It was a recurring event that gradually became uncomfortable: the members of the House of Representatives and the Senate and of the European Parliament, as well as the press and other Binnenhof residents, who went to skewer in the courtyard of the House on the first Thursday of July. Nieuwspoort press center. Usually packed tightly, holding the plates uncomfortably high, anxiously hoping not to stain. The parliamentarians are wary of photographers, who aim for pictures of a wide-open mouth in which a piece of meat disappears.
This barbecue has been offered for decades by the Dutch Poultry Processing Industry (Nepluvi), the Central Organization for the Meat Sector (COV) and the Association for the Dutch Meat Industry (VNV). This makes it a lobby event for processors of chicken, pig and cattle meat.
In 2020 and 2021, the barbecue was canceled due to corona. In previous editions, the interest seemed to wane, not all MPs wanted to be seen at an event of the meat processing industry. In recent years, an alternative barbecue with purely vegetarian dishes has been held on the square, 100 meters away. This year the question would be whether MPs wanted to be celebrated by the agricultural industry, the same sector that contributes to the fact that some of them cannot safely walk on the street or are attacked at home. Gert-Jan Oplaat, former MP for the VVD who recently announced that he would switch to the BoerBurgerBeweging, is chairman of Nepluvi.
According to Dé van de Riet, spokesperson for the COV, the renovation of the Binnenhof is the real reason that the barbecue is canceled this year. Nieuwspoort, which is part of the Binnenhof complex, cannot provide full facilities due to the renovation.
The menu usually includes skewers of beef and veal, pork and chicken satay, lamb chops, drumsticks, rib of beef, roast veal, duck breast fillet, sausages, small burgers, cold cuts and pulled pork sandwiches, supplemented with vegetable skewers, salads, raw vegetables and fresh fruit. ‘We are not here to promote meat,’ says Van de Riet. ‘Even the vegetables are better with us, the whole slice of five comes along.’
According to the spokesperson, the meat processing industry ‘intends to continue this beautiful tradition next year’. Nieuwspoort will soon move to the temporary accommodation of the House of Representatives on Bezuidenhoutseweg. An outdoor barbecue is not possible there. The spokesperson: ‘Then it will be a buffet.’
Esther Ouwehand of the Party for the Animals speaks of fantastic news. “This can now definitely become a relic of the past.” Incidentally, the alternative barbecue also skips a turn. It was held on the Plein, which has been partially fenced off due to the renovation.