Jeroen Dijsselbloem

The Netherlands has too little insight into food safety hazards and food and consumer safety authority NVWA is not equipped to identify and prevent new health risks, the Dutch Safety Board concluded in an investigation launched following the fipronil crisis in the summer of 2017. The Safety Board calls for a more structured approach to food safety to prevent public health hazards, NOS reports.

Twelve year old Haci Nuh stole the show in his role as Mini-Minister of Finance when Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem delivered the suitcase with next year's budget to the Tweede Kamer on Tuesday. Shrouded in a suit and black sneakers, Haci from Rotterdam shadowed Dijsselbloem throughout the entire Budget Day. He was in the Ridderzaal for the King's speech, went on interviews with the Minister and to the Tweede Kamer to discuss te budget, the Telegraaf reports.

Prime Minister Mark Rutte is excited to attend the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany on Saturday. He thinks it's good that the Netherlands is participating in this year's summit. "Especially given the international developments, it is important that the Netherlands is there again as a major economy", he said to the press, according to NOS. 

With the government formation talks reaching a complete stalemate over the past weeks, pressure is mounting on the Labour party to join talks with the VVD, CDA and D66. A number of former prominent PvdA members are also joining the call. "This is the moment for Lodewijk Asscher to step on board", former PvdA minister Willem Vermeend said to AD. "There is only one solution for the PvdA: be part of a cabinet.

The Dutch government debt was 32 billion euros lower than expected at the end of 2016, according to the Annual Financial Report Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem presented to the senate and lower house of parliament on Wednesday, ANP reports.

After a nearly two week long break, negotiators of the VVD, D66, CDA and GroenLinks are getting together today to resume talks on forming the next Dutch government together. Edith Schippers will lead the negotiations as usual, Het Parool reports.

Departing Dutch Finance Minister and Eurogroup president Jeroen Dijsselbloem is feeling shunned over a statement he made in an interview over not spending all your money on "Schnapps and women" and then asking for help. "Everyone is walking circles around me", he said in an interview with the Volkskrant. "The issue escalated enormously, it's now like I committed a war crime." Nevertheless, he still stands behind the statement, he said to the newspaper.

The European Parliament again called for Jeroen Dijsselbloem to resign as president of the Eurogroup on Monday after he refused to appear in Parliament to discuss the Eurogroup's role in solving the Greek crisis. Even his own PvdA faction in European Parliament (EP) is showing little support for him, RTL Nieuws reports.

Over 70 of the 751 European Parliamentarians sent a letter to Eurogroup chairman Jeroen Dijsselbloem demanding that he apologize for his "Schnapps und Frauen" statement and resign. The letter is singed by MEPs from 15 countries, including the German leader of the Christian Democrats, ANP reports.

Jeroen Dijsselbloem, Eurogroup chairman and departing Finance Minister, is facing fire over statements made about southern European countries in an interview with the Frankfurter Allegemeine on Monday.

In the interview he said that he finds the Stability Pact, which contains the EU budget rules, very important. He praised the "northern countries" for showing "solidarity" with "crisis countries", but that comes with "responsibilities", he said. "I can't spend all my money on alcohol and women and then ask you for help", he said.

"You can't say that integration failed", Jeroen Dijsselbloem, current Finance Minister and number three on the PvdA candidate list, said on radio program Dit is de Dag on Thursday.

According to Dijsselbloem, "a lot of things went well" when it comes to integration. "Go look in the lecture halls in big cities. They are now filled with children from an immigration background", he said.

He agrees that the naturalization process could go smoother. He thinks it should be more mandatory and that all the responsibility can not be left to the immigrants.