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.”
A demonstration against the Turkish offensive in northeastern Syria in Rotterdam on Wednesday evening got completely out of hand. Protesters and counter protesters clashed multiple times. Three police officers were injured. A total of 23 of protesters were arrested, the Rotterdam police said on Twitter.
The relationship between the Netherlands and the United States has "cooled down" and "soured" according to Dutch diplomats and diplomatic experts. "There is declining confidence, I hear at the top of Dutch diplomacy", diplomatic expert Robert van de Roer said to RTL Nieuws. "Behind the scenes you hear: America is not America anymore."
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.
Students who started studying in the Netherlands in the 2015/2016 academic year or later want the Dutch government to pay back their study loans. They therefore created a Facebook event to bombard Prime Minister Mark Rutte with "Tikkies", referring to an ABN Amro app with which you can send a quick payment request to a mobile number. The Facebook event incudes a number for Rutte's party the VVD.
SP parliamentarian Sadet Karabulut wants the Netherlands to boycott the G20 summit in Saudi Arabia next year. The Saudi regime is too controversial, Karabulut said, referring to the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, among other things. The D66 thinks the Netherlands should go and address these issues, RTL Nieuws reports.
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 parliamentary debate on the national budget on Thursday was apparently not exciting enough to keep the attention of all those present. Ministers Ferdinand Grapperhaus of Justice and Security and Cora van Nieuwenhuizen of Infrastructure and Water Management were caught watching football while Prime Minister Mark Rutte spoke.
The fight against organized crime is complicated, but can be won, Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on the second day of the parliamentary debate on the national budget. Ferdinand Grapperhaus agreed with Rutte’s standpoint. The Security and Justice Minister from the PM’s conservative VVD party backed a call from several politicians to form a specialized unit focused solely on tackling drug crime.
Minister Ferdinand Grapperhaus of Justice and Security is looking for more money to push into the fight against organized crime, he said on Thursday morning, one day after defense attorney Derk Wiersum was assassinated outside of his Amsterdam Home. "If we really want to achieve success over organized crime, we have to take an extra step", Grapperhaus said, Het Parool reports. "More than we have done so far, also if it means extra resources."
Authorities investigating the murder of criminal defense attorney Derk Wiersum in Amsterdam have joined forces with Dutch counter-terrorism agency NCTV in the hunt for the perpetrator. Police are still searching for the suspect they believe to be responsible for the crime.
The ruling cabinet in the Netherlands outlined a plan for 2020 that includes an extra 350 million euros to respond to problems on the housing market, 300 million euros to tackle issues related to youth care, and 134 million euros on asylum procedures and migration. Minister Wopke Hoekstra of Finance presented the Rutte III government's budget for next year to the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, on Tuesday.
Coalition parties CDA and D66 are angry with VVD Minister Eric Wiebes of Economic Affairs because he revealed information from the King's Budget Day speech and the government's budget a day before Budget Day. Prime Minister Mark Rutte received three requests from coalition partners to reprimand Wiebes, AD reports.
Any money left over in the government's budget should first be spent on raising the salaries of people in the public sector, addressing the housing shortage and getting more police officers on the street, according to a poll conducted by Ipsos on behalf of NOS for Budget Day 2019. Only once all that is done, should budget surpluses be used to pay off State debt, the respondents said.
Another five political parties joined the call of youth movement Coalitie-Y to abolish the student loan system. The manifesto to this effect will be handed to Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Monday evening, the night before Budget Day, the Volkskrant reports.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte lashed out at PVV parliamentarian Raymond de Roon over a sexist remark he made during a parliamentary debate on top European appointments on Thursday. While discussing the appointment of German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen as president of the European Commission, De Roon spoke of "a ladies' circle" and Rutte could not contain his irritation, AD reports.
A large part of the 30 thousand youth care workers in the Netherlands are striking on Monday, for the first time in Dutch history. They demand that the government provide solutions for problems caused by budget cuts and decentralization in the past years. Staff shortages lead to heavy workloads and waiting lists for children who need help, NU.nl reports.
The 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands at the end of World War 2 is still over eight months away, and on Friday, Prime Minister Mark Rutte was scheduled to honor Canadian war veteran Don White at the parliament complex in The Hague. The two met face-to-face in April at the Keukenhof where a new tulip was named in honor of the Canadian.
The Netherlands and Germany want to collaborate more intensively in tackling climate change and the energy transition, Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Chancellor Angela Merkel said after meeting at the Catshuis in The Hague on Thursday. There are differences in how the two countries are approaching these issues, and those differences are opportunities to learn from each other, they said, NOS reports.
The coalition parties in the Rutte III government reached broad agreements on the focus of the Netherlands' tax plans for next year. Low- and middle-income households must see an improvement in their purchasing power. And it must become easier for people starting out on the housing market to find a home, NOS reports.
"We have taken further steps on our way to Prinsjesdag", Prime Minister and VVD leader Mark Rutte said after an hours long meeting between the coalition parties and the Ministry of Finance, which ended at around midnight on Thursday.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte was a guest on the Villa Lowlands talk show at the Lowlands festival in Biddinghuizen on Sunday - the first time ever that a Dutch Prime Minister visited the festival, according to Het Parool. Rutte called it "a successful Lowlands debut" on Twitter afterwards.
Dressed in a gray polo shirt, jeans and blue All Star sneakers, the Prime Minister was taken on a tour of the festival before being interviewed by presenters Roel Maalderink and Martijn de Greve.
After a nice summer break, the Dutch government is back at work. The Ministers will meet for the first time again on Friday, to catch up on current affairs under the leadership of Prime Minister Mark Rutte during the Council of Ministers, Hart van Nederland reports.
The only Minister still on holiday is Ferdinand Grapperhaus, who stood in for Rutte during the summer and still has some vacation days to catch up on.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte met with United States president Donald Trump for the second time on Thursday in the White House in Washington. During a brief press conference at the Oval Office, Trump emphasized the good economic ties between the two countries and his good relationship with Rutte, calling him a friend.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte will meet with United States president Donald Trump in the White House for the second time this evening. During the meeting, Rotterdam collector Bert Kreuk will hand Trump a D-Day flag he is donating to the United States. The main topic on the agenda for Rutte and Trump is trade, though Trump will likely also bring up the U.S. request to allies for a military contribution in Syria and to increase pressure on Iran, NOS reports.
