Plenary Flemish Parliament temporarily suspended: “Minister Brouns has not correctly informed parliament about service vouchers” | Domestic

What is it about? This afternoon, Minister of Economy and Work Jo Brouns was asked questions in the Flemish Parliament about the unrest in the service voucher sector. In response to a question from Vooruit MP Thijs Verbeurgt, the CD&V minister noted that he has repeatedly urged his federal colleague from Werk Pierre-Yves Dermagne for the reports of federal inspections in the sector. “We have been asking that repeatedly. I still don’t get it,” he said.

Vooruit MP Thijs Verbeurgt says that he has now been able to view an exchange of letters which shows that Dermagne had indeed delivered those reports to Minister Brouns. According to Verbeurgt, the CD&V minister has “not informed parliament correctly”. He asked that the minister be requested to provide explanations.

Majority parties CD&V and Open VLD responded negatively to the request. For example, CD&V faction leader Peter Van Rompuy called the requisition “unnecessary”. According to him, Verbeurgt can safely obtain clarification through a written question to the minister. Open VLD faction leader Willem-Frederik Schiltz accused Vooruit of “putting on a show. “I am in favor of a strict right of control by parliament. But that is something different than turning this parliament into a circus,” he said.

Groen was willing to listen to Vooruit’s question and at the request of Stijn Bex, the hearing was temporarily suspended. But the request for requisition was ultimately rejected.