Prime Minister Mark Rutte spoke confidently on Friday about the measures put in place by the Dutch government to curb the spread of the Covid-19 variant of coronavirus, but he said it was "crucial" that the public continue adhering to social distancing rules. The approaching weekend was expected to be mostly sunny and chilly, with similar weather the prior weekend convincing masses of people to abandon the national health advice and form crowds at popular nature sites.
Cabinet
Mar 27 '20 18:58
Aug 17 '16 14:30
On Tuesday the Dutch cabinet unofficially kicked off the start of the new political season with their traditional get-together, this year in Leiden. The ministers traditionally use this after-summer-break meeting to freely discuss the coming year without agenda
May 6 '16 11:00
Minister Melanie Schultz van Heagen will not form part of the next cabinet after the elections. The VVD Minister of Infrastructure feel it is time for something new, she said
Apr 7 '16 08:00
On Thursday morning Dutch newspapers described the preliminary results of the Ukraine referendum - 61 percent against with a voter turnout of 32 percent - as "an embarrassment", "a dilemma" and a "recipe for discontent". All agree that the "no" vote means tough times ahead for Prime Minister Mark Rutte and his cabinet.
Apr 7 '16 07:36
On Wednesday the Netherlands voted "no" in the referendum on the association agreement between the EU and the Ukraine. According to preliminary results, the turnout was 32.2 percent, more than the minimum 30 percent for the referendum to be considered valid
Feb 8 '16 08:07
Dutch F-16's bombing Islamic State targets in Iraq may have lead to civilian casualties. Two bombings in which civilians may have died are being investigated, the government wrote in a letter sent to parliament on Saturday
Jan 21 '16 08:46
The Dutch government is establishing a special team that must ensure that information on passenger manifests is released faster after an airplane disaster, the cabinet announced in a letter to the Tweede Kamer, lower house of parliament, on Wednesday
Jan 20 '16 07:38
In November last year officials told the government that they expect that some 90 thousand asylum seekers will arrive in the Netherlands in 2016. The government chose to ignore this prognosis and adjusted the plans to a lower number, namely 58 thousand asylum seekers, sources told television program Nieuwsuur.
Jan 7 '16 08:44
The Dutch presidency of the European Union is officially underway. The entire European Commission is meeting with the Dutch cabinet in Amsterdam this morning
Dec 7 '15 15:35
Companies guilty of the biggest violations on the rules regarding food safety, will soon have to pay massive fines. From June 1st next year, the worst food fraud offenders will have to pay 10 percent of their annual turnover, instead of the current maximum fine of 20 thousand euros.
Dec 4 '15 08:22
More than half of Dutch mayors feel that the government is not supporting local communities in the asylum crisis, leaving municipalities to fend for themselves, according to a survey done by Binnelands Bestuur among 75 mayors.
Nov 30 '15 13:15
The Cabinet is setting one million euros aside for extra security at controversial events. The VVD and PvdA want to prevent cultural institutions cancelling events due to organizers being afraid of threats or high security costs.
Nov 27 '15 13:20
The cabinet, municipalities and provinces reached an agreement on housing for 24 thousand refugees with residency permits, Prime Minister Mark Rutte annoucned. Municipalities will build simple, temporary homes for 14 thousand refugees in the short term and homes for another 10 thousand will follow later. In total it involves some 3,500 homes with at least 4 people living in them
Nov 17 '15 10:28
There seems to be little support for the Dutch cabinet's plan for 5 billion euros in tax breaks for citizens and businesses. Opposition party D66 already announced that the party will be voting against the plan,
Nov 4 '15 14:10
Many schools in the Netherlands do not have access to an internet connection with sufficient speed. At some schools, especially in the outlying areas, the internet connection is so slow, that it is impossible to work with multiple computers at the same time. Dutch parliamentarians want this problem to be solved by 2017.
Oct 22 '15 11:21
Ten health organizations have written an urgent letter to the cabinet asking them not to increase the tax on bottled water. According to them, this tax increase is directly opposed to the Ministry of Public Health's prevention policy of making the healthy choice the easy choice.
Oct 21 '15 14:21
The European Commission has ruled that the sweetheart tax deal between Starbucks and the Dutch tax authorities amounts to illegal State aid. The government now has to recover between 20 and 30 million euros in back taxes from the multinational. The Dutch government has responded that they are "somewhat surprised" by the ruling and remain convinced that actual international standards were applied in crafting the law.
Oct 14 '15 10:44
The vast majority of the Eerste Kamer, the Dutch Senate, is demanding that the cabinet increases the budget for Security and Justice.
Sep 21 '15 08:42
The government has given the Rijksmuseum 80 million euros to help buy two famous Rembrandt portraits. The preliminary sale agreement for 160 million euros was signed last week. The Rijksmuseum has to pay the other 80 million itself.
Sep 16 '15 10:34
The reactions on the Prinsjesdag throne speech and 2016 budget reveal are casting a shadow on the cabinet's optimism. The government's message on Tuesday was very positive - the Netherlands is doing better. But the Dutch newspapers are much more hesitant on Wednesday.
Sep 14 '15 09:45
The safety of the Dutch society and police officers themselves will be put in danger if any further cuts are made to the National Police. More cutbacks will make a number of police activities impossible to perform.
Sep 11 '15 13:33
The government may soon decide to extend Dutch bombarding missions against terrorist organization Islamic State to Syria, according to PvdA leader Diederik Samsom.
Sep 1 '15 16:45
The power given to Dutch intelligence agencies to spy on the people of the Netherlands is dangerously imbalanced, The Netherlands Institute for Human Rights stated on Tuesday. The watchdog commented on the proposed new Intelligence and Security Law currently making its way through Dutch parliament.
Jul 24 '15 12:11
The vast majority of Dutch people think that those responsible for the downing of flight MH17 will never be tried.
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