Shell’s move to London: a strategy for sustainability
On Sunday 14 November, Royal Dutch Shell informed the Dutch government of its intention to move its headquarters to London from The Hague. A…
National
The eleventh hour? Only 30 percent of the Dutch trust their government
According to a recently published report about the social impact of Covid-19 in the Netherlands, at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in April…
Overheated housing market: DNB offers solutions
Escalating house prices, a lack of housing, negative social consequences and public demonstrations highlighting the urgency of the problem: the country seems fed up…
Amsterdam sees drastic drop in tourist rental listings
Recent steps taken by Amsterdam’s city council to reduce problems associated with overtourism appear to be paying off — the number of tourist rentals…
Amsterdam’s housing crisis
There is no denying that the housing crisis in this country has taken on new urgency, with more and more people struggling and often…
Mayor Halsema wants more money to fight drug crime
What are the Dutch most known for, their cheese or their narcotics? The nation that so far was best known for its tulips, windmills,…
Skyrocketing energy prices
Since the cancellation of many Covid restrictions, all around the world the demand for fuel has skyrocketed. In 2020, in the midst of the…
Cyber threats aimed at politicians are on the rise
Digital life has added more complexity to an already tricky question: How can the authorities decipher the difference between hateful rants that contain hollow…
Current Dutch politics – and now for something new
As much as we thought and hoped there would be a new cabinet in the Dutch government to showcase in this edition, alas there…
GPs feel the strain
The extremely high pressure under which GPs work, in addition to staff shortages, means an overload for general health care in the Netherlands. Running…
Prinsjesdag 2021: No royal carriage, no horses, no audience, no frills. But the show must go on
For a second year running, there was a no-frills policy at this year’s Prinsjesdag (‘Little Princes Day’). With its adjusted corona programme, members of…
Tata Steel: environmental threat or essential industry?
In the history of mankind, the battle between environment and jobs, the latter have always won. But that is changing – people are no…
Politicians’ proposals over ever-rising house prices
The current housing crisis in the Netherlands is so big that people have taken to the streets to express their anger and frustration that…
Buyers’ nightmare leads to housing protest in Amsterdam
Imagine house-hunting and seeing a place that you like, and then demanding the walls be painted in your favorite colour, bathroom tiles changed, kitchen…
Hazing under fire after excessive violence at student associations
The phenomenon of hazing is once again under fire. Soon-to-be members of six fraternities in Amsterdam were mistreated and humiliated during the traditional hazing…
Princess Laurentien opens European School The Hague
Her Royal Highness Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands will open the high school building of the European School in The Hague on Friday 1…
Foreign students coming back to the Netherlands
Busy hallways, full libraries, lively discussions about group assignments and what to do next weekend – student life is flourishing again in the Netherlands….
After 13 years, a President of Suriname visits the Netherlands
Last September, Suriname’s president Chandrikapersad “Chan” Santokhi paid an official visit to the Netherlands, the first in more than a decade of tense relations…
Does flex work law cost jobs?
New law shakes things up The Balanced Labour Market Act (WAB) was established in 2020 and was intended to increase the position of flex…
Dutch government formation talks … take three
Already six months have passed the Dutch national elections in March 2021, and there is still no majority coalition and thus no new cabinet….
Bureaucratic backlash
As if authored by Kafka himself, foreigners and Dutch nationals returning to the Netherlands have landed in a bureaucratic nightmare. According to Dutch law,…
More companies introducing compulsory vaccination
Demand for vaccination? Ever since corona vaccination has become available for everyone, there have been various instances in which businesses have required their employees…
European robotic arm to be launched to the space station
On July 5, a press event took place at ESA ESTEC in Noordwijk in anticipation of the launch of the ESA’s European Robotic Arm…
Rabobank plans to build 12,000 temporary houses
In an effort to bring up a solution to the housing shortage in the Netherlands, Rabobank has plans to build a total of 12,000…
Future of solar energy on track in the Netherlands
This July, the Netherlands’ National Programme for the Regional Energy Strategy (NPRES) announced that nearly all the sustainable energy strategies of the 30 separate…
The Netherlands is slow, but can still catch up with its neighbours in the climate fight
The objective has been set: by 2030, the amount of greenhouse gases emitted must be decreased by 55%. The ultimate end goal is to have no greenhouse gas…
€249 million for holiday corona tests: money well spent?
Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport Hugo de Jonge recently announced that corona testing is free for citizens going on holidays in July and…
CoronaCheck app
Imagine having a mobile app that acts as a vaccination certificate? With nearly two million apps available for download worldwide, the grim age of…
Covid vaccinations now open for teenagers
With the Delta variant of Covid-19 looming on the horizon, Dutch pediatricians announced in late June that teenagers aged 12 to 17 should also…
Student loan system increases inequality
The current student loan system in place in the Netherlands is receiving increasing amounts of criticism for several reasons. Critics claim that the structure…
Laws and regulations change as of 1 July 2021
Like every year, certain changes to the laws and regulations have gone into effect as of 1 July. The biggest changes, that will have…
The stalemate continues: no new government in sight
Though nearly four months have passed since the national election, the formation of a government is still not complete. The three parties at the…
Just in time for Summer
After a long, grueling 15 months, with the last 6 of them feeling the longest, life seems to be returning to normal, and not…
Despite abundant rain, the drought is not over yet
Last month we were all wondering when the rain and low temperatures would stop and give way to the much-awaited spring. It was a…
Shady deals? Face mask procurement affair leads to debate
The scarcity of face masks at the start of the corona crisis in 2020 led to questionable trade practices in order to supply enough…