A majority of MPs support economic minister Maria van der Hoeven’s plans to amend Sunday trading legislation, according to news agency ANP.

The minister and MPs want to close a loophole which allows shops to open on Sundays in areas deemed to be ‘tourist attractions’. Outside tourist areas, shops are only allowed to open on 12 Sundays a year. Parliament debated the issue on Tuesday evening.
Van der Hoeven, a Christian Democrat, is now to tighten up the rules to make local councils better motivate their plans and prove that they attract a ‘substantial’ number of tourists. CDA and Labour MPs do not want to reduce Sunday shopping, just clear up the misunderstandings about what constitutes tourism, ANP said.
The socialist party SP and fundamentalist Christian SGP both want limits on Sunday shopping and are working on their own legislation, ANP said.
In September, Van der Hoeven said the clamp down on Sunday trading would be delayed because of the recession.