Netherlands

Sensational reports of a plot to kill the Netherlands PM have raised fears about the seemingly sedate, safe country’s descent to narco-state status. But they are also a reminder of the country’s violent political past.

As he approaches 70, the veteran coach is ready to make the orange brilliant again

The shooting of a prominent Dutch crime reporter has prompted a national debate about the country’s reputation as the nexus of the continent’s illegal drugs trade.  Almost from the moment the last bullet tore into the Netherlands’ best-known crime reporter Peter R. de Vries on the evening of July 6, a peculiar debate erupted among […]

A new exhibition at Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum examines the tools of the cruel slavery trade It looks like a dog collar, albeit a rather fine one, in richly decorated brass and engraved with acanthus leaves. Dated 1689, it is embossed with the names of its owners, Maurits, Count of Nassau La Lecq and his wife. When […]

The song contest is just first of a series of events that highlight the tension between a desire to open up societies and the need to remain vigilant against the virus Never far from scandal, one of the greatest controversy’s surrounding this year’s Eurovision Song Contest is the fact that it is being held at […]

The recent Dutch elections show how European politicians – and their electorates – can no longer separate EU affairs from national concerns. The recent Dutch elections kicked of a series of national parliamentary elections on the European continent: German elections are scheduled for September this year, followed by the French elections in May 2022. Given […]

The European Commission president has warned AstraZeneca that it must “honour” its vaccine contract with the bloc before exporting doses elsewhere in the world. Ursula von der Leyen urged “transparency” from other countries, but did not confirm if the EU would bring in tougher export restrictions on coronavirus jabs, amid a row over supplies with […]

Next week’s elections in the Netherlands will be seen as a test of how voters assess their government’s performances in the Covid crisis.  Four years ago, the world watched the Dutch elections – among the first major votes after the Brexit referendum and election of Donald Trump – for a clue to whether the anti-European, populist right was poised for a […]

STEVE ANGLESEY brings you some of the recent stories you might have missed from the continent. A man who used a blow-dryer to thaw a frozen water pipe set his home in southwest Germany on fire, causing 300,000 euro (£262,000) worth of damage. Police in Kämpfelbach-Ersingen said they believed the dryer had been left unattended […]

A route to rejoining the EU is possible, says reader Mark Sullivan. Judging from your readers’ letters, they are being too pessimistic on our rejoining the EU. Just because you can’t see the immediate pathway unfolding, doesn’t reduce the inevitability of market forces which resolutely point to this conclusion. How many commentators for example predicted […]

The prime minister of the Netherlands took responsibility for his government’s mistakes. Boris Johnson says he takes full responsibility for our 100,000 Covid deaths. Robert Jenrick says he’s proud of the many things the government has achieved in response to the pandemic. Really? Let’s just list a few of the arrant failures: to heed the […]

The whole of the Dutch cabinet has stepped down over a scandal in which tax officials wrongly accused thousands of parents of fraud, plunging many into debt by ordering them to repay childcare allowances. Prime minister Mark Rutte has opposed dissolving the coalition, arguing Netherlands needed stability amid the coronavirus pandemic. The four ruling parties […]

Border officials in the Netherlands have confiscated ham sandwiches and other food items from UK travellers due to post-Brexit rules. Dutch TV network NPO filmed customs patrols explaining to arrivals that they cannot take meat or dairy products into the EU. One driver who arrived by ferry at the Hook of Holland sea port was […]