Cows dance outside during the opening of the farming season
Festive outdoor grazing at Campina farm with top skater Patrick Roest Today is the official first day of spring. Campina traditionally ushers in the…
National
KLM to launch KLM Holidays package-travel division
KLM recently announced plans to launch a package-travel division, KLM Holidays, to sell vacations directly to consumers. The company will offer travelers packaged vacations…
Dutch income tax
A person is subject to Dutch tax when that person is a Dutch tax resident. A Dutch tax resident is a person whose life…
Cabinet is allocating billions to combat educational disadvantages
On 17 February, the two Ministers of Education Ingrid van Engelshoven and Arie Slob announced extra financial support for the education system. The COVID-19…
Dutch or international school: how to make the right decision
When moving to the Netherlands with children, your first plan might be to send your kids to an international school. International schools offer curriculums…
When and how will I be vaccinated?
There finally seems to be light at the end of the dark tunnel that is the corona pandemic. The Netherlands commenced vaccinating its citizens…
The Dutch National Elections
The most important election in the Netherlands will take place on 15-17 March 2021, where voters will choose the new members of the House…
Plan to build one million houses in ten years
A coalition of 34 organizations in the Dutch housing and construction industry has put forward an Action Agenda for the building of one million…
Cabinet is allocating billions to combat educational disadvantages
On 17 February, the two Ministers of Education Ingrid van Engelshoven and Arie Slob announced extra financial support for the education system. The COVID-19…
What are we going to do with all that money saved during corona?
Believe it or not, according to the Dutch National Bank (DNB), in 2020 the Dutch managed to hoard an astounding 42 billion euros extra…
The closing of schools leads to major problems
Thinking back to when many of us were adolescents, the news of school closing would have been music to most of our ears. Not…
And the winner is: takeaway and grocery deliveries
Each crisis has its winners and losers and, during this pandemic one clear winner has particularly stood out, as a recent survey has shown:…
Millennials are getting richer quickly, thanks to the baby boomers
In 1992, the Dutch sociologist Henk Becker pigeon-holed four distinctive generations in Dutch society in the late twentieth century: the Pre-War generation (born 1910-1930);…
Dutch multinationals: government intervention required in recycling plastic
If a survey was conducted today asking people to choose just one thing that in their opinion is harming our planet the most, it…
Second lockdown threatens many sectors of the Dutch economy
With the introduction of the second lockdown in December 2020, several Dutch industries are facing the looming spectre of bankruptcy. Two industries have been…
2020: a record year for the mortgage market
The year 2020 is one for the history books as it changed many aspects of our lives; the mortgage market was no exception. Never…
No more weed for tourists, Amsterdam mayor says
A trip to Amsterdam may be a post-COVID dream plan for many visitors, but if they are expecting to engage in some recreational weed…
Lilianne Ploumen becomes the new PvdA party leader
On 18 January, Lilianne Ploumen became the new leader of the Dutch Labour Party (Partij van de Arbeid), following the resignation of her predecessor…
Scandal unveils lack of government transparency and forces cabinet to resign
On 15 January, two months before the March elections, Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced the resignation of his cabinet in response to the fallout…
The Hague, City of Peace and Justice
Nanda Jagusiak-Monteiro interviews Mr. Jan van Zanen, Mayor of The Hague Former posts: Deputy Mayor of Utrecht (1998-2005); Mayor of Amstelveen (2005-2013); Mayor of…
Buba the elephant can stay in the Netherlands
After a long dispute about her fate, the Cabinet has allowed Buba the circus elephant to stay with the Freiwalds, the famous German-Dutch family…
Can a puppy end our loneliness?
We have seen people shop for some unusual things during this pandemic. Home cooking and baking became a trend, yeast became high in demand….
More Dutch journalist are receiving serious threats of violence
A new statement from the Dutch National Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Security (NCTV), which protects the Netherlands from threats that could disrupt society, shows…
Pregnancy discrimination continues to be a problem in the labour market
By 2020, society is significantly more sensitive to questions of equality and discrimination than ever before. However, the COVID-19 crisis has affected both employers…
ABN AMRO to slash 15 per cent of jobs
ABN Amro has announced that it will cut up to 15 per cent of all jobs, amounting to more than 2,700 jobs, in the…
Groningen, healthiest city in the Netherlands
The expression stating that “there is nothing above Groningen” (er gaat niets boven Groningen) points to both its geographical location and a metaphorical one:…
Making Christmas special in corona times
It’s that time of the year again! But this year “that time of the year” will not be the usual affair. We won’t be…
United Wardrobe and Vinted join forces: A stand against fast fashion?
United Wardrobe, the leading online second-hand clothing platform in the Netherlands, has been taken over by its international competitor Vinted. The world of second-hand…
Growing homesickness among expats
Moving away from one’s home and family is always difficult; even when it’s one’s own decision. While there is so much to look forward…
TU Delft students develop key to counter smartphone addiction
Unpluq, a physical-digital key designed to help reduce smartphone addiction, launched on the market by the end of last October. The Dutch startup was…
PostNL expands its capacity in preparation for peak season
It’s no surprise that the coming holidays represent one of the busiest seasons ever for PostNL. In preparation for the expected dizzying increase in…
Corona crisis regulations are reversing social progress
The Covid-19 pandemic has forced everyone to make concessions in daily life. From the economy to social interaction, education and even home life, every…
Dutch designer Bas Timmer becomes a 2020 Time Magazine Next Generation Leader
When Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant asked young Dutch designer Bas Timmer (30) to describe what it felt like to become one of Time Magazine’s…
Companies struggling with drug crimes in the Port of Rotterdam
The drug mafia has penetrated the Rotterdam port. Criminals hide drugs in shipping containers, then break in to retrieve the drugs once the container…
Corona: Patients spend less time in hospitals during second wave of infections
People who test positive for the coronavirus in the second wave appear to have less serious symptoms compared to the people treated during the…
Increasing loneliness among young people due to working from home and online education
When working from home and online education first arrived as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, many people felt the change of pace felt…
Students are fed up with online higher education
Higher education students around the country are fed up with the lack of in-classroom education they are being able to take due to corona…
Percentage of female top executives has increased
The Female Board Index for 2019 has been published and it shows some progress in the Netherlands. The share of female directors and supervisory…
A good neighbour is better than a distant friend
The old Dutch proverb says: ‘Beter een goede buur dan een verre vriend” [it’s better to have good neighbour than a distant friend]. In…
Great “social distancing” day trips for autumn in the Netherlands
Vacation is over, summer is just about over, school’s back in session. Yes, autumn is upon us! Though the general call to avoid crowded…
Working from home: what are the drawbacks?
Since Covid-19 seems to be here to stay for the near future at least, a focus on the ‘new normal’ requires us to shift…
Who should pay for compulsory home quarantine?
There has been an increase in the number of reported Covid-19 infections in the Netherlands. The pandemic is seeing a resurgence not just in…
Wind turbines and birds don’t go well together
Perched on the North Sea, one resource the Netherlands has a lot of is wind. Already since the Middle Ages, while other European countries…
The importance of bees for the world
Bees are an essential animal for both the ecosystem and biodiversity conservation. Sadly, as a result of human activities, the quantity of bees and…
The cure for the Netherlands’ false sense of security is masks
In recent weeks, the coronavirus pandemic has surged in the Netherlands, with hundreds of new infections discovered daily. While the Dutch have embraced working…
After hard negotiations, a new budget for the EU
The European Union has a new budget deal. After four days of intense negotiations and lots of political posturing, European leaders in July agreed…
Racism in the Netherlands
Over the past decades, the Dutch generally considered racism a concept associated with other countries, the United States for example. For a very long…
If you’re going on holiday, make sure you travel smart
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, summer 2020 will be very different to what we’re used to. From 15 June, travel restrictions to some countries…
CTG scan for pregnant women in your own environment
Monitoring of the unborn baby at home every day with a CTG scan. It is possible for pregnant women with a medical indication who…
Outdoor terraces are open, but is it worth it?
For over a hundred days now, the coronavirus has been governing the lives of Dutch people, keeping them away from friends and family, closing…
Online banks sloppy with privacy
When the Consumers’ Association (Consumentenbond) conducted research on the online privacy of customers of banks in the Netherlands, the findings exposed that many new,…
Improved digital skills and independence
As the Netherlands is slowly emerging from the worst of its lockdown, some teachers, pupils and parents have been taking stock and looked at…
Will social distancing become the new normal?
The first wave of Covid-19 infections is behind us and the Netherlands, as many other countries, is relaxing its corona measures. Now that the…
Fraud at language schools for immigrants
Lina: Can I register for the Dutch language course? Ahmad Abo Rashed: Of course! Lina: But I can’t attend the classes… Ahmad Abo Rashed:…
Fair and equal recovery for the European economy
The global impact of Covid-19 has been, and still is at this point, far-reaching and all-consuming. However, now that the initial wave of health…
A dry summer ahead for NL
After the driest spring ever recorded, not much rain is expected this summer either, according to reports from the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI). Warm…
Dutch government makes new agreements for local law enforcement officers to carry weapons
Extraordinary investigation officers (boas) are officers who help the police to supervise local order and safety, such as environmental inspectors, traffic wardens or security…
€500 million extra for students and summer school programs
With the lockdown in the Netherlands, almost every age group and lifestyle in Dutch society has been affected in some way. The elderly in…
The race for an efficient vaccine to combat the Coronavirus is underway
Many laboratories around the world have been working round the clock to find an efficient vaccine to prevent the spread of the new Coronavirus….
Language friendly school
Optimist International School has taken its first steps towards becoming a member of Language Friendly Schools. What is a Language Friendly School? A Language…
Your online stop for education!
Pupils, students, teachers and parents are at home en masse because of the strict corona measures. How do you arrange education? This requires enormous…
Fighting COVID-19 with creativity
When a friend approached Fabian de Leede to see if he could help covert snorkel masks into medical masks through 3D printing, he had…
How has Mark Rutte performed during this crisis?
The novel Coronavirus or Covid-19 is by now the worst pandemic the world has faced in over half a century. After the first cases…
Vulnerable students disappearing from radar during school closures
After schools closed due to the Corona pandemic, many schools have lost contact with some of their students, as revealed by the Association of…
Schools will finally open again – children and the corona virus according to the RIVM
Around the world, governments have temporarily closed educational institutions in a coordinated effort to contain the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. According to UNESCO…
Looking back at the Netherlands after Covid-19
What will the Netherlands, and the world at large, look like ‘post-corona’? Will it be business as usual, out-of-business or business 2.0? In what…
The Netherlands celebrated its first-ever King’s Day at home
Due to the measures taken amid the corona crisis, on 27 April the Netherlands celebrated king Willem-Alexander’s 53rd birthday at home. The national holiday,…
Hospitality sector struggles to survive the ‘intelligent lockdown’
On 15 March the Dutch government announced a series of regulations intended to slow the spread of Covid-19 in the Netherlands. Many businesses have…
Empty hospitals and a ‘new normal’: the effects of corona on Dutch healthcare
As the corona crisis continues, some of its effects on the Dutch healthcare system have been brought to light. Not only have there been…
The fight continues: 50Plus party in turmoil again
By now it’s a familiar sight: members of political party 50Plus fighting between themselves. On 26 April, chairman Geert Dales announced the resignation of…
The consequences of Covid-19 for the events industry
The risks of spreading Coronavirus has forced Dutch authorities to take the necessary safety precautions in ensuring public health. One of the most far-reaching…
The Netherlands aims to become a nation of food heroes
Empty supermarket shelves in recent weeks make it easy to forget that the Netherlands typically has a food waste problem. Recently released data from…
Indoor cycling: keeping fit and staying safe
As this edition of the Holland Times went to press, the prevailing advice for safe cycling in the Corona crisis was moving from outdoors…
Sport 2020: When the lights went out
Not all that long ago, sports fans were faced with difficult choices. In the February issue of the Holland Times, the headline read, “2020:…
Childcare Allowance drama
As reported earlier in the Holland Times, about 8,500 Dutch parents have been wrongfully accused of childcare allowance fraud by the Belastingdienst (Tax and…
Culture in Quarantine
The Netherlands has adopted social distancing en masse since 12 March. The situation has had, and will likely continue to have, a massive economic…
The Dutch take a gamble with corona
As the corona epidemic is sweeping the world, each affected country deals with the onslaught in its own way. Rather than coordinating and taking…
And now for some good news: the positive developments around the coronavirus
“Bad news has been overwhelming us, and it makes sense that we are all starting to feel despondent. Nevertheless, there is also good news…
What are the effects of social isolation and quarantine on people?
The COVID-19 outbreak, and its development as a pandemic throughout the last few months, has forced governments around the world to advice or enforce…
Impact of the Corona virus on the Dutch economy
As hopes for an avoidance of a pandemic scenario across Europe tumbled over the last fortnight, economists have been just as quickly scrambling to…
Amazon launches in the Dutch market
On 10 March 2020, the largest e-tailer in the world, Amazon, was officially launched in the Netherlands. This meant the final step for the…
A trip to London – planes vs. trains vs. automobiles
On 4 February the Dutch Railways (NS) made the first test trip with its new direct service from Amsterdam to London. The new direct…
Shortage of plumbers as house market is on the rise
As more houses are being built and renovated in the Netherlands, the demand for plumbers is also on the rise. House owners with leaks,…
Depoldering of the Hertogin Hedwigepolder in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen
Edition 31 January, by Seringe S.T. Touray The depoldering of the Hertogin Hedwigepolder will begin early this year, reported Omroep Zeeland in December 2019….
Mail bombs and threats sent to various businesses across the Netherlands
Edition 31 January, by Raphael Perachi Vieira In the last few weeks, several mail bombs and letters containing threats were sent to organisations in…
Maastricht University pays ransom to hackers
Edition 31 January, by Louis Gore Langton Maastricht University has reportedly been forced to pay a significant sum to a criminal cyber group after…
Immigration numbers ´too high´
Edition 31 January, by Femke van Iperen Dutch ministers want predictable immigration numbers. Others say it’s time to look at the bigger picture. This…
Changes in 2020 by the National Government
Edition 31 January, by Phoebe Potter Work and income In the field of work and income, most of the changes coming in for 2020…
Increasingly fewer ATMs in Dutch streets
Edition 27 December, by Juan Ālvarez Umbarila Fewer and fewer ATMs can be found in the streets of the Netherlands these days. The…
Reduced speed limit to ease housing woes
Edition 27 December, by Geetanjali Gupta The maximum speed limit of 130km/hour is slated to go down to 100km/hour in the Netherlands from mid-March,…
Mass layoff at Tata Steel: 1600 jobs scrapped
Edition 27 December, by Sagar Harinarayan Tata Steel Europe plans to cut 3000 jobs during an organization-wide restructuring. The company is embarking upon a…
Zero tolerance policy against racism in football stadiums
Edition 27 December, By Stephen Swai An initiative against racism in football stadiums in the Netherlands is expected to be rolled out in January…
Prohibition of bonfires in The Hague on New Year’s Eve
Edition 27 December 2019, by Priyanka SharmaThe history The tradition of bonfires at Scheveningen and Duindorp goes as far back as 200 years. In…
Salary gap between men and women still not closed
Edition 27 December, by Phoebe Potter New statistics have confirmed that women in the Netherlands are still earning less than men. In figures that…
The Netherlands has an urgent need for cops, nurses and teachers
Edition 27 December 2019, by Johannes Visser The Netherlands is facing a serious shortage of cops, nurses and teachers and things are only getting…
A small country tries to bring down its high nitrogen levels
Edition 31 October 2019, by Johannes Visser ‘Very serious national measures are needed to counter the high levels of nitrogen emissions within the Netherlands….
Farmers protest against bad press
Edition 31 October, by Stephen Swai Hundreds of farmersdrove to The Hague by tractor to protest against what they called unfair treatment by the…
Murder of Derk Wiersum also ‘an attack on the rule of law’
Edition 31 October 2019, by Seringe S.T. Touray Derk Wiersum, lawyer of crown witness Nabil B. against infamous cocaine-dealing criminal Ridouan Taghi, was murdered…
The government’s plans for 2020 as presented on Prince’s Day
Edition 31 October 2019, by Stephen Swai Relief for middle- and high-income groups The total burden on citizens will be reduced by 4.4 billion…
Three strikes, you’re out for the mayor of The Hague
Edition 31 October 2019, by Johannes Visser The city of The Hague last month lost its mayor and two aldermen in very quick succession….
Leader of the Party for the Animals (PvdD) Marianne Thieme resigns
Edition 31 October 2019. by Femke van Iperen Praising words, a royal award and a lot of speculation This September, Marianne Thieme resigned as…
Optimist international school scores great evaluation and new location
Edition 31 October 2019 Optimist International School had it’s fi rst offi cial evaluation by the Inspectorate of Education which shows the team is…
Seventh location for Zein International Childcare the Hague
Edition 31 October 2019 Childcare opens ‘The Pines’ their seventh location in The Hague region. Located on the premises of Tennis Park WW in…
Amsterdam Montessori school closure
Edition 31 October, by Femke van Iperen First victim of teacher shortage in the Netherlands? This September it was announced that an Amsterdam Montessori…
School Board spending choices contribute to national teacher shortage
Edition 31 October 2019, By Lorre Luther On 5 July, various Dutch teachers’ unions sent a letter to Arie Slob, Minister for Elementary and…
A war hero’s tragic fall from grace Marco Kroon
Edition 28 June 2019, by Johannes Visser A heroic troublemaker or decorated yet delusional blowhard? The jury is not out on the Dutch ex-commando…
Scientific expedition to the heart of Amsterdam
Edition 28 June 2019, by Nanda Jagusiak-Monteiro This summer, a group of biodiversity enthusiasts will attempt to discover new species of wildlife right in…
Big Brother is indeed watching you
Edition 28 June 2019, by Lorre Luther A Volkskrant investigation conducted earlier this year revealed that at least 60 Dutch municipalities engage in Wi-…
Care for the elderly must change
Edition 28 June, by Stephen Swai Changes in the air It seems that many Dutch people are unaware of how care for the elderly…
Warning on infrastructure
Written by Marla Thomson Warning bells are ringing again for the Netherlands Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management to address the status of the…
1,600 children disappeared from asylum care
Edition 28 June, by Seringe S.T. Touray While irregular migration continues to be a major topic in Europe and around the world, more than…
Antisemitism on the rise in the Netherlands
Edition 28 June 2019, by Benjamin Roberts While on 6 June 2019, European leaders stood shoulder to shoulder commemorating the 75th anniversary of the…
Pension agreement has been reached in principle
Edition 28 June 2019, by Femke van Iperen Following nine years of ‘polderen’ between the government and all relevant parties, on 4 June a…
A political landslide in the Netherlands
On March 20, the Netherlands witnessed a momentous, record-breaking and greatly influential election. A political earthquake has turned the Dutch Senate into a place…
The nicest shopping areas in NL
Edition 19 April 2019, by Bárbara Luque Rain, wind or thunder have never stopped life in the Netherlands, and let’s be honest, there is…
One million homes at risk of structural damage due to drought
Edition 19 April 2019, by Megan Janicke Groundwater in the Netherlands has dropped to extremely low levels. Now, reports of sagging and sinking homes…
Is Dutch dying in Amsterdam?
Edition 19 April 2019, by Lorre Luther Every Saturday afternoon, worshipers flock to De Krijtberg, a picturesque Catholic church in the heart of Amsterdam,…
Latest Dutch National Quality Monitor for Childcare
Edition 19 April 2019, by Femke van Iperen ‘Satisfactory to good’ The latest Dutch National Quality Monitor for Childcare report shows a positive picture…
Haga Lyceum Accused of Extremist Sympathies
Edition 19 April 2019, by Seringe S.T. Touray “Things are happening at the school which are not good for democracy and for integration,” said…
Dutch supermarkets have been testing their potential to go plastic-free.
Edition 19 April 2019, by Femke van Iperen A step in the right direction? Opinions vary. As public concern around plastic and its devastating…
A shooting leaves a nation in shock
Edition 19 April 2019, by Johannes Visser On Monday 18 March, the Netherlands went through a day of physical and psychological terror. A man…
A new chance for the stint, soon back on the streets
Edition 19 April 2019, by Megan Jancike Made-in-Holland electric freight vehicles, known as ‘stints’, will soon make their way back to the Dutch roads….
Never a dull moment with politician Klaas Dijkhoff
Edition 8 March 2019, by Stephen Swai Regardless what you might think of him, there is a never dull moment when it comes to…
Rotterdam study: healthy lifestyle means you live six years longer
Edition 8 March 2019, by Stephen Swai According to the results of a study by the Erasmus MC hospital, published in scientific journal PLos…
Former PVV politician Joram van Klaveren converts to Islam
Edition 8 March, by Lorre Luther Joram van Klaveren, a former member of Geert Wilders’ Partij voor de Vrijheid (PVV) recently announced his conversion…
Online gambling will soon be legal in the Netherlands
Edition 8 March 2019, by Lisette Bosman Source: onlinecasinoground.nl Government budget for 2020 contains tax income from remote gambling Two (online) gambling bills have recently…
Srebrenica: Dutch history still in the writing
Edition 8 March, by by Johannes Visser One name hangs like a dark cloud over Dutch contemporary history, still being written: Srebrenica. It epitomizes…
‘Certainty’ promised to children seeking asylum in the Netherlands
Edition 8 March 2019, byMegan Janicke Hundreds of asylum-seeking children who were previously denied residency in the Netherlands could now be granted the right…
Is this really the best of Amsterdam?
The results are in! Big 7 Travel, the international travel media company, has announced its ultimate ‘best of’ lists for Amsterdam. The lists range…
Can the government still govern after upcoming Senate elections?
Edition 8 March 2019, by Seringe S.T. Touray Every four years, the Provincial Councils of the twelve Dutch provinces elect for the members of…
Yellow vests in action in the Netherlands
Edition 8 March, by Bárbara Luque Fuelled by the December protests in France, originally aimed at rising petrol costs, which involved tens of thousands…
Dutch students skip class for climate change
Edition 8 March 2019, by Juan Alvarez A National Student Protest for a Better Climate took place on Thursday 7 February in The Hague….
Increase of expats at Dutch-speaking schools
Edition 8 March 2019, by Bárbara Luqe Recently, municipalities have struggled to fill the educational needs of expat children in Dutch schools. Public schools,…
Social security vacations, paid for by the State
The Netherlands has a problem. Thousands of migrant workers receive unemployment benefits that they are not entitled to. Most of them are Polish seasonal…
Illegal residents of ADM yard Amsterdam forced to move after more than 20 years
Written by Phoebe Potter Illegal Conceived as a shipyard, the ADM – Amsterdamsche Drydock Company NV – has been through a vibrant history. On…
Amsterdam and Rotterdam take ‘hiss prohibition’ seriously
Written by Bárbara Luque Alanís In an attempt to make streets safer for everyone, the Netherlands is now applying legal pressure to combat street…
International train travel up
Edition 1 February, by Marla Thomson Travel by train in Europe is – not surprisingly – on the rise. Local, regional and now international…
Groningen Airport Eelde facing further problems
Written by Stephen Swai It seems that Groningen Airport Eelde, the Netherlands’ smallest passenger airfi eld, is in trouble following recent bad news. On…
Blacklisting tax havens: something about a pot and kettle
Edition 1 February 2019, by Johannes Visser The Dutch government recently published its expanded blacklist of tax-avoiding countries. Some of the countries on the…
Dutch boy band Breunion Boys wants the UK to stay in the EU
Written by Stephen Swai Whenever there is a crisis, interesting things happen. Take for example the Breunion Boys. This pro-European Union boy band has…
Converted housing. A solution to the housing shortage?
Written by Benjamin Roberts In the last couple of years, the Netherlands has been reminded again of its age-old problem. With a growing population…
Cause of mass deaths of starlings in the Hague identified
Written by Seringe S.T. Touray Autumn was in full swing in The Hague last year, the last residues of summer fading, parks filled with…
Oostvaardersplassen: tensions rise as judge gives green light for more than 1,800 red deer to be shot
Edition 1 February, by Femke van Iperen The continued tensions around the welfare of the large grazing animals inhabiting the Oostvaardersplassen nature reserve reached…
Dutch climate agreement has the Greens fired up
Edition 1 February 2019, by Johannes Visser The Netherlands has a new climate agreement. There is just one problem: the green side of the…
The Dutch solar-powered car designed near Eindhoven
Edition 1 February, by Juan Alvarez Less than 20 km away from Eindhoven, in Helmond, an all- Dutch start-up is designing an electric car…