Dutch notaries share experiences with European colleagues

"The Dutch notarial profession has become more competitive, modern, and client-focused. And like a spider in the web, it's constantly seeking collaboration with relevant parties," said notary Remco van der Kuijp on Friday during a workshop on notarial law and competition law at the general meeting of the Council of Notaries of Europe (CNUE) in Budapest. He shared Dutch experiences with the process of liberalizing fees. Several European countries may also encounter this in the future. The Netherlands is currently the only country to have implemented this liberalization.

The Royal Dutch Association of Notaries (KNB) represents the interests of the notarial profession internationally. For example, the professional organization integrates international developments into national policy, collaborates with representatives from other countries, and contributes to the CNUE. In addition to the general meeting, three workshops were organized.

Citizen participation
The first workshop focused on the values of the European notary profession in the context of the Conference on the Future of Europe . This European project—which was also recently highlighted by the Dutch government —is intended to discuss the (medium to) long-term future of Europe, including potential reforms, with citizens and civil society organizations. The European notaries will hold a conference on this topic on December 7 to determine their position. A recommendation will follow in the spring of 2022.

Smooth transactions
Another workshop examined the digital challenges in notarial practice. A roundtable discussion discussed various digital initiatives. Special attention was given to the German-Spanish project EUdoc, a platform that can facilitate the simple and secure exchange of notarial documents between European notaries. Another meeting will be held in December.