European Union

Minister Stef Blok of Foreign Affairs does not expect that the European Union and United Kingdom will reach a political agreement on the Brexit on Wednesday. "More time is needed to complete those negotiations successfully. At the same time the risk remains that it will not work", he said on Tuesday evening after after a meeting of Foreign Ministers and EU-Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, NOS reports.

The life expectancy for Dutch boys and girls born between 2011 and 2016 increased by six months to 81.5 years, Statistics Netherlands reported. That is a lower increased compared to the previous periods.

Life expectancy increases are also slowing down in the rest of Europe. On average, people in the European Union are expected to live to the age of 81 years, ten months older than in the previous 5 year period.

Japanese electronic company Panasonic is moving its European head office from London to Amsterdam, in order to avoid potential tax issues that may arise after the Brexit - the United Kingdom's departure from the European Union, newspaper Nikkei Asian Review reported on Thursday.

The move is scheduled for October. 

The Netherlands is one of the countries that will be most negatively affected in the event of a so-called 'hard' Brexit - if the United Kingdom leaves the European Union without trade agreements. Only Ireland will be hit harder, the International Monetary Fund calculates, NU.nl reports.

According to the IMF, a hard Brexit can cost the Netherlands 0.7 percent of its national income. Ireland will see a decrease of 4 percent.

Prime Minister Mark Rutte met with United States president Donald Trump in Washington on Monday. During his welcome speech Trump spoke about the U.S. and the European Union meeting soon to discuss trade agreements. "If we do work it out that will be positive. And if we don't work it out, that will be positive also", Trump said. Rutte could not agree with that. "No", he interrupted. "That's not positive. We have to work something out."

The Netherlands is up to its ears in illegal ivory trade and therefore directly complicit in the mass slaughter of elephants in Africa, American network Avaaz and action group Elephant Action League conclude in a scientific study that will be published next month, AD reports.

According to Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, unity within the European Union is more important than ever in this time when international relations and alliances can no longer be counted on. The EU countries must remain united and not let themselves be played against each other, was Rutte's main message in his speech in the European Parliament on Wednesday. "Unity is the basis of our strength", Rutte said, NU.nl reports. 

On Monday Minister Stef Blok of Foreign Affairs will explain the Netherlands and Australia's decision to formally hold Russia accountable for its role in the downing of flight MH17 to a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels. He is counting on unanimous support from the European Union on this decision, sources told newspaper AD.

The Dutch Data Protection Authority is losing employees in droves, Financieele Dagblad reports based on sources. This may cause problems at the privacy watchdog, especially given that the Authority now has more power and responsibility with the introduction of new European privacy laws. 

According to FD, both Udo Oelen and Alex Commandeur - respectively the heads of the private sector and public sector at the Authority - both left recently, as well as two prominent investigators. And the Authority is having trouble attracting new staff to fill these positions.

The Netherlands does not recognize the outcome of the elections held in Venezuela over the weekend, in which leftist president Nicolas Maduro was re-elected. "They were not free and independent elections", Minister Stef Blok of Foreign Affairs said to the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, RTL Nieuws reports. 

Dutch retailers' association Detailhandel Nederland is calling on the Dutch government not to be too strict when implementing new European rules on electric car charging stations, ANP reports.

The new rules oblige retailers to have a minimum number of electric car chargers on their parking lots. But the association considers this obligation "superfluous". The association asks the government to make use of the room the European Union gives member states to fulfill objects at national level in their own way.