should also have been grounds in recent years to do everything possible to meet the deadlines that were known,” Van Zanen said, stressing that the deadlines to leave were communicated repeatedly.
Keeping part of the Binnenhof occupied is also slowing the renovation process due to the measures needed to keep the civil servants safe. “Everything must be focused on ensuring that the work can be carried out as quickly as possible,” Van Zanen said.
Schoof’s Ministry must vacate the Binnenhof by September 18 at the latest, the municipality said. If they fail to do so, The Hague will fine the owner of the building - the Rijksvastgoedbedrijf - 100,000 euros per week of violation, up to a maximum of 1 million euros.
