The VVD, CDA, D66 and ChristenUnie decided not to increase healthcare own-risk deductibles next year, government formation mediator Gerrit Zalm announced in a letter sent at the insistence of the Tweede Kamer. To compensate for that, health insurance premiums will increase by an extra 10 euros per year, RTL Nieuws reports.
VVD
Sep 19 '17 15:10
The people of the Netherlands are currently not very enthusiastic about the still forming government of VVD, CDA, D66 and ChristenUnie, according to a study Ipsos did on behalf of broadcaster NOS. Only a quarter are positive about a government consisting of those four parties, around 33 percent are negative about it and over 40 percent have no strong feelings either way, NOS reports.
Sep 19 '17 09:16
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.
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 7 '17 09:28
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.
Sep 6 '17 10:30
The health insurance premium and mandatory own risk contribution will increase further in the coming years, newspaper Telegraaf and news wire ANP report based on anonymous sources.
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 16:10
Months long talks between the unions and employers about new rules for flexible work and dismissal law, failed. No agreement could be reached. This means that the parties on the government formation table - the VVD, CDA, D66 and ChristenUnie - will have to come up with reforms themselves, possibly without the support of the employers and employees, which could cause delays in the government formation, AD reports.
Aug 31 '17 15:40
The parties negotiating forming a new Dutch government together are currently talking about scrapping consultative referendums, which means that citizens will no longer be able to give an advisory vote on changes in legislation, RTL Nieuws reports based on sources. The VVD, CDA, D66 and ChristenUnie are also negotiating mayoral elections - allowing the residents of municipalities to vote for their mayor, according to the broadcaster.
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 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 25 '17 09:40
Broadcasting association BNNVARA announced that it will be showing 'Jesse' - a documentary about GroenLinks leader Jesse Klaver - during prime time on September 4th. The fact that the documentary was made by a former GroenLinks employee and friend of Klaver, triggered outrage on social media, where some renounced the documentary as a "propaganda film" and others raised questions about public broadcaster NPO's objectivity, the Volkskrant reports.
Aug 24 '17 15:20
Dutch food safety authority NVWA is facing fierce criticism in the Tweede Kamer on Thursday. The parliamentarians have nothing good to say about the NVWA's actions in dealing with millions of Dutch eggs being contaminated by toxic insecticide fipronil. In summary, the MPs accused the NVWA of not communicating well, not responding adequately to an anonymous tip about the contamination and having an inadequate setup to deal with such a crisis, 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 22 '17 08:00
Former State Secretary Robin Linschoten (VVD) is suspected of tax fraud, ANP reports. He must appear in the court of Amsterdam on September 1st. The Public Prosecutor would not confirm that the case involves Linschoten, only saying that the suspect is a 60-year-old man from Eemnes - Linschoten's age and hometown, 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 18 '17 13:10
The terrorist attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils on Thursday and Friday emphasize the need to hurry with the government formation, VVD leader Halbe Zijlstra said at the start of the formation talks on Friday morning. "A country without a government is really something you should not have for too long, certainly not in this time", he said to newspaper AD.
Zijlstra called the attacks terrible.
Aug 18 '17 08:01
Spain was hit by two terrorist attacks. The first in Barcelona on Thursday afternoon, the second in Cambrils during the early hours of Friday morning. Thirteen people were killed and over 100 others were injured, including three Dutch, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed. Their condition is not life threatening, NOS reports.
The attack in Barcelona happened around 5:00 p.m. A van drove onto the Ramblas, crashing into dozens of people. Thirteen people were killed and over 100 ended up in hospital, including the three Dutch. The perpetrators fled.
Aug 17 '17 15:10
The Tweede Kamer is cutting its summer holiday short in order to debate the fipronil contamination of eggs from Dutch poultry farms with Public Health Minister Edith Schippers and State Secretary Martijn van Dam of Economic Affairs, NU.nl reports.
Aug 17 '17 09:37
The VVD, CDA, D66 and ChristenUnie - the four parties currently negotiating forming a new Dutch government together - want to take several measures to strengthen the position of LGBTI people in the Netherlands, AD reports based on a draft government agreement the newspaper managed to get hold of.
Aug 16 '17 08:26
The four parties currently negotiating forming a new Dutch government together want to obligate schools to teach their students the text, meaning and melody of the Wilhelmus, the Dutch national anthem, AD reports based on a draft text of the government agreement the newspaper managed to get hold of.
