News from Wednesday 22 February 2012

Belgian energy firm scraps Vlissingen coal power station plan
Belgian energy firm C.Gen has cancelled plans to build a coal-fired power station in Vlissingen, citing uncertainty over proposals to store carbon-dioxide underground....more

Almere PVV councillor quits the party
A city councillor in Almere has become the latest representative of the anti-immigration PVV to leave the party, citing the way the party deals with others as the main reason....more

Pressure piles on prime minister over PVV anti-Pole website
The secretary general of the council of Europe has written to foreign minister Uri Rosenthal urging the Dutch government to ‘clarify its position’ regarding a website set up by Geert Wilders’ PVV to collect complaints about central and eastern European nationals....more
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German public prosecutor raids Philips Germany HQ
Officials from the German public prosecution department on Tuesday raided the Hamburg headquarters of Dutch electronics giant Philips looking for evidence in a bribery case....more

Public prosecutor to appeal against 'no ID card' on Sabbat ruling
The public prosecution department is to appeal against a lower court ruling which said a Jewish man was within his rights not to carry an ID card on the Sabbat because it was against his religion....more
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Number of smokers drops to 25%
Some 25% of the Dutch adult population currently smokes, a drop of 3% on the total over the past few years, according to anti-smoking lobby group Stivoro....more
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Jumbo cleared to take over C1000 stores
Family-owned supermarket group Jumbo has been cleared by the cartel watchdog NMa to take over some 400 C1000 stores, if it sells 18 where competition could be affected. ...more
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Mitsubishi to help find Nedcar buyer
Japanese car firm Mitsubishi is to spend the next three months working closely with the economic affairs ministry to try to find a buyer for the Nedcar car plant in Limburg, the ministry said on Wednesday....more

Skiing partner visits injured prince
The friend out skiing with Dutch prince Johan Friso when he was hit by an avalanche last Friday has visited the prince in hospital. Friso remains on the critical list. ...more

Dolphin activist found not guilty in Japan
A Dutch environmental activist has been found not guilty of manhandling a dolphin hunter in Japan, after spending 60 days in prison....more

Amsterdam removed 55,000 'wrongly-parked' bikes in 2011
Last year, Amsterdam council officials took away a record 55,000 bikes which had been wrongly parked, local broadcaster AT5 reports. In 2010, 33,000 bikes were removed. ...more
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Visits to psychiatrists drop by up to 25% since €200 fee introduced
The number of people visiting a psychiatrist has dropped by up to 25% since the government introduced a €200 fee for all patients, Trouw and the Parool report....more
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News from Tuesday 21 February 2012

MPs say Labour party at large should choose new leader
The 30 Labour members of parliament decided on Tuesday to leave it up to the wider party membership to choose a new leader following the resignation of Job Cohen....more

As The World Turns ends in Holland
Dutch television will on Tuesday broadcast the final episode of American soap opera As The World Turns, 22 years after it began transmitting the show....more
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Goose flesh goes to the food bank
Food banks, where people on minimum incomes can pick up free supplies, are to be given some of the geese shot around Schiphol to prevent 'bird strikes' which can bring down airplanes....more
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ING, Rabobank still have huge Greek debts
ING Bank had €300m in Greek debt on its books at the end of 2011, having paid off nearly €1bn, a spokesman told the press on Tuesday....more

KPN cuts senior staff annual bonuses
Telecom company KPN reduced bonuses to its board members sharply in 2011, according to its annual report presented on Tuesday....more

Fewer women have top jobs in the Netherlands
There are few women in top jobs in the Netherlands compared with the rest of Europe, research by Bureau Mercer shows....more
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TNT Express to shed jobs in cost saving programme
Express mail company TNT Express on Tuesday announced job losses and a cost saving programme of €150m to be completed by the end of 2013....more

TNT Express posts net loss in fourth quarter
Express mail firm TNT Express on Tuesday reported a net loss of €173m in the last quarter of 2011, mainly due to persistent problems in Europe and Latin America....more

Dutch professor combats malaria with sweaty feet
The sweaty feet of 48 Dutch men are central to efforts to find a way to reduce malaria, which kills 1.2 million people every year, Trouw reports on Tuesday....more
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Shell top man warns Brussels on flood of regulations
Anglo-Dutch oil giant Royal Dutch Shell has warned the European Commission that Europe's competitiveness will be 'paralysed' by the flood of new financial regulations currently being introduced....more

European Poles call for action on PVV website
The union of Polish communities in Europe (EUWP) has written to prime minister Mark Rutte urging him to distance himself from a website set up by the government’s PVV alliance partner to collect complaints about central and eastern Europeans. ...more
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Labour leadership: Samsom, Timmermans favourite to replace Cohen
Labour MPs Diederik Samsom and Frans Timmermans are the current favourites to take over as leader of the parliamentary party, following the resignation of Job Cohen on Monday afternoon....more

Rutte, 11 other EU leaders call for action on growth and jobs
Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte is one of 12 European leaders to sign an open letter to the European Commission calling for more effort to be made to stimulate economic growth....more
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Greece bail-out agreed; default avoided for now, says De Jager
Eurozone finance ministers have reached a deal on a second Greece bail-out after all-night talks, including Dutch finance minister Jan Kees de Jager's demand for strengthened monitoring of Greece's compliance....more
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News from Monday 20 February 2012

Labour leader Job Cohen stands down and quits parliament
Labour leader Job Cohen is standing down as both head of the parliamentary party and as an MP with immediate effect, the PvdA announced on Monday afternoon....more
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TNT Express shoots up in price as takeover war looms
Shares in Dutch express mail firm TNT Express rose 50% when the Amsterdam stock exchange opened on Monday, following UPS' offer for the company on Friday....more
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Pension crisis: 7.5 million face lower payments, says central bank
Some 7.5 million Dutch people face a lower pension than they expected unless their pension funds manage to bolster their assets by the end of this year, the central bank said on Monday....more
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Dutch stem cell hamburger ready to grill this autumn
Dutch scientists expect to be able to grill their first hamburger using meat grown in a laboratory this autumn, the professor in charge of the project, Mark Post, told a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science this weekend....more
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Companies reluctant to help out troubled pension funds: FD
Companies and sector organisations are reluctant to put extra money into pension funds if there is a risk pay-outs need to be cut, the Financieele Dagblad reports on Monday. ...more

Bookshops in Amsterdam, Maastricht in top 20 'most beautiful' list
The American Book Center in Amstedam and Selexyz in Maastricht are included in a listing of the 20 most beautiful book shops in the world by US cultural website Flavorwire.com....more
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NS bid 20% more than rivals when it won British franchise
Dutch state rail company offered 20% more than its rivals when it won the concession to operate services in eastern England last year, the Financial Times reports on Monday. ...more
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News from Sunday 19 February 2012

Tension mounts in premier division after PSV, AZ lose
Dutch premier league leader PSV was beaten 3-0 by mid-placed FC Groningen in this weekend’s football action....more

Carnaval celebrations pass off peacefully
Tens of thousands of people celebrated Carnaval (carnival) in the Netherlands this weekend, in the run up to the start of Lent....more
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Prince still in a critical condition
It may take as long as the end of the coming week before doctors can give a firm prognosis about prince Johan Friso’s chances of survival after being hit by an avalanche while skiing in Austria on Friday....more
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Allround speed skating titles for Sven Kramer and Ireen Wüst
Sven Kramer took his fifth world allround speed skating title in Moscow on Sunday, making him the most successful Dutch speed skater ever....more

Politicians call for boycott of Dutch products in website protest
A Polish and Romanian member of the European parliament have called on people in central and eastern Europe to boycott Dutch products in protest at the government’s refusal to condemn what they say is a discriminatory website....more
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Poles say the PVV website is discriminatory
Some 85% of 540 Polish nationals questioned about a complaints website set up by the anti-immigration PVV think it is discriminatory, Trouw reports at the weekend....more
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Anti-Pole website boosts PVV fortunes, Labour slide continues
A website set up by the anti-immigration PVV where people can list problems they've experienced with central and eastern European nationals, appears to have boosted the party's popularity, according to the latest Maurice de Hond opinion poll. ...more
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Prince Friso still in a critical condition, new statement later today
Prince Friso, the second son of queen Beatrix who was caught in an avalanche while skiing in Austria on Friday, remains in a critical condition in hospital on Sunday....more
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