Monday, September 16th, 17:15

How Princess Laurentien got involved in a sensitive government task and no one intervened

• Judith Pennarts
• Investigative Editors | Nieuwsuur

• Renee van Hest
• Investigative Editors

With all good intentions, Princess Laurentien threw herself into the recovery operation of the Allowance affair. First as a mediator, later as founder and chairman of a foundation that set up alternative claims treatment for victims.

In doing so, her foundation is carrying out a government task. And that's where the problems start: as a member of the Royal House, it is not she who is responsible, but the cabinet and ultimately the Prime Minister. The prime minister must be able to account for any misjudgment or mistake that Laurentien makes to parliament.

Nieuwsuur investigated how the cabinet dealt with Princess Laurentien's responsibilities. Did no one estimate that activities in such a political and explosive case by a princess could harm the cabinet and thus the monarchy? How has that been dealt with? How did the assignment to Laurentien come about? And what about the transparency in Princess Laurentien's work?

Continued engagement

It is not the prime minister, but Secretary of State for Fees Aukje de Vries (VVD) who took responsibility for Laurentien's work last year. She informs former Prime Minister Mark Rutte about this and confirms that he agrees with her.

The Ministry of General Affairs is still sticking to this line. On questions from News Hour refers the ministry of the new Prime Minister Dick Schoof to the Ministry of Finance: “The responsibility for the policy concerning the recovery operation and the use of SGH (Foundation (Equality) worthy Recovery (ed.) in this regard lies with the Secretary of State for Finance.”

Laurentien has now resigned from her work as chairman of SGH after continued criticism. Several officials reported about the princess's attitude, which would have crossed borders. However, with her retirement, the cold is not out of the blue. If it's up to her foundation's Supervisory Board, Laurentien remains “permanently involved”. In addition, it is possible that the issue will be raised in the House of Representatives, when considering the Royal House's budget.

News Hour dug into (internal) documents and spoke with various stakeholders and experts. The image: the cabinet tSweetest pass late the constitutional aspects and ruled that there were no obstacles to Laurentien's work. But in reality, the princess became increasingly involved in all kinds of sensitive issues.

Although the princess has been dealing with the Allowance Affair through various assignments for the Ministry of Finance since 2021, it was NSC leader Pieter Omtzigt who suddenly interviewed him this summer. explicitly warns for Laurentien's activities as a member of the Royal House.

The political responsibility for members of the Royal House is a precarious issue. The past shows that little needs to be done before there is a discussion about the monarchy. The Lockheed affair with Prince Bernard is the most appealing example. But also the Margarita affair (link), the discussion about Máxima's meeting with the Saudi prince Mohammed bin Salman or the affairs around King Willem-Alexander's houses in Mozambique whether Greece. And now, the issue of Princess Laurentien.

What exactly does Laurentiens Foundation (Equal) Worthy Recovery do?

Duped parents who want compensation for damage suffered as a result of the Allowance Affair can come to the foundation. The goal: to help parents faster than using the usual route at the Ministry of Finance. This concerns additional damage, such as income damage and emotional damage.

All recognized victims have previously received 30,000 euros from the government. Their debts were also forgiven. Victims who think they have more damage can still report to an independent government committee, the Commission for Actual Damage or to the Foundation for (Equal) Worthy Recovery.

The latter foundation first helped around three hundred allowance parents determine their amount of damage in a pilot. Since this summer, the foundation has been able to help thousands of victims. The “Laurentien method” focuses on the parents' story, trust and generous compensation. We mainly work with volunteers and experts on a pro bono basis.

On November 28, 2023, a letter from Secretary of State Aukje de Vries (VVD) fell on the mat at Mark Rutte's Ministry of General Affairs. It is a so-called “blue letter”, also known as amice letters: a correspondence between administrators.

The (Equal) Worthy Recovery Foundation had been at work for four months at that time. A foundation that Princess Laurentien is the founder and also unremunerated chairman of. It is “good practice” to inform the Prime Minister if a member of the royal family carries out “activities” in an administrator's policy area, Finance explains to News Hour. Indeed, there is political responsibility for members of the Royal Family: so-called “ministerial responsibility”. The cabinet is responsible for Laurentien's work in this file.

But the princess is already up to her ears in sensitive matter at the end of November 2023, after already receiving orders from the Ministry of Finance in 2021 to carry out the so-called Child arrangement to develop. A scheme for affected minors in the Allowance Affair.

'Mustard after meal'

In 2023, these activities will be expanded: on July 21, the princess will sign a contract with the Ministry of Finance for an alternative claims settlement trial. It then takes a while before The Hague realizes that this activity also affects ministerial responsibility very much.

In the letter sent by Secretary of State De Vries to Prime Minister Rutte - four months after the new contract with Laurentien - she is positive about the efforts of the princess. The Ministry of Finance says after questions from News Hour that it did indeed take “a little longer than usual”. This had to do with “the many activities” associated with the start of the pilot. The ministerial responsibility can also be accepted “retroactively”, says the ministry.

“Mustard after a meal”, says emeritus professor of constitutional law Paul Bovend'Eert. Such consideration must be made prior to such an agreement. “In fact, the prime minister should have taken a test himself and sent a letter to the Ministry of Finance, not the other way around.”

It strongly confirms my impression that the Prime Minister dealt with this file very casually and not carefully.

Professor emeritus of constitutional law Paul Bovend'Eert

And about the ministerial responsibility placed with the Secretary of State for Finance, Bovend'Eert says: “In practice, the Prime Minister is the one who must coordinate the implementation of that ministerial responsibility for members of the Royal House.” He is the first person responsible who must also be accountable to the House of Representatives. That's also the case described in the General Affairs introduction file, for the recently appointed Prime Minister Schoof.

Political discussions

It is also remarkable that former Prime Minister Rutte previously accepted ministerial responsibility for Laurentien's role at two of her other foundations: the Missing Chapter Foundation (in 2010) and later, in 2017, at the Number 5 Foundation, General Affairs confirms. Both foundations focus on dialogue sessions on social themes. But remarkably enough, the cabinet holds the Secretary of State for Finance responsible for Laurentien's work at SGH.

Bovend'Eert finds that incomprehensible. Especially on one of the most sensitive issues of the past decade, where even a cabinet has resigned, “the prime minister should have been on top of things and intensively interfered from the start with whether the princess should even have these activities”.

If there is a “hassle” about such an activity, that is a big risk, says professor of constitutional and administrative law Geerten Boogaard. “That is the only condition for maintaining a royal family in a democracy. They should not be the subject of political discussions.”

On the basis of which arguments Secretary of State De Vries concludes that Princess Laurentien can perform her role as chairman of a foundation with a government task is not clear; the Ministry of Finance does not want to make the further content of the letter public.

The Ministry of General Affairs only explains that in the letter, the Secretary of State “takes responsibility for the appointment to the position”. The Secretary of State “tested” the role and the Prime Minister “endorsed this conclusion.”

Bovend'Eert: “It strongly confirms my impression that the Prime Minister dealt with this file and activity very casually and not carefully.”

This is at odds with the procurement rules.

Professor of Procurement Law Pieter Kuypers

What about the princess's foundations? Are there any sensitivities that could affect ministerial responsibility? And: the orders that Laurentien obtained for the Ministry of Finance have they been tested? Did that go according to the rules, so that the prime minister can also take responsibility for that?

Nieuwsuur investigated the underlying documents and encountered a number of unanswered questions.

No tenders

It is early 2023 when the Ministry of Finance is looking for a party that can set up a claims settlement for former partners of the Allowance Affair. Since December 2022, there has been a market consultation deported and a number of parties responded to the order.

Internal notes from June show that officials suddenly advise the Secretary of State to “pause” this tender. There appears to have been an idea of a “coalition” of parties that, according to the ministry, “can make a crucial contribution to a wider objective than implementing a claims settlement for former partners,” according to the pre-announcement.

The ministry is therefore expanding the assignment. One of the parties in the said coalition is the Number 5 Foundation, Princess Laurentien's foundation. She is also the one who will set up a foundation on behalf of the coalition that will carry out the work of the pilot: the Foundation for (Equal) Worthy Recovery.

The ministry does not award the order worth 4.2 million publicly, but awards it privately. If the parties wish to object, they have twenty days to report.

Professor of Procurement Law Pieter Kuypers is critical: “The ministry initially seemed to plan to tender the contract. But for reasons that are unclear to me, it does not take place. This is at odds with the procurement rules”.

The ministry also chooses to bring parties who object into contact with the (Equal) worthy Recovery Foundation, according to the published pre-announcement. This is also curious, says Kuypers. “Compare it to renovating a house. The client ultimately decides who will carry out the assignment. It's not up to the contractor to decide which other companies can participate.”

The pilot, with three hundred affected parents, has been working for ten months as the ministry a critical evaluation concludes which would show that Laurentien's foundation is not critical enough in awarding compensation. Secretary of State De Vries then pauses the assignment to the foundation.

Laurentien publishes her decision one day before the Secretary of State comes out a video message, In it, the princess is already responding to the upcoming decision, saying: “Another helplessness, loss of direction, others who decide about you, ambiguity, uncertainty and scars that are being opened again.”

In her message, according to professor Geerten Boogaard, she is diametrically opposed to the cabinet. For example, the princess also says: “Are we going with the logic of the system again? Or are we actually listening to people who care about?”

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives is also increasing the pressure. Member of Parliament Pieter Grinwis (CU) serves a motion in which he calls for the SGH pilot to be expanded before the summer after all. The motion is passed Chamber-wide.

Internally, there is then a warning on the table from the National Finance Inspectorate, the organization that has a central role in monitoring government spending. Awarding a new extended contract to SGH without a tender is “potentially unlawful”, so NRC also reported earlier. If the ministry nevertheless decides to do so, this will lead to “legal proceedings and justifiable wrongfulness”, writes the Inspectorate.

Nevertheless, under the new Secretary of State Nora Achahbar (NSC), the ministry is awarding the new 96 million contract to the foundation again without a tender.

A ministry spokesperson acknowledges that News Hour that the assignment was deliberately given outside the rules. “This decision took into account that this route would involve a reasonable wrongdoing. This risk was accepted at the time because of the wish, including from the House of Representatives and parents, to continue and scale up the pilot as quickly as possible. Due to a tender, the parents would have to wait even longer and remain in uncertainty.”

Kuypers is surprised: “It's very strange that you make a mistake once but don't learn from it. And then a second time it seems to be ignoring the procurement rules.” This is also a possible wrongdoing of a total of 100 million euros. “For that, the Secretary of State can be held accountable by the House of Representatives.”

The purpose of the rules is that there is a coordinated, coordinated purchasing procedure where everyone is treated equally in a transparent manner. “This is to prevent corruption within the government. One of the most important problems - all over the world, by the way - is that otherwise you will quickly get nepotism,” says Kuypers.

“These procurement rules are intended to prevent the suggestion that you are giving certain people an advantage,” says professor of administrative law Geerten Boogaard. “Sooner or later, the question may be asked: has an exception been made here now because it is a princess?”

Intertwined foundations

Laurentien has now stepped down as chairman of SGH, but appears to be indirectly still involved through her other foundation: the Number 5 Foundation (NR5), which she is founder of and manages on a daily basis.

She would work for SGH “selflessly” perform, as is also stated on the website. But after questions from News Hour it appears that the NR5 sends invoices to SGH. This foundation uses meeting rooms, lunches, but also “knowledge and expertise” that NR5 offers.

From August to December 2023, a total of 82,500 euros were invoiced. For the year 2024, the bill will amount to around 180,000 euros. The Ministry of Finance appears to be aware of this flow of funds. According to the SGH spokesperson, this is a “reasonable cost allowance”; moreover, the money does not go to Laurentien's salary,

Due to the casual behavior of the previous cabinet, Princess Laurentien has found herself in a vulnerable position.

Professor emeritus of constitutional law Paul Bovend'Eert

“I can imagine that these kinds of arguments give rise to discussion again. It's not so convenient to do it like that,” says Professor Boogaard. “That's because you're an Orange. You function in the full light of ministerial responsibility.”

Bovend'Eert agrees and believes that the princess should have been transparent about this: “It doesn't matter if this is an expense allowance or remuneration.”

And there appears to be a further connection between NR5 and SGH: both foundations use the same spokesperson. SGH is also registered at one of NR5's locations.

When asked about a possible new test for ministerial responsibility, the Ministry of Finance refers to the Ministry of General Affairs: “The Prime Minister accepted ministerial responsibility for the princess's activities at NR5 as early as 2017”.

NR5 also appears not to be affiliated with supervisor CBF, the label for charities. Organizations with that label must publish executive salaries, as is also seen in organizations such as Greenpeace, Doctors Without Borders or the Clini-Clowns. A spokesperson for the NR5 says that they are still considering applying for the label.

Besides all the criticism, Laurentien's work is also highly appreciated. It is not without reason that the chairman of the SGH Supervisory Board, Gert-Jan Segers, alludes to a “continued engagement” by Princess Laurentien at the foundation.

But due to all the sensitivities and questions, the new prime minister, Dick Schoof, will now also have to explain to the House whether such continued intensive involvement by the princess in dealing with the Allowance Affair is sustainable.

According to professor Bovend'Eert, that will be complicated. “Due to the casual behavior of the previous cabinet, Princess Laurentien has found herself in a vulnerable position. At all costs, she must be prevented from being involved in this operation again and ending up in a difficult, delicate position.”

And these are not the only questions that await Prime Minister Schoof. Because how could it be that a tender process was deliberately gone outside the rules twice? How thorough and comprehensive has the substantive review of ministerial responsibility been by former Secretary of State De Vries, endorsed by former Prime Minister Rutte?

Answers that should undoubtedly come when the House of Representatives will soon discuss the budget for the Royal House.

Read here the responses of the Ministry of Finance and the SGH and NR5 foundations.

• Cabinet did not pre-test Princess Laurentien's 'politically sensitive work'