There was a lot of discussion in the town hall of Loon op Zand about how the municipality should deal with the Efteling during the corona pandemic. Some officials felt that the municipality should treat the amusement park the same as other companies, but most were willing to think along with Efteling. This is what public administration expert Julien van Ostaaijen notices in the documents that the municipality released at the request of Omroep Brabant. According to him, Efteling pushed the limits of the law and the municipality also thought along with it.
The municipality of Loon op Zand has been creative with the rules during the corona pandemic. Catering establishments and terraces were closed, while additional terraces were allowed to be installed in the Efteling. A supermarket does not fit into the zoning plan, so officials will come up with another name. Everything to help Efteling. This is evident from more than 200 emails and other documents that the municipality of Loon op Zand has made public at the request of Omroep Brabant.
“In theory, of course, everyone is equal before the law.”
Julien van Ostaaijen is a public administration expert at Avans University of Applied Sciences and Tilburg University. “In theory, of course, everyone is equal before the law. This also applies to those types of organizations and companies. It is up to all governments to monitor this. However, in practice you know that things can sometimes work slightly differently,” he says.
“Municipalities, for example, have a limited number of extraordinary investigating officers. Where do you send those boas? Do you give priority to the small or large catering industry? In practice, you always make choices that can cause some inequality,” he says. “Everyone will say that Efteling is a different kind of company than the local pub. But the question is whether the corona rules were applied in the same way.”
“Some officials really speak out against what is happening in Efteling.”
Van Ostaaijen noticed in the documents that there was a lot of discussion within the municipality. “Some officials really speak out against what is happening in Efteling. Others seem to have less difficulty with this and are more likely to think along: what can we do within the current rules, so that an important company like Efteling can remain open as normally as possible?”
The public administration expert further says: “The government, just like every resident, must adhere to the laws and regulations. This also applies to civil servants and administrators. What is possible is to think along in the gray space that exists with all laws and regulations.”
“Efteling has the advantage that there is only one of them and not thousands.”
In November 2021, it was mandatory to do a corona check with QR code in cinemas, theaters and catering establishments and on terraces. At Efteling it was not mandatory to show a QR code at the entrance and the QR code was only asked in a number of eateries.
At the time, the municipality stood up for the amusement park. The municipal spokesperson emphasized that everything in Efteling is an attraction, including the Fabula film performance. “The 4D cinema is not a cinema. The only similarity is a film on a canvas. The definition of a cinema is much more than that.”
Van Ostaaijen says about this: “I think that many companies at that time pushed the boundaries of the law. Efteling has the advantage that there is only one of them and not thousands, like in a pub. Then you are more likely to ask for an exceptional position. If the judge has not yet made clear statements about this, the question is to what extent others are willing to go along with it. And the municipality has wanted to do that to a certain extent.”
“You can always go to court if you think the law has been broken.”
When asked whether a catering entrepreneur can go to court if he feels unfairly treated, Van Ostaaijen says: “You can always go to court if you believe that the law has been broken. But it is legally very difficult to say whether the municipality was wrong.”
“The Efteling will say: we are a different kind of company than the local catering industry in Kaatsheuvel. It is an amusement park with more facilities than in a normal catering establishment. The question is whether that is legally tenable. We don’t know, it is currently one opinion versus another,” the public administration expert concludes.
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