With only six months to go until the United Kingdom leaves the European Union, it is still unclear what negotiations between the EU and the Brits will yield. It is high time that Dutch businesses who deal with the UK start preparing for a hard Brexit - the UK leaving the EU without any trade agreements in place - the Port of Rotterdam Authority, the Dutch food and consumer product safety authority NVWA and employers' organization VNO-NCW warned, NOS reports.
European Union
Sep 7 '18 12:50
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.
Sep 7 '18 10:20
The Netherlands should approach Spain and France to form an alliance in the European Union to replace Great Britain as an ally after the Brexit, according to the advisory council on international affairs AIV. Parliament asked the AIV to look into which diplomatic strategy the Netherlands should follow now that Great Britain is leaving the European Union, NU.nl reports.
Aug 30 '18 10:20
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.
Jul 24 '18 14:43
King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima released a statement expressing "enormous sympathy" to those affected by forest fires raging in Greece. So far the fires claimed 60 lives and left some 150 people injured. Whether any Dutch are among the victims is not yet clear, RTL Nieuws reports.
"The raging forest fires in Greece have claimed many victims. We feel enormous sympathy for the victims, their families and those who do not yet know the fate of their loved ones. We share their pain and our thoughts are with them", the Dutch Royals said.
Jul 20 '18 10:10
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.
Jul 16 '18 08:25
The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the G7 countries called on Russia to provide clarification on the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17. According to the G7, evidence from international investigations that MH17 was shot down by a Russian army BUK missile is "convincing, significant and deeply troubling", RTL Nieuws reports.
Jul 3 '18 07:56
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."
Jun 29 '18 11:00
After hours of difficult negotiations, the leaders of the 28 European Union member states reached an agreement on migration policy at a summit in Brussels, Donald Tusk, president of the European Council announced on Friday morning, NU.nl reports.
"Everything was complicated", Prime Minister Mark Rutte said about the summit. "I am not going to say that the whole issue has now been resolved, but we have taken a big step."
Jun 25 '18 12:00
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.
Jun 22 '18 14:50
Prime Minister Mark Rutte will be attending an informal European Union summit on migration on Sunday. This summit is intended to remove the irritations among various heads of government about the European migration policy, Rutte said in parliament. "It will be complicated", the Dutch Prime Minister said, NU.nl reports.
Jun 13 '18 14:20
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.
Jun 13 '18 12:20
Dutch 18-year-olds can now apply for a free train ticket for a trip through Europe. This gift from the European Union is intended to "bring people together" and to show young EU residents that the European Union is "also about emotions, not just politics", according to initiator German MEP Manfred Weber, RTL Nieuws reports.
Here are the rules:
May 28 '18 08:54
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.
May 28 '18 07:59
Dutch people's confidence in each other and in the institutions increased almost across the board last year, according to figures Statistics Netherlands released on Monday. The Dutch have most confidence in the police with 74.5 percent saying they trust the police, and least in the church with only 31.2 percent.
May 25 '18 14:00
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.
May 24 '18 07:49
Illegal cannabis cultivation in the Netherlands is far larger than previously thought, Statistics Netherlands said in a revision of old economic figures. According to the stats office, many more illegal weed growers remain below the police radar than previously assumed.
In 2015 the stats office assumed that 40 percent of illegal cannabis cultivators were caught by the police. But new information from the National Police indicate that its more realistic to assume that around 20 percent of weed growers are caught.
May 23 '18 08:21
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.
May 17 '18 08:01
Prime Minister Mark Rutte called the decision of United States president Donald Trump to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal "clumsy". The European Union leaders discussed this issue at an EU summit in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia on Wednesday, NOS reports.
Apr 17 '18 16:20
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.
Apr 16 '18 14:00
The Netherlands sees no sense in implementing more sanctions against Russia for its role in the situation in Syria, Minister Stef Blok of Foreign Affairs said. "The only real solution for the Syrian conflict lies at the negotiating table", the Dutch Minister said, NOS reports.
Apr 16 '18 09:33
Last year 4 percent of Dutch young people between the ages of 15 and 25 were not working or studying - the lowest percentage of all European Union Member States, Statistics Netherlands reported on Monday.
The European average for young people that are unemployed and not studying was 12 percent in 2016. No EU figures for 2017 are available yet. According to the stats office, the percentage of unemployed young people who are also not studying in the Netherlands has been around 5 percent for years. The EU average was also pretty much stable over the past years.
Apr 12 '18 15:10
Increasing political contradictions, like saying that you have to choose between national sovereignty or cooperation in the European Union, are a threat to the European Union and to the Netherlands itself, Vice President of the Council of State, Piet Hein Donner, wrote with the presentation of the Council's annual report, the Volkskrant and NOS report.
Mar 26 '18 09:34
State Secretary Stientje van Veldhoven of Infrastructure and Water Management plans to implement around 100 extra measures to ensure that air quality throughout the Netherlands meets European standards, ANP reports.
Pages
