Bart Groothuis

Bart Groothuis (born 1 January 1981) is a Dutch politician serving as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since 2020. He is a member of the Dutch conservative-liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party, which are both part of the European political group Renew Europe.

Bart Groothuis MEP
Member of the European Parliament
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 February 2020
Personal details
Born	Bart Groothuis 1 January 1981 Reutum, Netherlands
Political party	People's Party for Freedom and Democracy, Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party
Children	2
Residence	Voorburg
Alma mater	Radboud University
Website	bartgroothuis.vvd.nl

He worked for politician Henk Kamp and as a cybersecurity expert at the Ministry of Defence before receiving a seat in the European Parliament as a result of Brexit in February 2020.

Education and early career

Groothuis was born on January 1, 1981 in Reutum, a village in the province Overijssel.[1] He grew up in that village and attended the high school Canisius.[2] Subsequently, Groothuis studied economics and history at Radboud University Nijmegen, and during this time he joined the Youth Organisation Freedom and Democracy, the independent youth division of the VVD.[2][3] Alongside, he studied international relations at the Netherlands Institute of International Relations Clingendael.[2]

His first job was as a political assistant of Henk Kamp (VVD), who was back then a member of the House of Representatives, between 2007 and 2009.[1][4] Groothuis joined the Ministry of Defence thereafter.[3] There, he served as the interim-director of the cyber security bureau from April 2013 until June 2014, when he became the permanent director.[1] Besides, he co-authored the VVD's election program for the 2010 general election.[4][5]

Political career

During the May 2019 European Parliament election, Groothuis was placed fourth on the VVD's party list.[6] He was also on the election program commission.[7] His party won four seats, and Groothuis himself received 21,353 preference votes, enough to meet the preference threshold.[8] However, Liesje Schreinemacher, who was fifth on the party list, rose one spot, because she had more votes, resulting in Groothuis not being elected.[9]

When the United Kingdom left the European Union on January 31, 2020, the Netherlands received three of its seats. The Kiesraad decided to allocate these seats by treating them as restzetels (nl) from the last European Parliament election.[10] One of those seats went to Groothuis, who was installed on February 11 and left his job at the Defense Ministry. His term started retroactively on February 1.[1][11][12] When news publications including The New York Times reported in April 2020 that conclusions about Chinese disinformation had been toned down in a European report under Chinese pressure, Groothuis wrote a letter to Josep Borrell asking for an explanation. His letter was also signed by a number of other MEPs.[13] He also said he wanted the European Union to trace and sanction the people responsible for Chinese trolls and bots.[14]

Committees and delegations

• Delegation for relations with Iran (member since March 2020, vice-chair since July 2020)
• Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (member since March 2020)
• Special Committee on Foreign Interference in all Democratic Processes in the European Union, including Disinformation (member since September 2020)[15]
• Committee on Foreign Affairs (substitute member since February 2020)
• Subcommittee on Security and Defence (substitute member since February 2020)
• Delegation for relations with the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (substitute member since February 2020)[16]

Political positions

Groothuis has voiced the opinion that European legislation surrounding digitization is lagging behind the innovations and that the European tech sector has fallen behind those of other parts of the world.[17] He opposes becoming technologically dependent on countries like China in a time when power is determined increasingly by technology. He has called for European investments to reverse course.[2][17] Groothuis also advocates a strong European defense to deter attacks.[2]

Personal life

Groothuis has been living in the South Holland town Voorburg since the late 2000s.[18] He has a wife, who he met in 2004, and two children.[19][17] In his youth, Groothuis played football at the local club VV Reutum.[2] He is a member of a local chapter of Lions Club.[20]

References

1. "Drs. B. (Bart) Groothuis". Parlement.com (in Dutch). Parlementair Documentatie Centrum. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
2. Berg, Tom van den (22 May 2019). "Oud-inwoner Reutum dicht bij zetel in Europees parlement". Tubantia (in Dutch). Retrieved 27 February 2020.
3. Maassen, Lara (22 May 2019). "Deze oud-studenten willen niets liever dan naar Brussel". Vox (in Dutch). Retrieved 26 February 2020.
4. Kammer, Claudia (27 May 2019). "Wie valt op bij de nieuwkomers?". NRC Handelsblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 27 February 2020.
5. Graaf, Frans de; Groothuis, Bart. "Orde op zaken - Verkiezingsprogramma 2010-2014" (PDF). People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (in Dutch). p. 2. Retrieved 27 February 2020 – via Parlement.com.
6. "Kandidatenlijst Europese Verkiezingen". People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (in Dutch). Retrieved 25 February 2020.
7. "Focus en lef: voor een sterk Nederland in een veilig Europa - Verkiezingsprogramma Europees Parlement 2019" (PDF). People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (in Dutch). p. 1. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
8. "Europees Parlement 23 mei 2019". Kiesraad (in Dutch). Retrieved 24 February 2020.
9. "Officiële uitslag verkiezing Nederlandse leden Europees Parlement 2019". Kiesraad (Press release) (in Dutch). 4 June 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
10. "Factsheet: Zetelverdeling Europees Parlement na brexit". Kiesraad (in Dutch). Retrieved 25 February 2020.
11. "Verdeling drie extra zetels Europees Parlement". Kiesraad (Press release) (in Dutch). 6 February 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
12. "Minutes - Tuesday, 11 February 2020". European Parliament. 11 February 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
13. Schmidt, Christoph (27 April 2020). "Europa doelwit van Chinese coronapropaganda". Trouw (in Dutch). Retrieved 31 July 2020.
14. Vlaskamp, Marije (30 April 2020). "Boog de Europese Commissie voor Chinese druk in een rapport over desinformatie over coronavirus?". De Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 31 July 2020.
15. "MEPs filling the ranks of five new committees" (PDF). European Parliament. 10 July 2020. p. 11. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
16. "Bart GROOTHUIS - 9th parliamentary term". European Parliament. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
17. Maassen, Lara (15 August 2019). "Nijmegen als opstapje naar Brussel". Radboud University Nijmegen (in Dutch). Retrieved 26 February 2020.
18. "Proces-verbaal tot het vaststellen aan welke lijst of lijsten de extra zetels voor Nederland in het Europees Parlement toevallen en aan welke kandidaten deze zetels worden toegewezen" (PDF). Kiesraad (in Dutch). 6 February 2020. p. 8. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
19. "Voorburger Bart Groothuis #4 VVD bij Europese verkiezingen". People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (Press release) (in Dutch). 8 May 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
20. "NLdoet 2019, Lionsclub Voorburg ondersteunt 'De Boot'" (in Dutch). Lionsclub Voorburg. Retrieved 27 February 2020.