British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservative Party achieved an absolute majority in the parliamentary elections on Thursday. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte is pleased that his win will at least bring quick clarity on what will happen with the Brexit, he said according to NOS.
"I don't feel relief or sadness, but rather an factual finding to settle this. I think everyone thinks that is good news, otherwise it will keep us occupied for years", Rutte said.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte is attending a two-day NATO summit in London on Tuesday and Wednesday. The conference is already off to a rocky start, with American president Donald Trump clashing with French president Emmanuel Macron, and a number of sensitive topics still on the agenda.
After years of lobbying in Brussels by Amber Alert, a special European police network will be established in which European police forces will collaborate more intensively to find missing persons. Amber Alert, the Dutch organization that handles missing children cases, will be the secretariat of this network, called PEN-MP, NOS reports.
The European Union's policy on air quality led to much cleaner air in the Netherlands, according to a study by public health institute RIVM. Without the European measures implemented since the 1970s, air pollution in the country would be much higher and the average life expectancy in the Netherlands would be about six years lower, the RIVM said.
The Netherlands and eight other European countries are calling on the European Union to implement a tax on air travel. The governments of the nine countries signed a manifesto calling on the European Commission to come up with a proposal on this front, which will be handed to European Commissioner Frans Timmermans.
Today is Equal Pay Day in the European Union - the day when women symbolically stop getting paid compared to their male colleagues for the same job. The average gender wage gap in the EU is currently 16 percent, according to figures released by the European Commission. The Netherlands is in slightly better shape with a gender wage gap of 15.2 percent.
That means that Equal Pay Day in the Netherlands will fall on Wednesday, November 6th. From Wednesday, women effectively work for free through the end of the year in comparison to the wages of their male counterparts.
The European Commission wants to substantially increase the Dutch contribution to the European Union budget in the coming years. The Netherlands' contribution next year amounts to 8.1 billion euros. If the European Commission has its way, that will increase to 13 billion euros by 2027 - an increase of no less than 60 percent, the Ministry of Finance confirmed to RTL Z after reports in Financieele Dagblad.
A party on the beach of Wijk aan Zee to say goodbye to the United Kingdom when they are scheduled to leave the European Union on October 31st will happen, whether the Brexit actually happens or not, organizer Ron Toekook confirmed to NOS.
The Dutch cabinet and European leaders should be cautiously pleased that a deal has been reached between the U.K. and the European Union over remaining Brexit issues, said Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of the Netherlands. “Now we have to study the details,” he told broadcaster NOS.
On the surface “it is very encouraging. We are very happy about it.”
Minister Wopke Hoekstra of Finance is "very satisfied" with the agreement the EU Finance Minsters reached about the so-called eurozone budget, calling it a "fruitful result for Dutch tax payers". "We have taken important steps towards better spending of EU money", the Dutch Finance Minister said in Luxembourg on Thursday, AD reports.
A vast majority in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, support sanctions against Turkey following a Turkish invasion in northeastern Syria. The Dutch government is looking into a "wide range of measures" against Turkey, Minister Sigrid Kaag of Foreign Trade, standing in for Foreign Affairs Minister Stef Blok who is abroad, said in a parliamentary debate on the matter on Thursday, NOS reports.
The province of Utrecht came in 2nd place on the list of Europe's most livable regions, the Regional Competitiveness Index (RCI). First place went to Stockholm in Sweden. Utrecht shares second place with London, RTV Utrect reports.
The European Union compiles the RCI every three years, judging regions' livability based on various themes including infrastructure, innovation, health, gender equality, and sustainability.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte understands why American president Donald Trump is critical of NATO and EU countries' Defense spending, he said in a speech about cooperation between the United States and the Netherlands. He also called Trump's criticism of the United Nations "at its core, justified", RTL Nieuws reports.
The United States is imposing import tariffs of 25 percent on a range of European products. These include cheese, pork, butter, mussels and pears from the Netherlands, according to a list published by American trade envoy Robert Lightizer on Wednesday. The tariffs take effect on October 18th.
Since the British population decided that the United Kingdom should leave the European Union in a referendum in June 2016, Dutch investments in the UK decreased steadily and existing investments were even withdrawn. British investments in the Netherlands, on the other hand, more than quadrupled since the Brexit decision was made, Statistics Netherlands reported on Monday.
PvdA leader Lodewijk Asscher lashed out at PVV leader Geert Wilders and FvD leader Thierry Baudet on Facebook. He accused the far right leaders of "playing poker with our securities", like British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is doing with the Brexit, AD reports.
After two years of haggling between The Hague and Brussels, the European Commission approved the regulation that makes it possible to distribute flights between Schiphol and Lelystad Airport, NOS reports based on a draft decision in its possession. The proposal was submitted to all European Union Member States, and they agreed to it unanimously, according to the broadcaster.
Dutch businesses are largely unconcerned by the United Kingdom's approaching departure from the European Union, research agency SEO Economic Research said in a report on Wednesday. Only 15 percent of the 684 businesses the SEO spoke to have noticed Brexit related problems. Over 55 percent said they experience little to no issues resulting from the Brexit, NU.nl reports.
Continuing uncertainty about the United Kingdom's position in the European Union after the Brexit so far prompted 98 companies to move to the Netherlands. Another 325 companies are still considering a Dutch office, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs' foreign investment agency NFIA announced on Monday.
The Netherlands is willing to send a naval ship to the Strait of Hormuz near Iran to protect oil tankers against attacks, as the United States requested, but only if this happens in a European context, the Telegraaf reports based on sources in The Hague.
It is almost two months to Brexit and amidst the chaos Jimme Jardine has a solution to help pass the time.
Enter Barmy Brexiteers, “a light-hearted card game and hard-hitting Twitter news account that strive to keep pointing out the lies about Brexit that are most obviously dishonest,” according to the Amsterdam-based founder.
Thousands of Dutch are seemingly planning to say "goodbye" to the United Kingdom with a beach party on Strand Wijk Aan Zee on October 31st - the date of the Brexit, according to an event created on Facebook. The event initiator invites everyone to bring a beach chair, Dutch chips, French wine and German beer and watch across the sea as Great Britain wakes up as a "closed institution".
Scottish company TEC-Farragon is working on a ferry service between the Scottish town of Rosyth and Eemshaven in the Netherlands. Scottish companies currently make use of the port of Dover in southern England. But with the Brexit approaching, Scotland wants a direct ferry connection with Europe, NOS reports.
Of all Dutch, 77 percent feel like they are citizens of the European Union, according to the European Commission's Euro-barometer. That puts the Netherlands about in the middle of the EU countries.
