State Secretary Stientje van Veldhoven of Infrastructure and Water Management is not impressed by ProRail CEO Pier Eringa's intention to start blocking off unguarded railway crossings at his own initiative. "It is now a tradition for Mr. Eringa to show up with all kinds of plans in the media in the run-up to a parliamentary debate about railways", she said, NOS reports.
The Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, will discuss the railways on Thursday.
PvdD leader Marianne Thieme is temporarily stepping out of the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, because she is ill. Exactly what illness she has, was not disclosed for privacy reasons. Thieme hopes to be healthy and working again in 16 weeks, her spokesperson said to RTL Nieuws.
In addition to her work as parliamentarian, Thieme is also temporarily stopping her international work.
Alexander Pechtold is resigning as leader of the parliamentary faction of the D66, he announced at the party congress in Den Bosch on Saturday. The party will choose a successor on Tuesday. It is "time for a new generation", Pechtold said n his farewell speech, NU.nl reports.
The non-lethal aid the Netherlands provided to various armed rebel groups in the Syrian Civil War "could have gone better", Minister Stef Blok of Foreign Affairs said in a parliamentary debate about the NLA program on Tuesday. However, he does not think it went "unreasonably wrong", and he rejected the suggestion that the Netherlands gave large-scale support to terrorist groups that violated human rights, NU.nl reports.
The approach to unemployment benefit fraud by migrant workers does not have the "necessary urgency", Minister Wouter Koolmees of Social Affairs wrote in a letter to the Tweede Kamer following reports by Nieuwsuur about large-scale fraud committed by labor migrants from Poland.
The Dutch government wants to register the race, ethnicity, political views, and religion or philosophical conviction of anyone who applies for or renews a firearm license. These new requirements for firearm licenses are written in a legislative proposal that will be submitted to the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, next month, the Volkskrant reports.
Defense made mistakes in acquiring winter clothing for soldiers who will participate in a NATO mission in Norway next month. As a result, the soldiers are forced to buy their own clothing for the mission in a terrain where temperatures can drop to -20 degrees. The Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, is furious, NU.nl reports.
Multiple banks under the supervision of Dutch central bank DNB are too lax when it comes to countering money laundering, according to the regulator. Minister Wopke Hoekstra of Finance asked the DNB to look into this after ING was slapped with a massive settlement for this same reason. He informed parliament about the results of the DNB investigation on Tuesday, ANP reports.
A new political proposal could ban bike riders in the Netherlands from using their mobile phones. The law change was prepared by Cora van Nieuwenhuizen-Wijbenga, the Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management, with consultation from the Security and Justice Ministry, according to a letter she sent to the chair of the Dutch lower house of Parliament.
The second day of the General Political Considerations, the parliamentary debate on the government's plans and budget for the next year, started on Friday morning with parliamentarians briefly commemorating four children who were killed in a railway accident in Oss on Thursday morning, NOS reports.
PVV leader Geert Wilders put forward a proposal to ban all forms of Islamic expressions in the Netherlands during the first day of the General Considerations, the parliamentary debate on the government's plans and budget for the next year, on Wednesday. The proposal was immediately shot down by the other parties, NU.nl reports.
The VVD's proposal to punish law breakers in problem neighborhoods twice as harshly as someone from another neighborhood, led to sharp accusations during the first day of the General Political Considerations, the parliamentary debate on the government's budget and plans for next year, on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte wants to appoint a "designated survivor" - a Minister that won't attend large gatherings like Budget Day in the future, so that there is someone who can run the country should an extreme emergency suddenly arise - he said in a proposal to the Tweede Kamer, ANP reports.
Minister Kasja Ollongren of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations did not want a critical report from the supervisor on the Dutch intelligence services to be published just before the referendum on the new law for the intelligence services, Nieuwsuur reports based on documents received after appealing to the freedom of information act and the Intelligence and Security Service Act.
The VVD's newest parliamentarian Thierry Aartsen, who will replace Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert in the Tweede Kamer on Thursday, is facing criticism about comments he made on Twitter in the past. Despite the controversy, Aartsen can count on the support of faction leader Klaas Dikjhof. As far as he is concerned, Aartsen is "most welcome" in the VVD parliamentary faction, NU.nl reports.
The Dutch government wants to increase the interest on student loans as of 2020, according to a legislative proposal sent to the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, last week. The measure must bring 226 million euros into the treasury, and is intended to keep the loan system affordable, ANP reports.
Minister Stef Blok of Foreign Affairs survived a motion of no confidence in a parliamentary debate on Wednesday about statements he made on multicultural societies. Many opposition parties voted against him, but he still has the support of the coalition, NU.nl reports.
Minister Stef Blok of Foreign Affairs is facing the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, on Wednesday to discuss statements he made about multicultural societies and Suriname. While the coalition parties support Blok, the opposition parties want him to prove that he can still fulfill his role as Foreign Minister after insulting a number of countries.
VVD parliamentarian Han ten Broeke resigned with immediate effect on Thursday. In a statement he said he had a brief sexual relationship with a young employee of the party in 2013, and that she later accused him of crossing a line. "If I look back on that now, I should never allowed myself that. It was not okay, should not have happened and will never happen again", Ten Broeke said, NOS reports.
The police will hinder train travelers at Utrecht Central Station during rush hour on Monday morning as part of their labor actions for a better collective bargaining agreement. Police officers will form a line at the station and passengers will only be able to enter through gaps in the line, ANP reports.
This action will happen between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. Travelers should take delays into account, according to the police unions. According to the municipality of Utrecht, agreements were made with the police unions and the municipality expects no hindrance to the public.
A 26-year-old man was arrested in connection with threats made against anti-Islam nationalist political party PVV or the Dutch parliamentary building complex, police announced. The arrest was made at the central train station in Den Haag on Tuesday, a day after the alleged threats were reported to police.
The Dutch government will re-examine whether it is possible to allow daycare centers to refuse children who haven't been vaccinated. A parliamentary majority, led by the three largest government parties, supports this, RTL Nieuws reports.
"Childcare must be a safe place. I understand the concerns about decreasing vaccination, that also affects childcare", State Secretary Tamara van Ark of Social Affairs said on Twitter. "That is why I want to investigate possibilities for organizations to refuse childcare for non-vaccinated children."
Members of the Eerste- and Tweede Kamer, the Dutch Senate and lower house of parliament, commemorated the victims of World War II who fell in the former Dutch East Indies. On Tuesday Kamer presidents Ankie Broekers-Knol and Kahdija Arib laid a wreath at the plaque for the victims in the Tweede Kamer building, ANP reports.
The Netherlands and Turkey are restoring their mutual diplomatic relations, Minister Stef Blok of Home Affairs reported to the lower house of Dutch parliament on Friday. This means that there will soon be a Turkish ambassador in The Hague, and a Dutch ambassador in Ankara, RTL Nieuws reports.
