Hable Zijlstra will be the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Eric Wiebes will be the Minister of Economic Affairs in the new Dutch government, sources told the Telegraaf. In the Rutte II government, Wiebes was the State Secretary of Finance and Zijlstra was faction chairman for the VVD in parliament.
Zijlstra is taking over from Bert Koenders at Foreign Affairs, and Wiebes is succeeding Henk Kamp at Economic Affairs.
The new coalition of VVD, CDA, D66 and ChristenUnie are debating their new government agreement with the opposition parties in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, on Thursday. As far as Prime Minister Mark Rutte is concerned, the government agreement is not set in stone and the coalition is open to discussing changes with the opposition parties, NU.nl reports.
The new Dutch government presented a very ambitious energy policy in its government agreement on Tuesday. By 2030 the Rutte III cabinet wants the Netherlands' greenhouse gas emissions to be 49 percent lower than the level it was in 1990, a higher goal than what European rules currently demand. The governments is also planning to advocate for a 55 percent reduction in emissions in Europe.
The Rutte III cabinet plans to have two Ministers each at the ministries of Security Justice, Public Health, and Education, sources told newspaper AD. This is the first time that Ministries in the Netherlands will be headed by two ministers, according to the newspaper.
Unions, associations and interest groups had mixed reactions to the Rutte III government's plans for the future. While some are carefully optimistic about what the Netherlands will hold in the coming years, the new government agreement left others with only concerns, according to reactions on the Volkskrant's liveblog of the agreement presentation.
The VVD, CDA, D66 and ChristenUnie presented its plans for the Netherlands for the coming years on Tuesday, 209 days after the parliamentary election In March. The Rutte III government is expected to take office in two weeks.
Opposition parties did not hesitate to comment on the new government's plans for the Netherlands for the coming years.
After 209 days of formation talks, the new Dutch government presented its plans for the coming years on Tuesday. Here follows some details from the agreement that were not leaked to the press before the official release.
After the longest formation process ever in Dutch history, the new Dutch government of VVD, CDA, D66 and ChristenUnie presented their government agreement to the Tweede Kamer and released it to the public. "The coalition agreement is ambitious and balanced", Prime Minister and VVD leader Mark Rutte said at a press conference after the agreement was handed to the Tweede Kamer, the Volkskrant reports.
After 208 days of negotiations, the new Dutch government coalition of VVD, CDA, D66 and ChristenUnie can almost take office. On Monday the negotiators of the four parties presented their new government agreement to their parliamentary factions, and all four parties approved it. It will be presented to the press and the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, later today, according to RTL Nieuws.
"Confidence in the future" is the motto of Prime Minister Mark Rutte's new government, the Rutte III cabinet, RTL Nieuws reports. The motto will be officially announced when the government agreement is presented. The expectation is that this will happen on Tuesday.
D66 leader Alexander Pechtold will not be a Minister in the new Dutch government, he confirmed to RTL Nieuws. He is staying as D66 leader in the Tweede Kamer, because that is better for "the stability of the new coalition" and being party leader in parliament gives him a bit more room on the home front, he said.
The VVD, CDA, D66 and ChristenUnie are now really very almost done with their government agreement, ChristenUnie leader Gert-Jan Segers said to NOS on Friday afternoon. But he thinks the four parties will have to meet again on Monday.
There will be no meetings over the weekend. The ChristenUnie respects the Sunday rest. "And on Saturday I have other plans", Segers said to the broadcaster.
The new Dutch government plans to limit gender registration and work gender-neutrally as much as possible, sources confirmed to RTL Nieuws. Article 1 of the Dutch Constitution will be supplemented to specifically prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Nearly seven months after the parliamentary elections, the negotiators of the VVD, CDA, D66 and ChristenUnie are finally done with their new government agreement, formation mediator Gerrit Zalm announced on Monday. The agreement was sent to the four parties' parliamentary factions, which have the rest of Monday to read through it, ask questions and make comments, NU.nl reports.
The new Dutch government is planning an experiment with regulated cannabis cultivation, to see if this legal cultivation will decrease organized crime and increase the safety of cannabis in the country. In the experiment, the government will give one organization a government license to grow cannabis, which will be distributed in six to 10 municipalities, RTL Nieuws reports.
The Rutte III government is changing the immigration policy, specifically they're limiting immigrants' access to benefits. The VVD, CDA, D66 and ChristenUnie are also increasing the low VAT rate from 6 percent to 9 percent, RTL Nieuws reports.
The Rutte III cabinet will have 16 Ministers and 9 State Secretaries, bringing the total up to 25, sources told newspaper AD. This is quite the turnaround for Prime Minister and VVD leader Mark Rutte, who with his past to cabinets repeatedly spoke about a "smaller and powerful government".
The new Dutch cabinet - Rutte III - will have three more Ministers than the current one, according to the Telegraaf. That will bring the total number of Ministers up to 16.
According to the newspapers, the new Ministers will be for Immigration and Integration, Climate Affairs, and Agriculture. Exactly what these portfolios will hold, is still being negotiated in the formation talks between the VVD, CDA, D66 and ChristenUnie.
