After the longest formation process ever in Dutch history, the new Dutch government of VVD, CDA, D66 and ChristenUnie presented their government agreement to the Tweede Kamer and released it to the public. "The coalition agreement is ambitious and balanced", Prime Minister and VVD leader Mark Rutte said at a press conference after the agreement was handed to the Tweede Kamer, the Volkskrant reports.

A petition for a referendum on a new law that gives the Dutch intelligence services massive data mining capabilities, collected over 300 thousand signatures - the number necessary for an advisory referendum to be arranged. The Electoral Council must still check the validity of the signatures. Should they all prove valid, the referendum will be arranged during the municipal elections in March next year, NU.nl reports. 

"Confidence in the future" is the motto of Prime Minister Mark Rutte's new government, the Rutte III cabinet, RTL Nieuws reports. The motto will be officially announced when the government agreement is presented. The expectation is that this will happen on Tuesday.

The VVD, CDA, D66 and ChristenUnie are now really very almost done with their government agreement, ChristenUnie leader Gert-Jan Segers said to NOS on Friday afternoon. But he thinks the four parties will have to meet again on Monday.

There will be no meetings over the weekend. The ChristenUnie respects the Sunday rest. "And on Saturday I have other plans", Segers said to the broadcaster.

The new Dutch government is making 170 million euros extra available for early learning disability detection in very young kids, sources told the Telegraaf. 

With the extra money, the youngest toddlers, from 2.5 years, can spend more time at day care or play groups. The older kids in groups 1 and 2 will get more lessons, mostly focused on language problems. Lessons in these groups will increase from 10 hours per week to 16 hours per week. 

The new Dutch government is implementing an hourly minimum wage of between 15 and 18 euros for meal deliverers, cleaners and other freelancers or self-employed who work at a low rate, RTL Nieuws reported after getting a look at the VVD, CDA, D66 and ChristenUnie's plans for freelancers.

The new Dutch government is planning an experiment with regulated cannabis cultivation, to see if this legal cultivation will decrease organized crime and increase the safety of cannabis in the country. In the experiment, the government will give one organization a government license to grow cannabis, which will be distributed in six to 10 municipalities, RTL Nieuws reports.

Hillary Clinton believes that her loss in the American presidential election last year, had an influence on the Dutch parliamentary election earlier this year. At the very least, Dutch voters were more informed about things like Russia trying to influence international elections with propaganda after that happened in the United States election, she said in an interview with RTL Nieuws correspondent Erik Mouthaan.

"I think it [the U.S. election] certainly gave Dutch voters information that American voters didn't have", she said in the interview.

The entire Amsterdam is in mourning after the death of Mayor Eberhard van der Laan on Thursday. The flag outside his official residence on Herengracht is hanging half mast and local residents are leaving flowers outside his door, Het Parool reports.

After a long battle with cancer, Amsterdam Mayor Eberhard van der Laan passed away on Thursday. He leaves behind a wife and five children. In Amsterdam Van der Laan will be remembered as a very involved and very well loved mayor of the Dutch capital. 

Amsterdam mayor Eberhard van der Laan passed away on Thursday, the municipality of Amsterdam announced. He was battling metastasized lung cancer. Van der Laan was 62 years old.