A ruling by an Amsterdam court making it impossible to clear buildings which were squatted illegally has angered a number of parties and the city’s mayor Job Cohen, reports ANP news service on Tuesday.

According to the judge, there was no legal basis for clearing the buildings even though they had not been empty for a year before being squatted. By law squatting is only legal in buildings which have been abandoned for more than 12 months.
Two of the government coalition parties, the Christian Democrats and the ChristenUnie, and the opposition right-wing Liberals VVD are currently drafting legislation against squatting.
They say the ruling is ridiculous and say that it must be possible to clear premises that have been illegally squatted.
Cohen has lodged an emergency appeal against the court ruling.