The parliamentary Corona committee was in Breda on Thursday and Friday for discussions with residents and entrepreneurs about the corona pandemic. Several MPs spoke with catering entrepreneurs, event management students from the BUas and boas who enforced the rules during the corona period. The most important question: can the Netherlands be better prepared for the next crisis?
The committee is led by VVD MP Daan de Kort from Eindhoven. Together with his fellow committee members, he investigates how choices were made during the corona crisis and whether there was a good balance between public health and other social interests. “We want to learn from what went well and what didn’t,” says De Kort. “Because the question is not whether there will be a new pandemic, flood or crisis, but when.”
Brabant as the starting point of corona
For De Kort, the working visit to Breda was the first official meeting since the House of Representatives elections. With the arrival of a new parliament, many committee members replaced each other, but De Kort was re-elected as chairman. “I am happy that I can continue to do this. We are helping the Netherlands to prepare better and contact with the residents during these working visits is very important.”
The committee came to Breda, partly because Brabant in our country was the place where the crisis began. “And it was nice to show Brabant hospitality to my new colleagues from The Hague,” laughs De Kort.
18 million stories
In Breda, the committee spoke with various groups that were at the center of practice during the corona measures. Boas talked about their experiences with checks on corona admission tickets. Catering entrepreneurs spoke about the impact of long-term closures. “There are actually 18 million corona stories and they all make an impact,” says the chairman. “You hear what decisions mean for students who suddenly cannot obtain a diploma, do an internship or entrepreneurs who have lost a family business that was with them for generations.”
According to De Kort, all these stories tell how the decisions were made and how they were received in society. “It wasn’t just policy on paper; we want to hear what it felt like in daily practice.”
What happens with this research?
The conversations in Breda are part of a larger process. Public hearings are expected to start in June. “The decision-makers at the time must be held accountable under oath for the choices made, such as the curfew and the corona proof.”
After the public hearings, the committee wants to publish a report with lessons for future crises. De Kort expects the report to be ready in about a year. This should state what the Netherlands must do, or not do, in the event of the next pandemic or other major disaster.