GroenLinks wants a Drenthe parliamentary inquiry into the role of the Provincial Executive at Groningen Airport Eelde (GAE). The party strongly criticizes the actions of the province in response to a report by the Northern Court of Audit and wants to use the survey to get all the facts about decision-making about the airport on the table.
Party chairman Sam Pormes calls the findings of the Northern Court of Audit ‘disconcerting’. “I have rarely seen the Court of Auditors speak like this. We made a decision about the airport at the time on the basis of wrong information. We were misled,” he says. GroenLinks will therefore investigate the possibilities of a survey together with the Party for the Animals and the SP.
“It is about 46 million euros. That is people’s money. We cannot just let it happen,” says Pormes.
It is unclear whether there is a majority for such a survey in the Provincial Council. Because of BBB, with seventeen seats in the Drenthe Parliament, it is not certain how this party stands. “I assume that there will be a majority, because this is about a new governance culture,” says Pormes. Group chairman Gert-Jan Schuinder of BBB Drenthe could not be reached for a response last night.
Decisions on the future of the airport are currently being made. As far as GroenLinks is concerned, this will be ‘on hold’ until all information about previous decisions is above the table.
Pormes believes that a survey is necessary to clarify how decision-making has been made in the past. “The investigation by the Northern Court of Audit is sound. But what strikes me is that the Court of Audit has not received much information because many organizations and companies did not want to cooperate. They have not provided any or insufficient answers. I do not expect that we will get a debate with the Provincial Executive on the table.”
In the report of the Court of Audit, GroenLinks confirms its own earlier plea to end air traffic at the airport and to look for a new destination for the area.
In a reaction in the report, the Provincial Executive of Drenthe says that it cannot agree with the conclusion of the Northern Court of Audit. According to the provincial government, the analysis was done by leading agencies. The Drenthe provincial administrators also indicate that they have always kept the Provincial Council well informed. Pormes disputes this. “They have written a lot of letters, but what the social value of the airport is, for example, is not substantiated.”
“The reports of the Northern Court of Audit are always welcomed with open arms by the provincial government. But it is rare that the Provincial Executive does not recognize themselves in them. That is a plus for the Court of Audit, because it shows how independent it is. But it also says something about the interests at stake. The Provincial Executive denies the results. That means that I do not expect that we will get the information out in a debate,” continues Pormes.
Groningen Airport Eelde has not been heard about the report of the Northern Court of Audit and does not want to respond because it ‘regards decision-making in the past by the shareholders at the time’. “We agree with the reactions of the provinces of Drenthe and Groningen and are happy to discuss our strategy with the members of the Provincial Council and the new boards of the provinces of Drenthe and Groningen, which will be published before 1 May,” said Meiltje de Groot. , director of Groningen Airport Eelde.
The Northern Court of Audit recommends testing GAE’s new future plans for their feasibility. The Court of Audit also proposes that the Provincial Executive have an analysis carried out based on realistic assumptions.