A majority in the Tweede Kamer voted on Tuesday for an emergency legislative proposal to freeze the amount of healthcare own-risk deductibles at 385 euros next year. The Eerste Kamer also voted in the bill later on Tuesday, NU.nl reports.
Eerste Kamer
Sep 20 '17 14:10
The Binnenhof in The Hague was evacuated on Wednesday afternoon after the discovery of a suspicious package. All entrances to the square that holds the Netherlands' government and parliament buildings were blocked by police officers and Koninklijke Marechaussee. According to AD reporter Lex de Jonge, it was a false alarm.
Jul 12 '17 10:41
A majority in the Eerste Kamer, the Dutch Senate, voted for implementing a new data mining law that will give the Dutch intelligence services the authority to intercept data on a large scale. The new law was drawn up by Interior Minister Ronald Plasterk and will take effect on January 1st, NOS reports.
Jun 21 '17 15:10
On Tuesday the Dutch Senate voted in a legislative amendment which states that all immigrants to the Netherlands must sign a pledge to uphold and support Dutch values as part of their integration exam. This amendment to the Integration Law will take effect on October 1st, the Ministry of Social Affairs announced.
Apr 12 '17 11:44
Mayor Eberhard van der Laan of Amsterdam wants medicinal marijuana to be more easily obtainable for people who need it, he wrote in a letter to the Dutch Senate and Ministers Stef Blok and Edith Schippers of Security and Justice and Public Health respectively, Het Parool reports.
Dutch PM wants cabinet with Christian Dems, D66; Right wing pols: Ditch Wilders, embrace environment
Mar 20 '17 10:44
VVD leader and current Prime Minister Mark Rutte would like to form a cabinet consisting of his VVD, the CDA and D66, he said on Monday after discussing coalition possibilities with Edith Schippers. "Given the election results", these parties need to take governmental responsibility, he said, but added that "it also depends on what the parties themselves want", NU.nl reports.
Mar 10 '17 08:04
Lower house of parliament president Khadija Arib refused to cooperate in the wish of two of King Willem-Alexander's influential advisors to give the King more influence in the formation of the new cabinet, the Volkskrant reports.
Up until 2012 the ruling Dutch monarch played an active role in the formation of a new cabinet. The King or Queen could, for example, assign a "scout" to examine coalition possibilities and appoint informers. After a majority in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, changed the rules in 2012, the Kamer itself performs these tasks.
Feb 22 '17 07:48
On Tuesday the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, voted in a legislative proposal by the D66 that makes the cultivation and transportation of cannabis in hashish legal under strict conditions. Now it has to pass through the Eerste Kamer, the Dutch Senate, though it is uncertain whether the bill will make it.
Jan 18 '17 08:55
King Willem-Alexander emphasized the importance of cooperating with NATO, the United Nations and Europe in his traditional New Year's speech on Tuesday. According to him, "a highly developed country like the Netherlands can not be indifferent to developments in the wider world", AD reports.
Peace, freedom, stability and prosperity don't just happen, the King said. "Without our international partners it is simply impossible. It is therefore good if our voice continues to be heard in Europe, the UN, NATO and everywhere people think past their borders."
Nov 29 '16 08:38
The measures the Netherlands intends to implement to tackle jihadism and terrorism is in violation of international treaties, including the European Convention on Human Rights, the Council of Europe wrote in a letter to the Dutch government, AD reports.
Oct 12 '16 10:34
The Dutch senate is voting on how and to what extent European rules on net neutrality will be implemented in the Netherlands. The government wants positive price discrimination - by offering certain services outside data bundle capacity, for example - to remain illegal in the Netherlands. But the European rules allow this
Sep 16 '16 08:00
A massive 4,495 people in the Netherlands decided that they do not want to be organ donors after all since the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of parliament, adopted a new donor law on Tuesday. According to figures from the Ministry of Public Health, these organ donors withdrew their consent for their organs to be used after their death
Sep 14 '16 09:51
On Tuesday the Dutch lower house of parliament voted in a new law on organ donation with an extremely close 75 votes for and 74 votes against. PvdD parliamentarian Frank Wassengberg planned to vote against, but arrived too late for the vote. If he'd been on time, there would have been an equal number of for and against votes and the bill would not have passed.
Jun 2 '16 09:45
Renovation plans for the Binnenhof in the Hague, where many of the Netherlands political buildings are located, is leading to disagreement between the Eerste Kamer (Senate) and Tweede Kamer (lower house of parliament)
Apr 27 '16 13:50
Minister Stef Blok of Housing presented three plans for renovating the Binnenhof to the Senate and Parliament on Tuesday. In these three options the renovations will cost between 475 million and 525 million euros. All three options are doable, but option three is more expensive than budgeted
Apr 14 '16 13:55
The Dutch government may be forced by the Senate to remove its signature from the association agreement between the EU and Ukraine. The governing coalition of VVD and PvdA do not have a majority in the Senate, and all other parties seem set to vote for withdrawal from the deal. Prime Minister Mark Rutte stated that the cabinet will make a decision on what to do about the deal in June
Apr 11 '16 15:45
Amsterdam housing corporations are working hard in The Hague lobbying for higher rent increases than was agreed upon on in the Housing Agreement.
Feb 17 '16 11:29
A majority in the Dutch Senate voted for the abolition of the treaty with Morocco on the payment of Dutch benefits to people in the country
Feb 8 '16 07:46
Minister Henk Kamp of Economic Affairs is leaving politics after the next parliamentary election scheduled for March 2017. He no longer wants to be a minister and he will not be returning to parliament, a spokesperson confirmed to NU after Kamp announced his departure on political talk show Politiek in de Pol.
Jan 12 '16 17:03
Longtime Dutch politician Piet Steenkamp died on Friday at the age of 90. He is credited with founding the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) political party, serving as chairman at the very beginning of its development in 1973 through its formal establishment in 1980.
Dec 23 '15 09:41
The Energy bill was rejected with just one vote in the Eerste Kamer, the Dutch Senate, on Tuesday. The smallest possible majority of 38 senators voted against Economic Affairs Minister Henk Kamp's law, which was to regulate offshore wind farms and the unbundling of energy companies. 37 senators voted for
Dec 23 '15 09:10
The governments 5 billion euros tax plan survived the Eerste Kamer, Senate, on Tuesday and will be implemented in 2016
Dec 9 '15 12:23
The SP launched a hotline where people can report buying concert tickets from resellers for much more than they were sold for in the sale price.
Dec 8 '15 15:00
With tickets already sold out for pop music artist Adele’s Amsterdam shows, the price to get into one of her concerts has skyrocketed as high as 4,950 euro on the secondary market. Ticket face value for the June concerts ranged between roughly 60 and 125 euro when they went on sale in recent weeks.
