Appointing the delegation
The Netherlands delegation consists of 12 members and 12 alternates. Six municipal members and six alternates are nominated by the Association of Dutch Municipalities (VNG), and six provincial members and six alternates are nominated by the Inter-Provincial Consultation (IPO). The formal proposal is made by the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations.
Other useful information
The Netherlands delegation has a chair and a vice-chair who represent the delegation. The chair and vice-chair are appointed for a period of two and a half years. At the beginning of the (five-year) term of the Committee of the Regions, a municipal chair and a provincial vice-chair are appointed. A provincial chair and municipal vice-chair are appointed after two and a half years (half way through the Committee of the Regions' term of office).
The Netherlands delegation has two coordinators, one appointed by the VNG and the other by the IPO. The coordinators are responsible for organising the work in consultation.
The Netherlands delegation has chosen to give alternates a full role. This means that Dutch alternates are permanently appointed to one of the CoR's specialist commissions. Dutch members are active in only one commission and are permanently represented on the second commission by an alternate.
The Netherlands delegation draws up an annual work programme with a list of key themes and priority dossiers. The list is based on the annual work programme of the European Commission, the CoR work programme and the annual priority list of the VNG and the IPO. The members and alternates work on the priority themes and dossiers in the various commissions and the CoR plenary assembly.