Press

The Communications Department serves as the press and media office, and acts as media representative for the House of Representatives, the President, the Presidium, parliamentary committees and the administrative management. It also provides facilities for journalists.

The Communications Department can be reached via the general telephone number +31 70 3183003 and e-mail address persvoorlichting@tweedekamer.nl.

Accreditation

Journalists who need to be in the House of Representatives for  their work must apply for accreditation via the Communications Department. The conditions for accreditation are described in the accreditation policy. A copy can also be obtained from the Communications Department.

Recording guidelines for journalists

There are guidelines for audiovisual recordings/photography by journalists in the building of the House of Representatives. A copy can also be obtained from the Communications Department. These guidelines also apply to journalists who use their own equipment (e.g. smartphone) to make recordings or take photographs.

Press releases

Press releases and press invitations to events are distributed by email and published on www.tweedekamer.nl/nieuws/persberichten. The Communications Department has a distribution list, to which journalists can be added on request. Applications for inclusion on the distribution list can be sent to persvoorlichting@tweedekamer.nl.

Information about parliamentary sittings

• Journalists with questions about the schedule of parliamentary sittings can contact the Communications Department.
• Information about the plenary agenda and committee meetings is available on the Dutch website.
• The Debat Direct app makes it possible to follow sittings in the House of Representatives live on a smartphone or tablet. Debat Direct is available to download for iOS, Android and Windows 10 devices. Debat Direct is also available from the House of Representatives website.
• Debat Gemist (Missed Debate) makes it possible to catch up on previous parliamentary sittings. Debat Gemist is available from the House of Representatives website.

Reports on parliamentary sittings

The report of the current sitting is updated throughout the day on the website www.tweedekamer.nl/kamerstukken/plenaire_verslagen. The officially adopted verbatim reports of all plenary sittings are posted in Dutch as ‘Handelingen’ at www.overheid.nl under ‘parlementaire stukken’ (parliamentary documents).

Documents for parliamentary committees

If public, any memoranda and letters that ministers send to parliamentary committees for information purposes or for a committee meeting can be found on the website www.tweedekamer.nl. Copies of any documents sent to committees by third parties (with the exception of private individuals) can be requested from the Communications Department unless the sender has indicated that the letter is confidential.

Written contributions from parliamentary groups and plenary contributions by spokespersons, for reports, etc. can be requested from the information departments of the separate parliamentary groups. The contact details of the different parliamentary groups can be found at www.tweedekamer.nl/kamerleden_en_commissies/fracties.

Parliamentary documents

Official parliamentary documents, reports and verbatim reports of parliamentary proceedings can be found via www.officielebekendmakingen.nl.

Parliamentary Press Association

Parliamentary journalists can become members of the Parliamentary Press Association (Parlementaire Persvereniging, PPV). The PPV has its own committee that decides who can be admitted to the association. The general criterion is that a journalist must primarily be engaged in parliamentary or political reporting.

Membership application forms are available from the PPV chairperson Joost Vullings (joost.vullings@eenvandaag.nl).