Discourse Analysis Natural Gas Extraction Groningen
At the request of the House of Representatives, CPG staff contributed to the parliamentary inquiry report on natural gas extraction Groningen. Researchers Alexander van Kessel, Jan Willem Brouwer, Jonne Harmsma, Lennart Steenbergen and Lennert Savenije examined the various 'discourses' that played a role during the history of gas extraction between 1959 and 2022. The final report containing this discourse analysis was presented on 24 February 2023. The report can be found here.
Evaluations of Government Formations
Since 2012, the formation procedure has changed and the House of Representatives is in charge. Since then, at the request of the House, evaluation committees have been investigating the course of successive formations. Members of the CPG always participated in these committees.
Commissioned by the Presidium of the House of Representatives, the 2021 government (‘cabinet’) formation was evaluated. The committee consists of Prof C.C. van Baalen (Chairperson), Prof P.P.T. Bovend'Eert, Prof M.J.W. van Twist and Dr A. van Kessel, CPG Researcher. The research is based on multiple interviews with people involved in the government formation and includes analyses of some of the issues of the 2021 government formation. Previously, the CPG also conducted evaluations of government formations: reports on the 2017 and 2012 formations were published.
Advice 2021
The report, presented on 23 February 2023, also makes recommendations to improve the formation process. The evaluation committee advises the House of Representatives to conduct its own debate on what it understands by the governing function during the formation. The committee's interviews revealed that the politicians involved hold rather different, sometimes widely divergent, views on this. A successful formation benefits from confidentiality, according to the committee. Disclosure of all confidential documents from the start of the 2021 formation was, therefore, a false start to cabinet formation. The committee also recommends appointing only one scout in future and not two, as happened in March 2021.
The 2021 report can be accessed here.
Lisbon Treaty Review
On Wednesday, 3 December 2014, the Lisbon Treaty Evaluation report was presented in the House of Representatives. The House of Representatives commissioned this report by Radboud University in Nijmegen. The report was presented to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Anouchka van Miltenburg, as part of 'Five Years After Lisbon'.
The final report, titled 'Engaging with Europe: Evaluating National Parliamentary Control of EU Decision-Making After the Lisbon Treaty' states that since the Lisbon Treaty entered into force, the House of Representatives has actively embraced the additional opportunities that the treaty provides for national parliaments to scrutinise new legislative proposals from the European Commission. This has resulted in increased attention to European regulations in national parliaments, making them more visible at the European level. However, concrete influence on European decision-making has been very limited over the past five years, as many other considerations play a role at the European level.
Research Team
The research team conducted interviews with parliamentarians and their staff across Europe, looking for examples of parliamentary activity after 'Lisbon'. The aim was to formulate recommendations for the House of Representatives to strengthen its grip on European decision-making. The 'Engaging with Europe' report resulted in three recommendations: be selective, work together, and simplify existing mechanisms.
The following members formed the research team:
- Dr Ellen Mastenbroek (Public Administration, Radboud University Nijmegen, Coordinator)
- Professor Carla van Baalen and Dr Hilde Reiding (Centre for Parliamentary History, Radboud University Nijmegen)
- Professor Paul Bovend'Eert (Constitutional Law, Radboud University Nijmegen)
- Nora Dörrenbächer, MSc (Economics, Radboud University Nijmegen)
- Dr Wim van Meurs (Political History, Radboud University Nijmegen)
- Professor Christine Neuhold (Political Science, Maastricht University)
- Professor Henri de Waele (International and European Law, Radboud University Nijmegen)
- Dr Pieter Zwaan (Public Administration, Radboud University Nijmegen)
More Information
The relevant final report is available for download (in both Dutch and English). You can send an email to cpg [at] ru.nl to request it.
