© BELGIUM
The Flemish Parliament will convene an ad hoc committee on Wednesday at 2 p.m. to discuss the situation at VRT. CEO Frederik Delaplace will be invited to provide an explanation of the reshuffle of the VRT top.
In addition to Delaplace, outgoing minister Benjamin Dalle (CD&V), VRT chair Frieda Brepoels and mediator Rob van Eijbergen will also be invited. This was decided by the Extended Bureau of Parliament via electronic procedure, as Belga has learned from various sources.
Things are in turmoil on Reyerslaan after the board of directors of VRT decided last week to reshuffle the top. Ricus Jansegers, director of Content, and Lotte Vermeir, network manager of VRT 1 and VRT Canvas, had to resign. This happened after internal conflicts and questions about their leadership style. These questions arose due to a welfare report by an external mediator, the Dutch professor Rob van Eijbergen. The discussion about the decision has flared up in recent days, especially about the dismissal of Lotte Vermeir.
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The case also has a political tail. For example, both Groen and Open VLD insisted on a meeting of the Media Committee in the Flemish Parliament. The Extended Bureau of the Flemish Parliament, the body that coordinates the political functioning of the parliament, has now supported this request after an electronic survey by parliament chairwoman Liesbeth Homans (N-VA). Because the Media Committee has not yet been formed, there will be a meeting of an ad hoc committee on Wednesday to which the four aforementioned speakers will be invited.