Ministry of Economic Affairs (Netherlands)

Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy
Template:Lang-nl
	Logo of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy
	; Building of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy
Department overview
Formed	17 August 1905; 119 years ago
Jurisdiction	Kingdom of the Netherlands
Headquarters	Bezuidenhoutseweg 73, The Hague, Netherlands
Annual budget	€5,2 billion (2018)
Minister responsible	Eric Wiebes, Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy;
Deputy Minister responsible	Mona Keijzer, State Secretary for Economic Affairs and Climate Policy;
Department executive	Maarten Camps, Secretary-General;
Website	Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy (Template:Lang-nl; EZK) is the Dutch Ministry responsible for Commercial policy, International trade, Industrial policy, Investment policy, Technology policy, Energy policy, Nuclear energy policy, Renewable energy policy, Environmental policy, Climate change policy, Natural resources, Mining, Space policy and Tourism Affairs.

The Ministry was created in 1905 as the Ministry of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce and has had several name changes before it became the Ministry of Economic Affairs in 1946. In 2010 the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality was merged with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and was renamed as the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation. In 2012 the name was reverted as the Ministry of Economic Affairs but kept the responsibilities of the former Ministry of Agriculture. In 2017 the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality was reinstated but the Ministry of Economic Affairs took on several of the Environmental policies portfolios from the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment, which was renamed as the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management. The Ministry of Economic Affairs renamed as the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy.

The Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy (Template:Lang-nl) is the head of the Ministry and a member of the Cabinet of the Netherlands. The current Minister is Eric Wiebes, who has been in office since 26 October 2017.^[2]

Organisation

The Ministry has currently five Government Agencies and several Directorates:

		Responsibilities
Foreign Investment Agency (Template:Lang-nl)	BIB	International trade
Space Office	NSO	Space agency
Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (Template:Lang-nl)	CPB	Economic analysis
Central Agency for Statistics (Template:Lang-nl)	CBS	Statistical services
Patent Office (Template:Lang-nl)	OCN	Patent office

Mission

The mission of the Ministry is to "promote sustainable economic growth in the Netherlands." It focuses on the key areas of "Knowledge economy and innovation," "Competition and dynamic" and "Room to do business."

Organization

The political responsibility of the ministry is in the hands of the Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy who is part of the Dutch Cabinet. A Deputy Minister, called the State Secretary, serves as the second-in-command to the Minister.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy has also a civil service department, led by the Secretary-General and Deputy Secretary-General. The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy consists of four Directorates-General: Foreign Economic Relations, Economic Policy, Energy and Telecom, and Enterprise and Innovation. There are also some support departments.

Litigation

In June 2015, the Hague District Court found that the Ministry was unlawfully violating its duty of care under the European Convention on Human Rights by failing to adequately address climate change and ordered the government to reduce green house gas emissions.^[3] Instead, the Ministry appealed to the Hague Court of Appeal, which ruled against the Ministry in October 2018.^[4] The Ministry has appealed to the Supreme Court of the Netherlands, where the court's Advocate and Procurator Generals have recommenced it rule against the Ministry.^[5]

References

^ (in Dutch) Begroting 2018, Rijksoverheid
^ "VVD'er Eric Wiebes moet economische groei gaan combineren met Parijsdoelen" (in Dutch). NOS. 23 October 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
^ Note (May 2019). "Recent Case: Hague Court of Appeal Requires Dutch Government to Meet Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions By 2020" (PDF). Harvard Law Review. 132: 2090.
^ Verschuuren, Jonathan (April 2019). "The Hague Court of Appeal upholds judgment requiring the Netherlands to further reduce its greenhouse gas emissions". Review of European, Comparative & International Environmental Law. 28 (1): 94–98. doi:10.1111/reel.12280.
^ "Urgenda Foundation v. State of the Netherlands". Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School. Retrieved 25 November 2019.

External links

(in Dutch) Ministerie van Economische Zaken en Klimaat Rijksoverheid.nl

[1] (in Dutch) Begroting 2018, Rijksoverheid

[2] "VVD'er Eric Wiebes moet economische groei gaan combineren met Parijsdoelen" (in Dutch). NOS. 23 October 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2018.

[3] Note (May 2019). "Recent Case: Hague Court of Appeal Requires Dutch Government to Meet Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions By 2020" (PDF). Harvard Law Review. 132: 2090.

[4] Verschuuren, Jonathan (April 2019). "The Hague Court of Appeal upholds judgment requiring the Netherlands to further reduce its greenhouse gas emissions". Review of European, Comparative & International Environmental Law. 28 (1): 94–98. doi:10.1111/reel.12280.

[5] "Urgenda Foundation v. State of the Netherlands". Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School. Retrieved 25 November 2019.

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