The Publieke Zaken annual review 2022 - From crisis to crisis

This busy year, in which the number of challenges increased, Lower House Speaker Vera Bergkamp describes as "a year of great events. For example, Ukrainian President Zelensky addressed the Lower House. Never before had a foreign head of state addressed the Dutch parliament. In addition, parliamentary history was again made in October by the suspension of [...]

The office at Hoge Nieuwstraat is officially open

After the opening by founder René Leegte, Gert-Jan Segers gave a short lecture to those in attendance. He addressed the current political developments in the field of nitrogen and energy. According to the party chairman of the Christian Union, there is a large gap between business and politics, which must be closed, by talking to each other [...]

Retrospective: Jan Anthonie Bruijn a guest at Publieke Zaken

On December 12, Publieke Zaken hosted its year-end meeting, which opened with a sharp column by Remco de Boer. As a speaker we welcomed Jan Anthonie Bruijn, the current president of the Senate and professor of immunopathology. Less well known, however, is that he has co-written several election programs of the VVD. That made for a fascinating lecture [...]

Minister Wiebes: climate policy is a project of a generation

Shortly before the Christmas vacations, the draft Climate Accord was presented, and on Jan. 17, EEZ Minister Eric Wiebes attended Publieke Zaken 's New Year's Meeting to present his views on climate policy. The meeting was introduced by well-known energy commentator Remco de Boer, who aptly described Wiebes' use of euphemisms: 'For ten months, [...]

Summer lecture by prime minister Mark Rutte

After an urgent migration summit in Malta, a Dutch "no" to Trump and a meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May, our Prime Minister Mark Rutte visited Publieke Zaken on July 4. Here he answered the question burning on everyone's lips: how did that visit to the White House really go? According to Rutte [...]

The energy transition: trust in each other and in the future

"This is not a cabinet of standing still," was how Gert-Jan Segers opened his lecture to some ninety interested people in a full Publieke Zaken office on Wednesday, Jan. 31. In his speech, the Christian Union leader looked ahead to the Climate and Energy Agreement to be concluded this year. Segers expressed his admiration for Minister Wiebes. "He has been able to [...]

Turning the budget inside out - Report from the Oct. 3 budget workshop

On Tuesday afternoon, October 3, a group of energy experts will gather in the atmospheric garden house of the Haagsche Kluis for a workshop on the budget. Aukje de Vries, spokesperson for Finance for the VVD in the Lower House, takes the audience through the budget cycle. Budgeting, why do we do it? 'Politicians are just like people,' says De Vries [...].

We look back on a successful and constructive election meeting!

Naturally, the theme was energy, sustainability and Climate. Remco de Boer (BNR/FD) kicked off the meeting with a sharp and hilarious column to warm up the audience (click here to read part of it back). For example, "the CDA was very disappointing in the Trump era, far too solid." Then Agnes Mulder (CDA) and [...]

In conversation with defense minister

On Tuesday, August 23, Defense Minister Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert was a guest at Publieke Zaken. The minister gave a brief introduction on the relationship between international security and energy. We also jointly looked ahead to the coming political year and the March 2017 elections. The geopolitical dynamics require more and more attention and increasingly [...]

Visit to Green Energy Park Dörpen

At the end of May, the team from Publieke Zaken visited the Green Energy Park in Dörpen with a number of partners. The Green Energy park is an international research project, where wind energy, solar energy, deep geothermal and hydropower come together. It is also the location where electricity comes in from the various German offshore wind farms. The [...]