The Archive

The questions. The debates. The verdicts.

Explore every session of The Long Council.

29 of 142 sessions
  1. 18 June 2026

    Should cities cap mass tourism to preserve local quality of life?

    Verdict

    Cities should govern tourist volumes, but resident-designed pricing beats blanket administrative caps.

  2. 18 June 2026

    How can the Netherlands improve the sustainability reputation of its flower bulb industry?

    Verdict

    Bind the bulb sector to the *waterschappen* water rules, then price extraction and runoff so growers pay the real cost.

    ClimateGovernanceNetherlands
  3. 13 June 2026

    How can the Dutch bureaucracy better respond to the social problems it currently ignores?

    Verdict

    Create citizen oversight boards with power to stop cases and fire officials.

    DemocracyGovernanceNetherlands
  4. 4 June 2026

    What political system best serves its people and the planet, and how should it account for externalities?

    Verdict

    Environmental protection requires both state capacity and democratic accountability. No system delivers both perfectly.

    Democracy
  5. 31 May 2026

    Has the Dutch Polder Model become a brake on innovation and growth, and should it be dismantled?

    Verdict

    Reform the polder model with accountability mechanisms and decision deadlines, but preserve stakeholder consultation where it adds value.

    EconomyTechnologyGovernanceNetherlands
  6. 29 May 2026

    Should we restore ecosystems by leaving nature alone and reducing human intervention?

    Verdict

    Ecosystems damaged by humans require active human restoration, not passive rewilding.

  7. 29 May 2026

    Who should pay for the added cost of sustainable kerosene in Europe?

    Verdict

    Airlines should charge passengers for sustainable fuel costs, but with progressive pricing that protects low-income access.

    EconomyEuropeClimate
  8. 27 May 2026

    What actions must be taken today to ensure the future of next generations?

    Verdict

    Build institutions that survive electoral cycles and restore the environmental commons that sustain democracy itself.

    DemocracyGeopoliticsClimateGovernance
  9. 21 May 2026

    How can AI companies be regulated without hindering innovation?

    Verdict

    Regulate AI through multiple competing jurisdictions with clear, enforceable rules rather than comprehensive global frameworks.

    AITechnologyGovernance
  10. 19 May 2026

    How can we structure Dutch democracy so that it works less divisively?

    Verdict

    Dutch democracy needs institutions that force hard decisions, but the council splits on whether centralized authority or distributed governance delivers them.

    DemocracyGovernanceNetherlands
  11. 14 May 2026

    Should Groningen's gas fields remain open for emergency situations?

    Verdict

    Emergency capacity requires local control over when emergencies justify production.

    ClimateNetherlands
  12. 14 May 2026

    Should the Dutch government reopen the Groningen gas field to secure energy supplies, and how should it compensate affected residents?

    Verdict

    The council agrees compensation must be automatic and generous, but splits on whether energy sovereignty justifies reopening.

    GeopoliticsWarClimateNetherlands
  13. 12 May 2026

    Should the Netherlands allow the American company Kyndryl to acquire Solvinity, given concerns about digital sovereignty?

    Verdict

    Block the acquisition and build domestic alternatives at higher cost.

    GeopoliticsNetherlands
  14. 9 May 2026

    How should wealth be distributed in a fully automated economy?

    Verdict

    Automation will concentrate wealth dangerously unless society redesigns who owns the machines.

    Economy
  15. 8 May 2026

    How do we ensure long-term progress of human civilization?

    Verdict

    Long-term progress requires institutions that adapt across generations while preserving core functions, but democracies may lack the discipline for civilizational-scale decisions.

    DemocracyGovernance
  16. 8 May 2026

    Which global institutions should exist to prevent an arms race in dangerous technologies like AI?

    Verdict

    Build overlapping institutions at different scales rather than one global AI authority.

    AITechnologyGovernance
  17. 8 May 2026

    How can we adapt our democracy so that the interests of future generations are taken into account?

    Verdict

    Democracy must represent future generations through constitutional limits on irreversible decisions and institutions with long-term mandates.

    DemocracyGovernance
  18. 7 May 2026

    Why do technological developments reinforce inequality and how can we prevent that?

    Verdict

    Technology serves those who own it, but communities can govern it democratically if institutions give them real control over development and benefits.

    DemocracyEconomyTechnologyGovernance
  19. 6 May 2026

    The fashion industry is one of the biggest polluters of our planet for many years. The supply driven system and customer behaviour make it difficult to change this. Should governments interfere with stricter rules and regulations?

    Verdict

    Fashion's environmental damage requires coordinated action, but the council divides on whether markets, experiments, or binding rules deliver results fastest.

    EconomyGovernance
  20. 6 May 2026

    Should we have a flying miles system where every citizen of the EU gets a free amount of miles they can travel by plane each year. If they are out of miles they can buy from other eu members that are not using them in an open marketplace. This will ensure there is a redistribution of wealth. People with less money can sell their miles for a fun holiday by car while the rich can fly far away.

    Verdict

    The system could work but requires choosing between market efficiency and climate justice.

    DemocracyEconomyEuropeClimate
  21. 5 May 2026

    How do we balance the acute need for economic growth and housing construction with legal obligations and the urgent need to reduce nitrogen emissions and protect biodiversity?

    Verdict

    Build housing and cut nitrogen in the same places through local control, subsidized energy, and redistribution from wealthy regions to constrained ones.

    GeopoliticsEconomyClimate
  22. 5 May 2026

    What skills do our children need to be prepared for the future and how can current education provide them?

    Verdict

    Children need both technical skills and character formation, but education systems cannot optimize for economic survival, democratic participation, human development, and moral cultivation simultaneously.

    DemocracyEconomy
  23. 5 May 2026

    Can the Netherlands solve the housing crisis, and if so, how and on what timeline?

    Verdict

    The Netherlands can solve its housing crisis, but must choose between fast state direction, slow market freedom, or mixed systems that require sustained political will.

    DemocracyEconomyNetherlands
  24. 4 May 2026

    Why is it so hard to create affordable housing in large European and US cities, and how can it be fixed?

    Verdict

    Cities must build housing like infrastructure — with public finance and long-term planning — because private markets build only for the highest bidders.

    EconomyEurope
  25. 30 April 2026

    How to secure Europe's future by allowing construction of datacenters, while protecting affordability in energy for the European population?

    Verdict

    Europe must choose between cheap energy for consumers today and digital infrastructure that prevents technological dependence tomorrow.

    DemocracyGeopoliticsEuropeClimateTechnology