A building belonging to Erasmus university in Rotterdam was closed on Thursday night because its floors are unstable. ‘The safety of students and staff could not be guaranteed’, a spokesman for the university told public broadcaster NOS. The floors of the Polak building were constructed with the same technique used in a car park at Eindhoven Airport which collapsed in May. Technical experts at the time blamed faulty floor plates. In the wake of that incident, the university decided to commission a technical survey on the floors of its own building, resulting in the closure. It is trying to find room for the students who have been displaced from their usual teaching rooms and study desks, NOS writes. Many are reportedly queuing to study in the university library. Erasmus management said that the floors can probably be reinforced and aims to reopen the building in two weeks’ time.  More >

The chief executive of Schiphol Airport, Jos Nijhuis, will resign at the beginning of 2018 after nine years in charge. His departure was announced in a press release on Friday and he will depart before the end of his current contract. He said in the release that there are ‘many reasons’ for someone else to take the airport forward: ‘There is agreement for a new government, which will give a clear direction about Schiphol’s future. There will be space for growth, in balance with the environment. It would be good if this were taken up by a new chief executive.’ The Volkskrant reported that he had been under pressure for some time and come in for ‘heavy criticism’ over prioritising holiday flights over network connections to America and Asia. On Thursday it was revealed that the future impact of Schiphol’s growth would be reassessed after the government admitted it had been using flawed noise calculations.  More >

Some EU leaders want to give less financial support to Turkey in preparation for possible EU membership because of concerns about human rights violations, Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte has said. Rutte told the media that this was the subject of the first day of meetings of the 28 EU leaders in Brussels. According to NOS broadcaster, he said on Thursday night that subsidies currently given to the Turkish government would be better off diverted to human rights organisations. The proposal to stop pre-accession funding comes from German chancellor Angela Merkel, who criticised the ‘absolutely unsatisfying human rights situation in Turkey’ but said she did not want to ‘break bridges’ or have a showdown with the NATO country. Rutte said that accession negotiations with Turkey are at a standstill. ‘They are comatose, and that will not change,’ he said. But he added that there is no consensus among EU leaders for a Dutch proposal to shut down funding to the country completely. Brexit is also on the agenda for the European leaders.  More >

The #MeToo campaign – women sharing their experiences of sexual harassment on Twitter in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein affair– is taking on momentum in the Netherlands. Thousands of women from all walks of life are telling their stories, with the latest accusations coming from the academic world. Talk shows and papers in the Netherlands have featured accounts from women who say their lives and careers were blighted by saying no. Former television presenter Anneke Bakker told DWDD host Matthijs van Nieuwkerken how she believes rejecting the sexual overtures of her superior lost her the job some 35 years ago. On the late show, Pauw, swimmer Ela Hutten claimed her coach had sexually abused her from age 12 to 14. The Dutch allegations come in the wake of multiple accusations of harassment and abuse against Hollywood producer Weinstein, who is being investigated by police in London, Los Angeles and New York. 'Tell all' It is by no means the first time women have taken to social media to denounce sexual intimidation, the Volkskrant writes. Writer Anke Laterveer introduced the hashtag #ZegHet (tell all) two years ago when, she claims, she was sexually assaulted and the perpetrator was not brought to justice. ‘There is something comforting about a collective confession such as this,’ Utrecht university social scientist Linda Duits told the paper. ‘A hashtag has momentum and gives women the strength to confront the outside world because they know they are not alone.’ The Dutch reaction has been given added impetus by the murder of Anne Faber, which instigated discussions about women’s safety, Duits said. But she does not believe the Twitter campaign is likely to generate a useful dialogue. ‘Discussing solutions is different from calling all men assholes,’ she told the paper, adding that these lie in better education. Poll A poll conducted last month by public broadcaster NOS among 1000 men and women from 18 to 35 showed profound differences in attitudes around touching a female body uninvited. A full 100% of women said being groped in the crotch or breasts is totally unacceptable, with a small percentage of men thinking this could be acceptable. The male respondents scored consistently higher when it comes to the acceptability of touching other parts of women’s bodies. The greatest discrepancy the poll found was over touching a woman’s stomach area without asking: 30 percent of men thought this was permissible, with 76% of women saying this was on the edge or over acceptable boundaries. Meanwhile caretaker education minister Jet Bussemaker told NOS on Friday that the problem does not concern women alone. 'That so many women are only coming forward now is indicative how ashamed they feel. This is a problem for society as a whole and we should encourage men to become involved,' she told NOS.  More >