The Netherlands was one of the world’s biggest spenders on trying to influence policy and public opinion in the US last year, according to independent US research group ProPublica.

According to the group’s calculations, the Netherlands spent $2.7m (€1.9m) on lobbying, putting it in ninth place. Top of the list was the United Arab Emirates with $10.9m, followed by Britain on $6.1m.
The Netherlands and Britain are the only European countries on the top 10 list.
ProPublica, founded by a former editor of the Wall Street Journal, says the Netherlands’ tourist and conventions board was the biggest Dutch spender, putting $2.2m into its lobby efforts.
The Netherlands foreign investment agency, the insurance sector umbrella group Verbond van Verzekeraars and the city of Amsterdam are the other main organisations putting money into the US. These three all work with established US lobby groups.
Amsterdam, which has been actively promoting the city as a corporate location for years, is unable to say how much cash it has invested in the US because the budget is spread across several departments, the NRC said.