DutchNews.nl - DutchNews.nl brings daily news from The Netherlands in English

25 May 2025
Newsletter Donate Advertise
  • News
  • Life in the Netherlands
  • Jobs
  • Podcast
  • About us
  • Search
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Art and culture
  • Sport
  • Europe
  • Society
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Housing
  • Education
  • News
    • Home
    • Economy
    • Art and culture
    • Sport
    • Europe
    • Society
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
    • Education
  • Life in the Netherlands
    • Latest
    • Opinion
    • Books
    • Travel
    • 10 Questions
    • Learning Dutch
    • Inburgering with DN
    • Food & Drink
    • Ask us anything
  • Jobs
  • Podcast
  • About us
    • Team
    • Donate
    • Advertise
    • Writing for Dutch News
    • Contact us
    • Privacy
    • Newsletter
  • Search

The political fringes fire at Rutte, but EU recovery fund support is assured

September 10, 2020
FvD leader Thierry Baudet during the debate. Photo: Phil Nijhuis ANP
FvD leader Thierry Baudet during the debate. Photo: Phil Nijhuis ANP

Prime minister Mark Rutte was criticised by far right and Socialist MPs during Wednesday evening’s debate on the EU €750bn recovery fund, but he was still assured of sufficient support for the Dutch position in the negotiations.

In particular, the anti-immigration PVV and FvD said that Rutte had wrongly voted to give billions of euros to ‘poor’ member states.

Roelof Bisschop, an MP for the fundamentalist Protestant SGP, said the EU fund had saddled future generations with a ‘mountain of debt’. ‘And it is going to take until 2058 to pay back this money. 2058!’, the MP said.

By contrast, D66 MP Sjoerd Sjoerdsma said the prime minister could have shown a more pro-European face during the negotiations. GroenLinks and the Labour party too criticised the prime minister’s tough stance during the weeks of talks earlier in the summer.

The Netherlands had been one of the most vocal critics of the EU fund plan, particularly the idea of giving no-strings relief to countries hardest hit by coronavirus.

During Wednesday’s long debate, Rutte admitted that he had been forced to compromise on his hard line over gifts, but said the Dutch position is a sensible one because the Netherlands would suffer major economic fall-out if Spain and Italy got into real difficulty.

‘It is in the interests of the Netherlands to have a stable EU, given the power blocks of China and the United States,’ he said. ‘The most important thing for you and for me is to keep this country safe, in an uncertain world. And we cannot do this alone.’

Share this article
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Copy URL
Europe
Thank you for donating to DutchNews.nl.

We could not provide the Dutch News service, and keep it free of charge, without the generous support of our readers. Your donations allow us to report on issues you tell us matter, and provide you with a summary of the most important Dutch news each day.

Make a donation
Latest
Show more
Dutch fundamentalist Protestants again say "no" to women MPs
AEX falls as Trump threatens 50% import tariff on European goods
Dutch forensic experts develop deepfake video detector
Zaanstad says yes to tourist tickets for Zaanse Schans windmills
Fewer international child abductions by parents last year
NewsHomeEconomyArt and cultureSportEuropeSocietyEnvironmentHealthHousingEducation
Life in the NetherlandsLatestOpinionBooksTravel10 QuestionsLearning DutchInburgering with DNFood & DrinkAsk us anything
About usTeamDonateAdvertiseWriting for Dutch NewsContact usPrivacyNewsletter
© 2025 DutchNews | Cookie settings

Help us to keep providing you information about coronavirus in the Netherlands.

Many thanks to everyone who has donated to DutchNews.nl in recent days!

We could not provide this service without you. If you have not yet made a contribution, you can do so here.

The DutchNews.nl team

Donate now

Dutchnews Survey

Please help us making DutchNews.nl a better read by taking part in a short survey.

Take part now