Flemish MPs no longer allowed to read from notes in Parliament

Flemish MPs no longer allowed to read from notes in Parliament
President of the Flemish Parliament Freya van den Bossche during a plenary session of the Flemish Parliament on 15 January 2025. Credit: Belga / Dirk Waem

From now on, members of the Flemish Parliament will no longer be allowed to read their speeches from a piece of paper during plenary meetings. Freya Van den Bossche (Vooruit), the new chair of the Parliament, proposed the now-approved measure.

Parliamentary rules have already mentioned that the members coming forward with questions and the ministers responding are not allowed to read from notes or mobile phones. However, this rule has not been strictly enforced in recent years.

Some members made a point by not using any papers, while others read fully pre-written texts. Ministers often received updates via smartphones when supplementary questions were posed. The new chair intends to end this practice.

During the first questioning, MP Roosmarijn Beckers (Vlaams Belang) followed the rule when questioning Zuhal Demir (N-VA). Less than an hour later, however, Fourat Ben Chikha (Groen) disregarded the rule.

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