Scroll down for Dutch related news items and articles, in Dutch and in English (like the paper).
07/01
The leaders of 10 political parties in parliament, including all four coalition partners, have urged the Dutch government to step up its support for the Iranian people who have been protesting against the regime since the death of Mahsa Amini last September. The Netherlands and the European Union must continue to support the freedom-loving Iranians and be their voice, the party leaders say in an open letter to the Volkskrant. ‘The Iranian regime violates universal human rights and its military activities also pose a threat to international security,’ the MPs say.
7/01
The trial of several men for their role in the murder of television crime reporter Peter R. de Vries resumed for a pro-forma hearing on Friday, following the replacement of one of the judges who has emigrated. In total six men have now been charged in connection with killing De Vries, who was shot in July 2021 after leaving a television recording studio in the centre of Amsterdam. He died in hospital nine days later. The case against the shooter Delano G and driver Kamil E had been virtually completed last summer and both men faced life sentences, but the case was reopened because of new evidence.
7/01
The annual rate of inflation fell marginally to 9.6% in December after reaching a peak of 14.5% in September, national statistics agency CBS said on Friday. The figure is preliminary and will be revised later this month. The figures cover inflation when calculated according to the Dutch method, which includes the impact of rental housing. The European figure, published at the end of last month, was 11%, a decline of 0.3 percentage point on November. The slight downturn in December was due to lower food and energy prices, the CBS said.
02/01
Ombudsman slams government for ‘not living up to promises
’
Ombudsman Reinier van Zutphen. The national ombudsman has issued a stinging critique of the government’s performance in an interview with the Telegraaf, saying ministers ‘have failed and not lived up to their promises’. Ministers, Reinier van Zutphen said, are continually making the same mistakes – from dealing with the floods in southern Limburg to repairing the damage caused by gas-related earthquakes in Groningen – and he told the paper he is concerned about the impact on people’s trust in the government apparatus. ‘People are experiencing government as something on the other side of the table, when it should be sitting next to them,’ he said. ‘This is a bad development.’ Tens of thousands of people have ended up in trouble because of issues such as the childcare benefit scandal and the Groningen gas drilling, he said. ‘In Limburg, 18 months after the floods, people are still waiting for compensation,’ he said. ‘But in a wealthy country such as ours, you would think things were well organised. And the government knows what has to be done to solve it, and that is worst of all.’ Parliament, which is responsible for Van Zutphen’s appointment, also came under fire. ‘It is dispiriting to hear the same story every year,’ he said, referring to his own experiences. ‘And yes, then you think action will be taken and then a year later nothing has happened and you hear the same thing all over again,’ he said. ‘There is little to see when it comes to the [promised] new political culture.’
2/01
Mayors from across the Netherlands have renewed calls for a total ban on consumer fireworks, following the problems during this year’s New Year festivities. Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema described the situation in the capital, where the ban on fireworks was widely ignored, as ‘tense and busy’ with ‘far more arrests’ than last year. The mayor also made a new appeal to the government to ban fireworks nationally, saying that without one, it is impossible to stop people setting them off at a local level. In total, 12 towns and cities had imposed local bans, while hundreds of others had set up firework free zones.
15/12
The first marathon skating race on natural ice will go ahead on Wednesday evening in the Frisian town of Burgum, the sport’s national association KNSB has confirmed. Freezing temperatures for the last two nights have enabled the outdoor race to take place nearly two weeks earlier than this year, after competitions organiser Willem Hut confirmed that the ice was solid enough to race. ‘We’ve gone round the course and we’ve seen we have the required 3 centimetres of ice. So this evening at 6.30pm we will have the first natural ice marathon here in Burgum,’ he said.
9/12
Ministers confirmed on Friday that that the Zeeland village of Borssele will be the location for two new nuclear power stations. The aim is to ensure the new plants come on line in 2035 and will produce between 9% and 13% of the Netherlands’ total electricity needs. Construction will take six to eight years. Climate minister Rob Jetten said after Friday’s cabinet meeting that the region supports the decision because of the employment the new plants will generate and the potential to attract new industry.
December 9, 2022
Dutch support for Syrian opposition was highly risky and unclear: report Politics
The Dutch government took significant risks with its 2015 support programme for opposition groups in Syria, according to a government commission under the leadership of a former army commander. The foreign affairs ministry ‘punched well above its weight’ with the non-lethal assistance programme, which aimed to help moderate groups in Syria, the report said. In particular, it is unclear where the help ended up and which groups were actually supported. The programme, which cost an initial €27 million, included supplying trucks, uniforms and tents to 22 opposition groups from 2015 to the beginning of 2018 but was stopped because Dutch support for the rebels did ‘not had the desired effects’, ministers said at the time. ‘In a war situation such as the one in Syria, keeping a complete overview of all the groups involved is by definition impossible,’ Friday’s report said. ‘It would also be unrealistic to expect that armed groups in this conflict – including those supported by the Netherlands – would be able to keep clean hands.’ The commission was set up by the previous government following highly critical publications by Nieuwsuur and Trouw which raised questions about the support and the nature of the groups which had benefited. In particular, Nieuwsuur and Trouw claimed at least one of the groups had been branded a terrorist movement by the Dutch public prosecution service, which was involved in a court case against one of its members at the time. The new report said there are no indications that the government supported groups which were terrorist or jihadist in nature, but added that the foreign affairs ministry did not have sufficient oversight to assess if the groups were moderate. Read a summary of the report, in English The conditions imposed by the ministry gave the impression that proper checks were carried out, the report said. ‘In reality, the Netherlands did not have the ability to independently vet groups, nor did it have the ability to independently and accurately monitor them. The Netherlands relied on allies and private implementing organisations for vetting and monitoring.’ Foreign minister Wopke Hoekstra said in a reaction that at the time of the programme the situation in Syria was ‘extraordinary and destabilised’. There was widespread support within political circles for support for those opposing president Assad’s regime, he said. The government will give a more detailed response at a later date.
8/12
Dutch justice minister Dilan Yesilgöz cut off a lock of her hair live on television on Thursday evening, to show her support for women in Iran who are campaigning against compulsory hijabs. Yesilgöz was appearing on talk show Op1 when she decided to follow presenter Fidan Ekiz and fellow guest Yesim Candan in taking a stand. During the broadcast Candan urged Dutch women to do the same thing. ‘For me, the battle is about feeling the sun on your skin but if you are doing it, then I will join in with a lock,’ the minister said, to the applause of the other guests. Earlier this week, a large group of French actresses and singers chopped a lock of their hair off in a video to support the campaigners in Iran. Swedish MEP Abir Al-Sahani did the same in the European parliament in Strasburg. Iranian women and men have been protesting since the death of 22-year old Masha Amini on September 16, after she was arrested by Iran’s morality police for allegedly not adhering to the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code.
The government has allocated €40 million for special projects to combat loneliness, which will include help for local council initiatives and more research. The need to combat loneliness is increasingly urgent, junior health minister Martin van Ooijen said in a briefing to MPs. ‘The coronavirus period has made us extra aware of the fact everyone can feel lonely,’ he said. ‘The need to “feel part of something” and “to matter” are a basic need.’ Research published by national statistics agency CBS on Thursday showed that four in 10 people over the age of 15 reported feeling lonely or very lonely at some point last year. The figures, based on a survey of 7,000 people, reflect a rise of seven percentage points on the pre coronavirus pandemic era in 2019, when one third of people said they sometimes felt lonely or very alone. Youngsters were most likely to feel lonely last year with 13.5% saying they felt extremely lonely at times – up from just over 8% in 2019. Schools and colleges were closed for much of the period and gatherings were banned. However, the over-75s, who were most likely to feel very lonely in 2019, actually felt less lonely during the pandemic. In 2019, almost 11% said they were very lonely, but this fell to 9.4% last year. Older pensioners were the only age group to feel less lonely during the year, which included several months of partial lockdown.
A postcard delivered 40 years to late
Forty years ago, a family on a camping holiday in Brabant sent a postcard to a relative in Nieuw-Vennep. Yesterday, PostNL returned it to the vacation park, saying it was ‘undeliverable.’ ‘I think it is very special to receive this card,’ Ludwina Verhoeven, now 64, told Omroep Brabant. Her sister, Veronica, together with husband Jan and son Matthijs mailed her the card in 1980 from the Bosbad Hoeven campsite. The returned postcard. Photo: Molencaten Park Bosbad Hoeven The card, which is correctly addressed according to Verhoeven, never arrived. Yesterday, it turned up in the post at the campsite. A sticker from PostNL says that it was ‘Undeliverable due to incomplete/invalid address.’ PostNL could not say where the card has been for the past four decades. ‘Because in the past more work was done manually in the preparation of mail, a card was sometimes lost,’ a spokesperson told NOS. It is also possible it was delivered to the wrong address and was only recently returned. Verhoeven is very pleased to finally receive the card. Her husband Piet, to whom the card is also addressed, and her brother-in-law Jan have since passed away. The campsite indicated it would send it on to her in an envelope so it would arrive without damage.
Up to 600 farms will have to go to kick start nitrogen cutbacks BusinessPolitics
The government should make sure between 500 and 600 factory farms and other major polluters close to environmentally sensitive areas either change or close down within the next year in order to kick start the process of cutting nitrogen emissions, the cabinet’s negotiator Johan Remkes said on Wednesday. Remkes, who was drafted in to mediate following this summer’s farmers’ protests, said that closing down major producers of nitrogen was the ‘lesser of two evils’ and was crucial to meet legal requirements. ‘Measures have been delayed for so long that there is no other way,’ Remkes said at the presentation of his report. Farmers could either change their ways of working, move to a new location or close down with the help of ‘generous’ compensation, Remkes said. And while closures should be voluntary, there is no choice other than to intervene if farms do not meet the deadline, he said, avoiding the politically sensitive concept of compulsory purchase.
Erotic centre
Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema has delayed plans to announce three locations where a new ‘erotic centre’ could be built because of local resistance. The mayor had been due to say which three parts of the city were on a shortlist this month, but has now put off the decision until January after borough councils said they had major misgivings about the plans, the Parool reported on Friday. The plan, launched in 2020, is one of a string of measures being looked at to both reduce budget tourism in the city centre and tackle exploitation and forced work within the sex industry.
The Dutch state has been ordered to take steps to bring accommodation for asylum seekers up to international standards after it was taken to court by refugee agency Vluchtelingenwerk. The district court in The Hague ruled that all refugees have the right to a roof over their heads, ‘at least 4 square metres of space, a door that can be locked and a window that can be opened,’ as well as sufficient food, drinking water and clean sanitation. Vluchtelingenwerk brought the case after up to 700 people a night were left to sleep on the grass outside the facility over the summer because of chronic overcrowding.
Dozens of children report being beaten, abused in foster family village Society October 6, 2022 Dozens of children who were taken into care and placed with families in a special village in the 1980s and 1990s say they were physically and sexually abused during their time there, local broadcaster Omroep Gelderland reported on Thursday. The De Glind ‘youth village’ near Barneveld, has places for 120 children and has been used to try to give children from troubled families a normal childhood for over 100 years. Omroep Gelderland spoke to 40 former foster children who spent time in the village and 29 of them said they had faced physical and mental abuse. Six also reported being sexually abused by their carers. The most recent complaint dates from 2019. Some of the interviewees said they had told the village authorities about the abuse but that little had been done about the reports. ‘Everyone chose to look away and that really hurts,’ one victim told the broadcaster.
The average house sold for 5.8% less in the last financial quarter than between April and June, according to figures from estate agent association NVM. Its agents’ third quarter results are the first solid indication that the Dutch property market is taking a downturn, after months of fierce growth. Figures from the CBS Dutch statistics office, which measures all sales on completion, indicated a 0.1% price drop from July to August. The quarterly drop in prices registered by the NVM is the steepest it has ever measured in such a short period. At the end of 2021 the NVM, which monitors homes sold by its accredited agents, said house prices were growing year-on-year by 21.5%. That year-on-year growth has now plummeted to 2%.
Princess Amalia, the 18-year-old heir to the Dutch throne, cannot leave her parent’s home in The Hague amid security concerns, the king and queen have confirmed. Willem-Alexander and Máxima, speaking to the press during a state visit to Sweden on Thursday, were subdued as they were asked what it’s like to not have the princess living at home any longer. She is studying at the University of Amsterdam, where she planned to live in student housing in the nation’s capital. ‘She hasn’t left the house,’ queen Máxima responded. ‘That has enormous consequences for her life. That means that she doesn’t live in Amsterdam and can’t really go outside. It’s not a student life for her like other students have. I’m really proud of her how she keeps up with all that. I honestly say.’ The king added that the situation is ‘very difficult’ and said he ‘cannot describe’ what threats against his daughter mean to him as a father.
Princess Amalia, the 18-year-old heir to the Dutch throne, cannot leave her parent’s home in The Hague amid security concerns, the king and queen have confirmed. Willem-Alexander and Máxima, speaking to the press during a state visit to Sweden on Thursday, were subdued as they were asked what it’s like to not have the princess living at home any longer. She is studying at the University of Amsterdam, where she planned to live in student housing in the nation’s capital. ‘She hasn’t left the house,’ queen Máxima responded. ‘That has enormous consequences for her life. That means that she doesn’t live in Amsterdam and can’t really go outside. It’s not a student life for her like other students have. I’m really proud of her how she keeps up with all that. I honestly say.’
Housing minister Hugo de Jonge has reached broad agreement with the 12 Dutch provinces about where over 900,000 new homes will be built in the coming eight years. Most – 235,460 – will be built in Zuid-Holland province, while Drenthe in the east will add just 13,631 homes to its housing stock.
house values
Official house values used for taxes have risen by a record 8.6% in a year, according to Dutch statistics office CBS. The average house had an official value of €315,000 on January 1 this year. Although sale price indicators suggest that the housing market is now cooling off after European Central Bank interest rate rises, the values reflect the past year’s heated market. There was a huge diversity in price rises around the country, the CBS said. In the municipality of north-east Friesland, house prices rose most, by 19.5% on average. However in Dutch capital Amsterdam, where prices were already highest, they only rose by 2.1% Cities with the greatest increases included Rotterdam (11.4%) and Utrecht (9.8%).
29/08
First time that the emergency organisation “Artsen zonder grenzen” had been asked to act in its own country
Several hundred asylum seekers faced 11 degree temperatures at the weekend, sleeping outside Ter Apel centre where their claim needs to be registered. Local and international media reported ‘shaming’ situations on Friday night. Artsen zonder Grenzen, the Dutch arm of Médecins Sans Frontières, has been offering crisis first aid on the ground and sending several people for hospital care. Director Judith Sargentini had said it was the first time that the emergency organisation had been asked to act in its own country, after around 700 people were forced to sleep outside, with unhygienic toilets and no showers due to a lack of beds. An investigation is ongoing into the overnight death of a three month old baby, who was reportedly sleeping with its mother inside the centre last week. On Monday, the municipality of Het Hogeland pledged to house between 500 and 700 asylum seekers at the Zoutkamp former military barracks to relieve pressure on Ter Apel. An emergency local situation was declared last week and smaller tents cleared after there were some fights among the huge numbers sleeping outside, waiting to register their asylum claim. Ter Apel, a remote village in Groningen, is the first point of call for asylum seekers. The problem is thought to stem from the fact that asylum seeker residential centres were closed during the pandemic, and the current housing crisis means that people whose claims are accepted have nowhere to go. The Dutch government has said it will back out of an agreement with Turkey to take 1,000 asylum seekers a year and only allow entry to refugees’ families when they have found an actual home. Concern However, the political scheme has caused concern in government party the ChristenUnie, some of whose members have called the plans ‘legally and morally bankrupt’. Refugee organisation Vluchtelingenwerk has said it is planning to take court action against the government. The COA (Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers) told the NOS that temporary beds were offered for Sunday night in various locations around the Netherlands, so no asylum seekers were ‘forced’ to sleep outside. Earlier in the summer, Utrecht said it would give refugees priority for emergency housing for six weeks, in exchange for a government deal to build social housing.
The leaders of 10 political parties in parliament, including all four coalition partners, have urged the Dutch government to step up its support for the Iranian people who have been protesting against the regime since the death of Mahsa Amini last September. The Netherlands and the European Union must continue to support the freedom-loving Iranians and be their voice, the party leaders say in an open letter to the Volkskrant. ‘The Iranian regime violates universal human rights and its military activities also pose a threat to international security,’ the MPs say.
7/01
The trial of several men for their role in the murder of television crime reporter Peter R. de Vries resumed for a pro-forma hearing on Friday, following the replacement of one of the judges who has emigrated. In total six men have now been charged in connection with killing De Vries, who was shot in July 2021 after leaving a television recording studio in the centre of Amsterdam. He died in hospital nine days later. The case against the shooter Delano G and driver Kamil E had been virtually completed last summer and both men faced life sentences, but the case was reopened because of new evidence.
7/01
The annual rate of inflation fell marginally to 9.6% in December after reaching a peak of 14.5% in September, national statistics agency CBS said on Friday. The figure is preliminary and will be revised later this month. The figures cover inflation when calculated according to the Dutch method, which includes the impact of rental housing. The European figure, published at the end of last month, was 11%, a decline of 0.3 percentage point on November. The slight downturn in December was due to lower food and energy prices, the CBS said.
02/01
Ombudsman slams government for ‘not living up to promises
’
Ombudsman Reinier van Zutphen. The national ombudsman has issued a stinging critique of the government’s performance in an interview with the Telegraaf, saying ministers ‘have failed and not lived up to their promises’. Ministers, Reinier van Zutphen said, are continually making the same mistakes – from dealing with the floods in southern Limburg to repairing the damage caused by gas-related earthquakes in Groningen – and he told the paper he is concerned about the impact on people’s trust in the government apparatus. ‘People are experiencing government as something on the other side of the table, when it should be sitting next to them,’ he said. ‘This is a bad development.’ Tens of thousands of people have ended up in trouble because of issues such as the childcare benefit scandal and the Groningen gas drilling, he said. ‘In Limburg, 18 months after the floods, people are still waiting for compensation,’ he said. ‘But in a wealthy country such as ours, you would think things were well organised. And the government knows what has to be done to solve it, and that is worst of all.’ Parliament, which is responsible for Van Zutphen’s appointment, also came under fire. ‘It is dispiriting to hear the same story every year,’ he said, referring to his own experiences. ‘And yes, then you think action will be taken and then a year later nothing has happened and you hear the same thing all over again,’ he said. ‘There is little to see when it comes to the [promised] new political culture.’
2/01
Mayors from across the Netherlands have renewed calls for a total ban on consumer fireworks, following the problems during this year’s New Year festivities. Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema described the situation in the capital, where the ban on fireworks was widely ignored, as ‘tense and busy’ with ‘far more arrests’ than last year. The mayor also made a new appeal to the government to ban fireworks nationally, saying that without one, it is impossible to stop people setting them off at a local level. In total, 12 towns and cities had imposed local bans, while hundreds of others had set up firework free zones.
15/12
The first marathon skating race on natural ice will go ahead on Wednesday evening in the Frisian town of Burgum, the sport’s national association KNSB has confirmed. Freezing temperatures for the last two nights have enabled the outdoor race to take place nearly two weeks earlier than this year, after competitions organiser Willem Hut confirmed that the ice was solid enough to race. ‘We’ve gone round the course and we’ve seen we have the required 3 centimetres of ice. So this evening at 6.30pm we will have the first natural ice marathon here in Burgum,’ he said.
9/12
Ministers confirmed on Friday that that the Zeeland village of Borssele will be the location for two new nuclear power stations. The aim is to ensure the new plants come on line in 2035 and will produce between 9% and 13% of the Netherlands’ total electricity needs. Construction will take six to eight years. Climate minister Rob Jetten said after Friday’s cabinet meeting that the region supports the decision because of the employment the new plants will generate and the potential to attract new industry.
December 9, 2022
Dutch support for Syrian opposition was highly risky and unclear: report Politics
The Dutch government took significant risks with its 2015 support programme for opposition groups in Syria, according to a government commission under the leadership of a former army commander. The foreign affairs ministry ‘punched well above its weight’ with the non-lethal assistance programme, which aimed to help moderate groups in Syria, the report said. In particular, it is unclear where the help ended up and which groups were actually supported. The programme, which cost an initial €27 million, included supplying trucks, uniforms and tents to 22 opposition groups from 2015 to the beginning of 2018 but was stopped because Dutch support for the rebels did ‘not had the desired effects’, ministers said at the time. ‘In a war situation such as the one in Syria, keeping a complete overview of all the groups involved is by definition impossible,’ Friday’s report said. ‘It would also be unrealistic to expect that armed groups in this conflict – including those supported by the Netherlands – would be able to keep clean hands.’ The commission was set up by the previous government following highly critical publications by Nieuwsuur and Trouw which raised questions about the support and the nature of the groups which had benefited. In particular, Nieuwsuur and Trouw claimed at least one of the groups had been branded a terrorist movement by the Dutch public prosecution service, which was involved in a court case against one of its members at the time. The new report said there are no indications that the government supported groups which were terrorist or jihadist in nature, but added that the foreign affairs ministry did not have sufficient oversight to assess if the groups were moderate. Read a summary of the report, in English The conditions imposed by the ministry gave the impression that proper checks were carried out, the report said. ‘In reality, the Netherlands did not have the ability to independently vet groups, nor did it have the ability to independently and accurately monitor them. The Netherlands relied on allies and private implementing organisations for vetting and monitoring.’ Foreign minister Wopke Hoekstra said in a reaction that at the time of the programme the situation in Syria was ‘extraordinary and destabilised’. There was widespread support within political circles for support for those opposing president Assad’s regime, he said. The government will give a more detailed response at a later date.
8/12
Dutch justice minister Dilan Yesilgöz cut off a lock of her hair live on television on Thursday evening, to show her support for women in Iran who are campaigning against compulsory hijabs. Yesilgöz was appearing on talk show Op1 when she decided to follow presenter Fidan Ekiz and fellow guest Yesim Candan in taking a stand. During the broadcast Candan urged Dutch women to do the same thing. ‘For me, the battle is about feeling the sun on your skin but if you are doing it, then I will join in with a lock,’ the minister said, to the applause of the other guests. Earlier this week, a large group of French actresses and singers chopped a lock of their hair off in a video to support the campaigners in Iran. Swedish MEP Abir Al-Sahani did the same in the European parliament in Strasburg. Iranian women and men have been protesting since the death of 22-year old Masha Amini on September 16, after she was arrested by Iran’s morality police for allegedly not adhering to the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code.
The government has allocated €40 million for special projects to combat loneliness, which will include help for local council initiatives and more research. The need to combat loneliness is increasingly urgent, junior health minister Martin van Ooijen said in a briefing to MPs. ‘The coronavirus period has made us extra aware of the fact everyone can feel lonely,’ he said. ‘The need to “feel part of something” and “to matter” are a basic need.’ Research published by national statistics agency CBS on Thursday showed that four in 10 people over the age of 15 reported feeling lonely or very lonely at some point last year. The figures, based on a survey of 7,000 people, reflect a rise of seven percentage points on the pre coronavirus pandemic era in 2019, when one third of people said they sometimes felt lonely or very alone. Youngsters were most likely to feel lonely last year with 13.5% saying they felt extremely lonely at times – up from just over 8% in 2019. Schools and colleges were closed for much of the period and gatherings were banned. However, the over-75s, who were most likely to feel very lonely in 2019, actually felt less lonely during the pandemic. In 2019, almost 11% said they were very lonely, but this fell to 9.4% last year. Older pensioners were the only age group to feel less lonely during the year, which included several months of partial lockdown.
A postcard delivered 40 years to late
Forty years ago, a family on a camping holiday in Brabant sent a postcard to a relative in Nieuw-Vennep. Yesterday, PostNL returned it to the vacation park, saying it was ‘undeliverable.’ ‘I think it is very special to receive this card,’ Ludwina Verhoeven, now 64, told Omroep Brabant. Her sister, Veronica, together with husband Jan and son Matthijs mailed her the card in 1980 from the Bosbad Hoeven campsite. The returned postcard. Photo: Molencaten Park Bosbad Hoeven The card, which is correctly addressed according to Verhoeven, never arrived. Yesterday, it turned up in the post at the campsite. A sticker from PostNL says that it was ‘Undeliverable due to incomplete/invalid address.’ PostNL could not say where the card has been for the past four decades. ‘Because in the past more work was done manually in the preparation of mail, a card was sometimes lost,’ a spokesperson told NOS. It is also possible it was delivered to the wrong address and was only recently returned. Verhoeven is very pleased to finally receive the card. Her husband Piet, to whom the card is also addressed, and her brother-in-law Jan have since passed away. The campsite indicated it would send it on to her in an envelope so it would arrive without damage.
Up to 600 farms will have to go to kick start nitrogen cutbacks BusinessPolitics
The government should make sure between 500 and 600 factory farms and other major polluters close to environmentally sensitive areas either change or close down within the next year in order to kick start the process of cutting nitrogen emissions, the cabinet’s negotiator Johan Remkes said on Wednesday. Remkes, who was drafted in to mediate following this summer’s farmers’ protests, said that closing down major producers of nitrogen was the ‘lesser of two evils’ and was crucial to meet legal requirements. ‘Measures have been delayed for so long that there is no other way,’ Remkes said at the presentation of his report. Farmers could either change their ways of working, move to a new location or close down with the help of ‘generous’ compensation, Remkes said. And while closures should be voluntary, there is no choice other than to intervene if farms do not meet the deadline, he said, avoiding the politically sensitive concept of compulsory purchase.
Erotic centre
Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema has delayed plans to announce three locations where a new ‘erotic centre’ could be built because of local resistance. The mayor had been due to say which three parts of the city were on a shortlist this month, but has now put off the decision until January after borough councils said they had major misgivings about the plans, the Parool reported on Friday. The plan, launched in 2020, is one of a string of measures being looked at to both reduce budget tourism in the city centre and tackle exploitation and forced work within the sex industry.
The Dutch state has been ordered to take steps to bring accommodation for asylum seekers up to international standards after it was taken to court by refugee agency Vluchtelingenwerk. The district court in The Hague ruled that all refugees have the right to a roof over their heads, ‘at least 4 square metres of space, a door that can be locked and a window that can be opened,’ as well as sufficient food, drinking water and clean sanitation. Vluchtelingenwerk brought the case after up to 700 people a night were left to sleep on the grass outside the facility over the summer because of chronic overcrowding.
Dozens of children report being beaten, abused in foster family village Society October 6, 2022 Dozens of children who were taken into care and placed with families in a special village in the 1980s and 1990s say they were physically and sexually abused during their time there, local broadcaster Omroep Gelderland reported on Thursday. The De Glind ‘youth village’ near Barneveld, has places for 120 children and has been used to try to give children from troubled families a normal childhood for over 100 years. Omroep Gelderland spoke to 40 former foster children who spent time in the village and 29 of them said they had faced physical and mental abuse. Six also reported being sexually abused by their carers. The most recent complaint dates from 2019. Some of the interviewees said they had told the village authorities about the abuse but that little had been done about the reports. ‘Everyone chose to look away and that really hurts,’ one victim told the broadcaster.
The average house sold for 5.8% less in the last financial quarter than between April and June, according to figures from estate agent association NVM. Its agents’ third quarter results are the first solid indication that the Dutch property market is taking a downturn, after months of fierce growth. Figures from the CBS Dutch statistics office, which measures all sales on completion, indicated a 0.1% price drop from July to August. The quarterly drop in prices registered by the NVM is the steepest it has ever measured in such a short period. At the end of 2021 the NVM, which monitors homes sold by its accredited agents, said house prices were growing year-on-year by 21.5%. That year-on-year growth has now plummeted to 2%.
Princess Amalia, the 18-year-old heir to the Dutch throne, cannot leave her parent’s home in The Hague amid security concerns, the king and queen have confirmed. Willem-Alexander and Máxima, speaking to the press during a state visit to Sweden on Thursday, were subdued as they were asked what it’s like to not have the princess living at home any longer. She is studying at the University of Amsterdam, where she planned to live in student housing in the nation’s capital. ‘She hasn’t left the house,’ queen Máxima responded. ‘That has enormous consequences for her life. That means that she doesn’t live in Amsterdam and can’t really go outside. It’s not a student life for her like other students have. I’m really proud of her how she keeps up with all that. I honestly say.’ The king added that the situation is ‘very difficult’ and said he ‘cannot describe’ what threats against his daughter mean to him as a father.
Princess Amalia, the 18-year-old heir to the Dutch throne, cannot leave her parent’s home in The Hague amid security concerns, the king and queen have confirmed. Willem-Alexander and Máxima, speaking to the press during a state visit to Sweden on Thursday, were subdued as they were asked what it’s like to not have the princess living at home any longer. She is studying at the University of Amsterdam, where she planned to live in student housing in the nation’s capital. ‘She hasn’t left the house,’ queen Máxima responded. ‘That has enormous consequences for her life. That means that she doesn’t live in Amsterdam and can’t really go outside. It’s not a student life for her like other students have. I’m really proud of her how she keeps up with all that. I honestly say.’
Housing minister Hugo de Jonge has reached broad agreement with the 12 Dutch provinces about where over 900,000 new homes will be built in the coming eight years. Most – 235,460 – will be built in Zuid-Holland province, while Drenthe in the east will add just 13,631 homes to its housing stock.
house values
Official house values used for taxes have risen by a record 8.6% in a year, according to Dutch statistics office CBS. The average house had an official value of €315,000 on January 1 this year. Although sale price indicators suggest that the housing market is now cooling off after European Central Bank interest rate rises, the values reflect the past year’s heated market. There was a huge diversity in price rises around the country, the CBS said. In the municipality of north-east Friesland, house prices rose most, by 19.5% on average. However in Dutch capital Amsterdam, where prices were already highest, they only rose by 2.1% Cities with the greatest increases included Rotterdam (11.4%) and Utrecht (9.8%).
29/08
First time that the emergency organisation “Artsen zonder grenzen” had been asked to act in its own country
Several hundred asylum seekers faced 11 degree temperatures at the weekend, sleeping outside Ter Apel centre where their claim needs to be registered. Local and international media reported ‘shaming’ situations on Friday night. Artsen zonder Grenzen, the Dutch arm of Médecins Sans Frontières, has been offering crisis first aid on the ground and sending several people for hospital care. Director Judith Sargentini had said it was the first time that the emergency organisation had been asked to act in its own country, after around 700 people were forced to sleep outside, with unhygienic toilets and no showers due to a lack of beds. An investigation is ongoing into the overnight death of a three month old baby, who was reportedly sleeping with its mother inside the centre last week. On Monday, the municipality of Het Hogeland pledged to house between 500 and 700 asylum seekers at the Zoutkamp former military barracks to relieve pressure on Ter Apel. An emergency local situation was declared last week and smaller tents cleared after there were some fights among the huge numbers sleeping outside, waiting to register their asylum claim. Ter Apel, a remote village in Groningen, is the first point of call for asylum seekers. The problem is thought to stem from the fact that asylum seeker residential centres were closed during the pandemic, and the current housing crisis means that people whose claims are accepted have nowhere to go. The Dutch government has said it will back out of an agreement with Turkey to take 1,000 asylum seekers a year and only allow entry to refugees’ families when they have found an actual home. Concern However, the political scheme has caused concern in government party the ChristenUnie, some of whose members have called the plans ‘legally and morally bankrupt’. Refugee organisation Vluchtelingenwerk has said it is planning to take court action against the government. The COA (Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers) told the NOS that temporary beds were offered for Sunday night in various locations around the Netherlands, so no asylum seekers were ‘forced’ to sleep outside. Earlier in the summer, Utrecht said it would give refugees priority for emergency housing for six weeks, in exchange for a government deal to build social housing.
Migratie “moves”
In de prachtige ambassadeurswoning van de Australische ambassadeur in Den Haag werd op woensdag 8 juli j.l. op feestelijke wijze de expositie Australia the Netherlands People Movement Stories geopend.
Deze tentoonstelling is een van de evenementen die dit jaar ter gelegenheid van 80 jaar diplomatieke betrekkingen tussen Nederland en Australië wordt georganiseerd. Het is een hybride tentoonstelling. Dat betekent dat men hem ter plekke/in levende lijve kan bekijken, maar ook online kan bezoeken.
De fysieke tentoonstelling reist binnenkort naar o.a. Perth en Canberra. Mogelijk is hij daarvoor ook nog te zien op enkele centrale locaties in Nederland. De online variant is natuurlijk 24/7 vanuit de gehele wereld bereikbaar!
Het onderwerp dat erin uitgelicht wordt is de migratiebeweging tussen beide landen. Via talloze persoonlijke verhalen en diverse interessante documenten krijgt men een gedetailleerde indruk van anekdotes, aangrijpende gebeurtenissen en herkenbare sentimenten (zoals heimwee) die bij de overstap van Nederland naar Australië komen kijken. Een ding moge duidelijk zijn: migratie is niet altijd makkelijk, maar biedt ook kansen en avontuur.
Neem vooral een kijkje op de website https://migrant.huygens.knaw.nl/ en lees de getuigenissen van o.a. Dianne Biederberg, Karien Dekker, Fred Feddes, Frances Larder, Helena Meinema, Matthew Meinema, Elly Spillekom & Dick Koelewijn, Adrian Strik, Jennifer Tucker, Kurt van Wijck en Johnny Young. Het is de bedoeling dat de historische datebase in de toekomst groeit; ook uw (familie-) geschiedenis kan er deel van uitmaken. Mogelijk heeft u aanvullende informatie naar aanleiding van de informatie die er aangeboden wordt? Bovendien worden nog vrijwilligers gezocht om dit geweldige project verder vorm te gaan geven.
Initiatiefnemers dr. Nonja Peters (recentelijk opgenomen in de 2022 WA Women's Hall of Fame) en dr. Marijke van Faassen, onderzoeker bij het Huygens Instituut, kennen elkaar reeds vanaf 2006. Dat was het jaar waarin 400 jaar vriendschap tussen Australië en Nederland werd gevierd en tevens het jaar waarin dus de kiem werd gelegd voor het idee. Studenten van de Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam, de Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen en de Universiteiten van Utrecht en Leiden hielpen mee bij de voorbereidingen en inspireerden het team met vernieuwende ideeën. Zo is bijvoorbeeld aan ieder gepresenteerd verhaal een unieke QR-code toegevoegd, die de bezoeker naar extra achtergrondinformatie op het internet leidt.
Reacties over de tentoonstelling kunt u sturen naar: nonja.peters@curtin.edu.au en marijke.van.fassen@huygens.knaw.nl
Adinda Slingerland
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Verban de ongezonde levensstijl
Natasia Boom - psychotherapist, Nederland De Nederlandse overheid neemt het voortouw in Europa als het gaat om het verbannen van de ongezonde levensstijl van haar burgers. Met eerst het demotiveren van het roken, overgaand op een voorgesteld alcoholverbod, zijn ze nu de strijd aangegaan tegen de ongezonde voeding. De oorlog tegen de suikers, additieven en fastfood is verklaard. Geweldig, zou je denken, en zeker de ideologie erachter is fenomenaal. Maar het werkelijke probleem zit zich in de miljoenen mensen die jaarlijks ziek worden en zelfs sterven door een ongezonde levensstijl. De verlenging en kwaliteit van leven neemt af, naar mate men een ongezonde levensstijl er op na blijft houden. De zorgkosten rijzen de pan uit, en de druk op de zorg wordt alsmaar groter. Prima zou je denken, dat begrijp ik, maar waarom gaat de overheid zich er nu ineens dan mee bemoeien? Na de niet zo een succesvolle, antirook campagne, wordt heden de alcohol aangepakt, kroegen sluiten eerder, er mag na 20:00 geen drank meer verkocht worden in supermarkten en horeca, maar dat is niet genoeg, een algeheel alcoholverbod is het wat men op tafel legt, aangemoedigd door WHO, RIVM, Politiebond en minister de Jonge van volksgezondheid. Het idee erachter is het model van Zweden en Noorwegen. Vandaag is de censuur naar de ongezonde voeding gelanceerd. De Nederlandse kranten staan bol van de artikelen over gezonde voeding, angst-zaaierij naar de vleesindustrie toe en de sterren geven hun interview over hun succesvolle strijd tegen de kilo’s door middel van gezonde voeding en beweging. En zo wordt de mens gehersenspoeld door de media. Ja, het is begonnen...de strijd tegen de suikers … Begrijp mij niet verkeerd, als transformatie coach en psychotherapeute ben ik groot voorstander van deze veranderingen die we, ineens allen moeten doorgaan. Ik stimuleer mijn cliënten dagelijks een motiverend appje. Hieraan moedig ik ze aan te blijven bewegen, op hun dagelijkse voeding te letten zodat we gedrag en patronen blijven doorbreken. Want laten we eerlijk zijn, wie wil er nu niet oud worden? Maar iedereen wil wel gezond oud worden, niet aan de zuurstof hangend een rollator vooruitschuivend oud. Iedereen wilt gezond oud worden, maar niemand wilt ervoor werken. De werkelijkheid echter is dat wij jarenlang door de voedingsindustrie zo volgepropt zijn geworden door suikers, additieven, zouten etc. Dat ons lichaam al zijn oorspronkelijke functie is gaan verliezen. Denk aan de kracht van zelfgenezing door het lichaam, door de vele verkeerde ingrediënten die het lichaam te verwerken heeft dagelijks, blijft er geen energie meer over om te functies die juist van belang zijn uit te voeren. De links tussen een ernstig beloop van een coronabesmetting en leefstijlziekten zoals overgewicht, diabetes en hart- en vaatziekten wordt steeds duidelijker. Uit RIVM-cijfers blijkt dat meer dan 70% van de patiënten die overleden zijn aan het coronavirus, een of meer onderliggende aandoeningen had. Die zogehete leefstijlziekten worden met name veroorzaakt door ongezonde voeding, te weinig beweging, te veel stress en onvoldoende slaap. Uit studie blijkt * dat de corona, leefstijlziekten, weerstand, obesitas, diabetes type 2 en hart –en vaatziekten de stofwisseling ontregeld. Als die ontregeling langdurig is, veroorzaakt dat een chronisch ontstekingsproces. En dat veroorzaakt een uitputting van het immuunsysteem. Dat de mens uit zichzelf niet erg goed is, in slimme keuzes maken, blijkt uit de vele aanbiedingen die ons in de supermarkten om de oren vliegen om vooral maar ongezonde voeding te kopen. Het resultaat van de ongecontroleerde manipulatie door de voedingsindustrie zijn heden ten dage duidelijk zichtbaar. 3 van de 5 mensen heeft overgewicht, 1 van de 5 extreme obesitas en onze kinderen worden alsmaar dikker. Het probleem ligt er ook vooral in dat de laatste generaties, zo geïndoctrineerd geworden is door de voedingsindustrie dat zij deze slechte gewoontes hebben doorgegeven aan hun kinderen. Het is dus niet zo verwonderlijk dat de huidige moeders hun kinderen meeslepen naar mc Donalds, ze volproppen met snoep, chips, pizza en cola. Ze hebben het gewoonweg niet van hun moeders geleerd, want laten we eerlijk zijn, er is, net zoals met het roken, veel te laat een signaal af gegeven door doctoren en overheid dat dit levensgevaarlijk is bij overmatig nuttigen van o.a. suikers. De verslaving van deze suikers is een punt waar dan ook naar gekeken dient te worden. Want net zoals met elke verslaving, is het ontzettend moeilijk om er los van te komen, sterker nog in het geval van alcohol en drugs moet het onder medische toezicht gebeuren, anders kan zelfs acuut stoppen fataal zijn. Prachtig dat de overheid nu ineens met verboden komt, wat een hele impact op de mensen is, ze vergeten wel de psychische aspecten van deze ingrijpende verandering. Veel ouders zijn niet in staat tot het presenteren van een gezonde maaltijd voor hun familie. Veel alleenstaanden zijn niet in staat tot koken en leven al jaren van de kant en klaar maaltijd uit de supermarkt of van de snackbar op de hoek. Hoe ga je deze mensen dan begeleiden? Hoe gaan deze mensen begeleid worden in hun afkickproces van suikers additieven, koolhydraten en vetten? Dit is geen gemakkelijk proces, dit gaat niet iedereen zomaar even doen. En nog erger, hoe leg jij aan je overmatig suikerverslaafd kind uit dat de pret met de liters cola en zakken snoep voorbij is? Een gezonde levensstijl opbouwen gaat gepaard met omdenken, doorbreken van patronen en gewoontes,stimuleren en motiveren. Samen kunnen we de strijd aan tegen een ongezonde leefstijl!! * Referentie: Het nederlandse innovatiecentrum voor leefstijlgeneeskunde. www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/voeding/gezond-voeding/minder-zout-verzadigd-vet-en-suiker-in-voeding |
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Stop met afpakken Nederlandse Paspoorten
Paginagrote advertentie van SNBN in NRC; Dankzij een succesvolle stille crowdfunding heeft de SNBN, met steun van vele Nederlanders wereldwijd, een paginagrote advertentie in NRC kunnen zetten met een oproep aan de premier en de politiek. De tekst spreekt voor zich: zie hier de advertentie en het persbericht dat vandaag is uitgegaan. Overigens is deze advertentie pas het begin: donaties voor een succesvol vervolg blijven welkom. Doneren kan hier. Voorzitter Eelco Keij gaf op BNR radio een interview over de advertentie, dit is hier terug te beluisteren. Source: https://www.nederlandersbuitennederland.nl/persbericht-snbn-help-ons-nederlander-te-blijven/ |
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Mobiele Paspoort Aanvraag Stations (MVA)
Stichting Grenzeloos Onder Eén dak In een groot land als Australie waar Nederlanders overal verspreid zijn en lange afstanden moeten afleggen voor paspoort vernieuwing zijn de MVA’s zeer belangrijk. Daarom is frequentie op verschillende locaties, met voldoende waarschuwing belangrijk. In het algemeen wordt een MVA pas uitgezet, als er behoefte aan is. Dat wil zeggen, wanneer men van verschillende mensen hoort (klacht ingediend) dat de afstand om een paspoort te vernieuwen te ver is. Als voorbeeld de ambassadeur in het VK reageerde op de vraag, waarom niet meer MVA’s in het VK? Quote: ‘Wij hebben van niemand gehoord dat daar behoefte aan is’.Als men dus niks hoort verandert er ook niks. Soms worden MVA’s alleen uitgezet als de ambassade ergens toevallig moet zijn. Er zit uiteraard een kostenplaatje aan vast en ze moeten nu eenmaal bezuinigen bij Consulaire Zaken. Buitenlandse Zaken heeft ook doorgegeven dat per zoveel Nederlanders er 1 x een MVA wordt ingezet. Het ligt dus ook aan het aantal in een regio. de stichting GOED heeft een enquete op gezet omdat er sinds Covid-19 veel meer problemen zijn geweest met het vernieuwen van Nederlands paspoorten. De beloofde MVA konden dus niet doorgaan. Omdat nu ook de grenzen dicht zitten is het voor veel mensen moeilijk om hun paspoort te vernieuwen. En voor sommige zelfs onmogelijk door de lockdown in Melbourne. Een onderzoek kan de wens/behoefte/noodzaak aangeven. Daarom vraag ik jullie om deze enquete in te vullen zodat de stichting GOED hiermee aan de slag kan gaan. En als het mogelijk zouden jullie deze post ook kunnen delen met jullie Nederlandse vrienden die in Australië wonen. https://stichtinggoed.typeform.com/to/YHxUwvFd |
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