UK

The European Union leaders decided to grant the United Kingdom another delay for their departure from the EU. The British now have until the end of October to approve a withdrawal agreement. Prime Minister Mark Rutte was satisfied after the hours long EU summit on Wednesday. "It was important that the union continue to function and we achieved that with this decision", he said to NOS.

"We must really take a no-deal Brexit into account", Prime Minister Mark Rutte said in Luxembourg after a Benelux summit. He called on the British to "please" make up their minds and make clear how they want to leave the European Union before April 12th. "Come to a political agreement, that is really crucial", Rutte said, the Telegraaf reports.

The United Kingdom leaving the European Union with no agreements in place would be a hard blow for the Netherlands, according to German think tank Bertelsmann Stiftung. A no-deal Brexit will cost the Netherlands 3.16 billion euros per year, the think tank calculated. That amounts to 186 euros per Dutch person per year, NU.nl reports.

The Brexit happening with agreements in place will be more favorable for the Netherlands. Then the damage will be limited to 1.75 billion euros per year, or 103 euros per Dutch person per year, according to the think tank.

On Tuesday the British House of Commons again rejected the Brexit agreement made by British Prime Minister Theressa May and the EU with an overwhelming majority. This means a postponement or a withdrawal with no agreement is the only remaining options. "I regret the outcome of tonight's Brexit vote", Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Twitter.

The Port of Rotterdam Authority is setting up five additional parking areas in preparation for a no-deal Brexit. These "buffer parking locations" have space for 700 trucks, for the event that carriers do not have their customs documents in order for maritime transport to the United Kingdom, NU.nl reports.

The Dutch government will not help Dutch rebel fighter in the Syrian civil war Yago R. get out of Syria, where he is currently in a Kurdish prison. His British wife and their newborn son are also not welcome in the Netherlands, the Volkskrant reports based on information from immigration and naturalization service IND and the Ministry of Justice and Security. 

The United Kingdom is not strong enough to stand on its own on the world stage, Prime Minister Mark Rutte said in interviews with European media. "It is the British who will be left weakened after the Brexit, becoming a medium-sized economy. Neither the US nor the EU". According to Rutte, the power of the UK is "waning" compared to two or three years ago. The country alone is not big enough to play a significant role internationally, Spanish newspaper El Pais quoted him. 

Customs sent letters to 72,277 Dutch entrepreneurs who do business with the United Kingdom to warn them of the consequences of a no-deal Brexit. Most of them are still poorly prepared, and for many of them it is already too late, Customs director Nanette van Schelven said to Financieele Dagblad.

Over 250 companies are showing interest in moving to from the United Kingdom to the Netherlands due to the Brexit, a spokesperson for the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA) said to NOS. At the start of 2017 a total of 80 companies were considering moving to the Netherlands, and early last year there were 150.

A more relaxed Brexit deal than the Withdrawal Agreement the British House of Commons rejected may be possible, but only if the British are willing to "move on their preconditions", Prime Minister Mark Rutte said. European chief negotiator Michel Barnier also said that another deal is possible, provided London meets the EU halfway, NOS reports.

As the Dutch economy continues to improve, more permanent jobs will be offered in the Netherlands and contract wages at companies will continue to rise, according to Dutch central bank De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), NU.nl reports.

The number of permanent jobs is already increasing, said Job Swank, director of financial stability at DNB. This year, contract wages are expected to rise by 2.1 percent, after they already rose 1.5 percent in 2018. For 2019 and 2020 the bank expects wage increases of 2.6 and 3 percent respectively.