Shocked and sad reactions met Amsterdam mayor Eberhard van der Laan's announcement that he is stepping down due to his metastasized lung cancer. Van der Laan (PvdA) announced on Monday afternoon that he is resigning, based on the advice of his doctors. One Amsterdam city council member described the news as "a punch to the face", RTL Nieuws reports.
PvdA
Sep 13 '17 14:08
The VVD, CDA, D66 and ChristenUnie - the four parties currently negotiating forming a new Dutch government together - voted against permanently compensating the NIP-test for all pregnant women in the Tweede Kamer on Tuesday, NOS reports. Those four parties together make up a majority in the lower house of Dutch parliament.
Sep 6 '17 09:50
Primary school teachers across the Netherlands will strike on Thursday, October 5th in an attempt to push the government to increase their salaries, unions CNV Education and FNV announced.
"Politicians really need to pay up, we want a fair salary and less work pressure in primary education", CNV Education chairman Loek Schueler said to news wire ANP. "The vague commitments politics made so far are insufficient for structurally better education."
Sep 4 '17 13:30
The police removed two balaclava-wearing men from the roof of the new Islamic high school in Amsterdam Nieuw-West. The two men were protesting against the school by hanging banners from its facade and shouting anti-Islam slogans like "salafism, terrorism". Boh were arrested, NOS reports.
Aug 31 '17 08:45
The VVD and PvdA managed to come to an agreement on increasing teachers' salaries in next year's budget, PvdA leader Lodewijk Asscher announced on Wednesday night. The two parties agreed that a "substantial amount" will go towards teachers in the 2018 budget. With that a government crisis was averted, and the departing VVD-PvdA coalition lives to see another day, AD reports.
Aug 31 '17 08:17
Criminals involved at least three school pupils in Den Bosh in prostitution and drug trading, mayor Ton Rombouts said in response to questions from PvdA city councilor Lisette van der Swaluw. The mayor believes that more kids may have been approached to become involve in illegal activities, but they wont come forward out of shame or fear for those who approached them, the Gelderlander reports.
Aug 30 '17 15:30
The VVD and PvdA may have found a solution to resolving their disagreement about increasing teachers' salaries in the budget for next year, VVD chairman Halbe Zijlstra said before entering the second round of budget talks at the Ministry of Finance on Wednesday afternoon, AD reports.
Exactly what this solution is, he did not say. "We're now going to see if it really is a solution", Zijlstra said to the newspaper.
Aug 30 '17 07:55
It's D-day for the VVD and PvdA government. The 2018 budget must be finalized today, so that it can be submitted to the Council of State on Thursday, but the parties are still clashing over salary increases for teachers, the Telegraaf reports.
Aug 29 '17 09:03
The compromise reached by the departing government on increasing teachers' salaries, is still on shaky ground. The VVD and PvdA reached an agreement, but formation parties CDA, D66 and ChristenUnie are reluctant to give the go-ahead, AD reports.
Aug 25 '17 10:20
The current government plans to make more money available for teacher salaries, primary school education and Defense in a compromise to solve a conflict about teacher salaries between the VVD and PvdA, Prime Minister and VVD leader Mark Rutte confirmed. Though he stressed that there is no deal yet, NU.nl reports.
Aug 23 '17 09:12
The negotiations on forming a new Dutch government will happen outside The Hague on Thursday and Friday. The VVD, CDA, D66 and ChristenUnie will be meeting on De Zwaluwenberg in Hilversum, the workplace of the Inspector General of the Armed Forces, for those two days, NOS reports.
Aug 21 '17 09:18
The Rutte II cabinet is now officially the longest serving Dutch government since the Second World War. On Sunday the VVD-PvdA coalition served a total of 1,749 days - one day more than the previous record holder, the Lubbers III cabinet, NOS reports.
Aug 17 '17 14:30
Dutch parliamentarians were shocked by reports that the number of runway incursions at Schiphol airport is significantly higher than at other airports of similar size. They demand an explanation from responsible State Secretary Sharon Dijksma of Infrastructure and Environment, AD reports.
Aug 15 '17 07:46
State Secretary Martijn van Dam of Economic Affairs is stepping down on September 1st to go to his new job at NPO, whether or not there's a new cabinet. His decision to go through with his planned departure despite the raging fipronil contaminated egg crisis, for which he partially carries responsibility, is leading to criticism from other politicians. Though the poultry sector itself is not sad to see him go, AD reports.
Aug 11 '17 09:24
The VVD and PvdA's squabble over increasing teachers' salaries in the budget for next year, has the teachers themselves furious. According to primary school teacher action group PO in Actie, the parties are playing "political games" with their livelihoods and more protest actions will follow this fall, Thijs Roovers of the group said to RTL Nieuws.
Aug 10 '17 11:50
The VVD and PvdA are butting heads over teacher salaries. The PvdA stated that they will not sign next year's budget if it doesn't contain higher wages for teachers. The VVD is digging in their heels, according to the Telegraaf.
With government formation talks between the VVD, CDA, D66 and ChristenUnie still ongoing, and with no end in sight, it is up to the departing VVD-PvdA government to come up with the 2018 budget.
Jul 21 '17 10:10
The Dutch government is against a parliamentary proposal to only allow police officers in videos and photos if their faces and other identifying features have been blurred out. Minister Stef Blok of Security and Justice called the proposal "undesirable" and "unnecessary" in a letter to the Tweede Kamer on Thursday, NU.nl reports.
Jul 6 '17 08:36
The Dutch middle class face many uncertainties and it is important that the government focuses on reducing it, according to recommendations made by the scientific council for government police WRR on Wednesday. There is no sign that the middle class is falling, but people in this group have to put in extra effort to maintain their social position, the WRR concludes, ANP reports.
Jul 4 '17 09:14
Former PvdA parliamentarian Ahmed Marcouch will be the new mayor of Arnhem. The intention is that he will take office on September 1st. The former MP will be succeeding Herman Kaiser, who stepped down on June 1st, NOS reports.
Jul 3 '17 14:50
The Netherlands' integration policy "failed miserably", according to Hague alderman Rabin Baldewsingh (PvdA). His efforts to get this issue on the national government's agenda are continually unsuccessful, so he decided to launch his own integration program in The Hague, he said in an interview with the Volkskrant.
Jun 28 '17 14:40
Amsterdam PvdA politician Munire Manisa was flooded with negative reactions when she took a position on the board of LGBT interest association COC last week. She was accused of being a traitor, a bad Muslim and that her DNA was infected by unbelievers. "I did not want to pay attention to it, but apparently people think that I'm silent because I accept these cowardly accusations", she wrote in response on Facebook.
Jun 28 '17 10:17
On Tuesday a majority in the Tweede Kamer voted against a proposal to keep the Netherlands' strict cap on bankers' bonuses in place. While the parliamentary vote is not binding, it does suggest that if the new government decides to scrap te cap, or make the rules around it more lenient, the decision will be met with approval.
Jun 27 '17 07:40
Primary schools teachers across the Netherlands are striking this morning. Almost all primary schools in the country will open at 9:30 a.m., instead of 8:30 a.m. One positive side effect to this strike, is that traffic information service VID expects less traffic on the road during rush hour this morning.
Jun 26 '17 14:05
Should the Netherlands decide to stick to its low banker's bonus limit, the country could lose out on 17 thousand extra jobs and 1 billion euros in income and corporation tax, says employers' organization VNO-NCW. According to the organization, dozens of small financial institutions and at least three major international banks would move from London to the Netherlands after the Brexit, if the bonus limit was not an obstacle, NU.nl reports.
Exactly which financial institutions are involved, the VNO-NCW did not say.
