Most Dutch municipalities do not keep track of gifts to mayors, aldermen, councilors

The vast majority of Dutch municipalities do not maintain a public register of gifts received by mayors, aldermen, or municipal councilors, according to research by BNR. According to Bart Vollebergh of Transparency International, this makes it very difficult to determine whether and by whom local politicians might be influenced.

Only 58 (17 percent) of the 342 Dutch municipalities have a public gift register for municipal council members; 82 (24 percent) have such a register for gifts to the mayor and aldermen. That is a “shockingly small number,” Vollebergh told BNR.

Public gift registers are an “important component” of integrity policy, Vollebergh said. They allow citizens to see whether their local representatives are receiving gifts that could influence them or involve conflicts of interest. “Without a register, the public cannot verify this. I believe that is the core problem.”

Municipalities are not obliged to maintain such registers, but they are recommended by the Dutch Association for Council Members, the Association of Dutch Municipalities (VNG), and the Ministry of Interior and Kingdom Relations. Many municipalities also have gift registers in their integrity codes, including those that don’t maintain one. But they also don’t oblige local politicians to report all gifts. Small gifts, frequently defined as those with a value of up to €50, do not need to be registered.

Many municipalities told BNR that they either receive no gifts and therefore maintain no public register, or that they have a policy of not accepting gifts at all. If only that could be verified by checking a public gift register, Vollebergh said. “It’s great if a municipality doesn’t accept gifts, but make sure to communicate that.”

Parliamentarians are critical of municipalities not implementing public gift registers, despite the Interior Ministry advising them to do so.

“The intention is that gifts worth more than €50 must be registered. Period. There’s no ‘but’ or ‘if ’- it’s a mandate,” PRO MP Mohammed Mohandis told BNR. “Even if you receive nothing, write it down. Otherwise, oversight is impossible.”

D66 MP Renilde Huizenga said: “Municipalities should be held accountable for this. A gift register is a tool, but the primary objective is to prevent conflicts of interest.”