As a country, the Netherlands is excellent at many things: cheese-making, playing football, creating fried bar snacks, freeing container ships from Egyptian canals. When it comes to political scandals, however, we’re awful, writes Ben Coates. In countries like the US, a major scandal might involve stolen nuclear secrets, illegal arms deals or crooked campaign contributions. In France, two former presidents have been found guilty of corruption within the last decade. And in Britain, the last week alone has seen the... More >

The Dutch are very fond of international comparisons if they come out well, but when it comes to coronavirus, they see the Netherlands’ position as one of  ‘superior failure’, writes Ben Coates. About a year ago, I became a Dutch citizen. In the age of corona, it was a strange experience: I cycled to the city hall through empty streets, with an ambulance siren wailing in the distance, then waited behind a glass screen for a while before being handed... More >

The Covid-19 pandemic has a deep impact on global economy and revealed the need for digitisation, as economic development all over the globe has taken a hit, says Mike Bai, strategy marketing, Western Europe, Huawei Technologies. Entire sectors like the service industry have shut down in a number of countries and the fragility of global supply chains has become apparent. The pandemic has also demonstrated the need for digitisation of both the public and private sectors to adjust business models,... More >

There is an easy solution to the cardboard chaos spilling across pavements in Dutch towns and cities, writes DutchNews.nl’s Robin Pascoe. If you’ve ever stopped to study the pile of cardboard boxes that inevitably pile up next to every waste bin across the country you can learn a lot about your neighbours. You will have neighbours who get their food delivered by Hello Fresh or Marley Spoon, you will have neighbours who seem to buy a new piece of flatpack... More >

From air pollution to waste management and global warming, the world is experiencing environmental degradation in many ways and technology is key to responding to the environmental crisis that we are facing, writes Jason Li, vice president of public affairs and communications, Western Europe, Huawei Technologies. The EU Commission has responded to the challenges of air pollution, waste management and global warming by presenting a long-term strategy. Under the umbrella of the European Green Deal, several initiatives will be aimed... More >

Together Huawei and European industry can address the challenges of a new emerging order, says Sophie Batas, director for cybersecurity at Huawei Europe. As the turbulent year of 2020 comes to an end, it is clear that the past months have been quite extraordinary for all of us. Even though we are starting to see the end of the tunnel with mass vaccinations soon to be underway all over the world, the pandemic continues to heavily impact our daily lives.... More >

If it had been the children of immigrants throwing fireworks at police, rather than youngsters in several Bible belt villages, the response would have been very different, says Leiden University professor Leo Lucassen. The events on New Year’s Eve and the days leading up to it demonstrated yet again that double standards are still rife in the Netherlands. Many criticised the Urker youngsters for going on the rampage but the explanation that was given for their violent and destructive behaviour... More >

Brandon Hartley has spent the last several months dealing with a mouse-infestation at his house when he’s not stuck on NS trains with canoodling couples. Needless to say, he’s very much looking forward to the end of the Covid 19 crisis. Here’s how his holiday season has been going. ‘Twas a week before Christmas, and all through the Netherlands, plenty of creatures were stirring, even the mice! I’m writing these words in my living room about a metre from where... More >

The government’s approach to helping the cultural sector through the coronavirus pandemic is sorely lacking, writes comedian Sanne Wallis de Vries. This article was really meant to be an explanation of why small theatres are so important in this country. But the very few words our prime minister Mark Rutte dedicates to art and culture during his press conferences have forced me to address him personally. I may use a small whip to bring the message home. I will begin... More >

When the president of the European Commission made her first speech to the European Parliament in December 2019, she officially recognised Artificial Intelligence as an area of strategic importance for the European Union. Nine months later, addressing once again the European Parliament in her maiden State of the Union speech”, she had moved from spelling out Artificial Intelligence to talking in terms of ‘AI’ – so well-known is the technology within the EU bubble now. This is not so surprising... More >

Granting people with dementia the right to ask for euthanasia when they are still capable of making the decision will free doctors from the task of taking the decision for them, says Klaas Rozemond, associate professor of criminal law at Amsterdam’s VU University. Once again, a medical disciplinary board has said the actions of a doctor involved in the euthanasia of a patient with dementia were negligent. On August 17 the Amsterdam disciplinary board decided that a doctor who works... More >

Professional interpreters and translators play an important role in courts and police investigations. However, justice minister Ferd Grapperhaus’s decision to downgrade the professional requirements to ‘secondary school levels’, is not a good idea, says certified translator and interpreter Roemer Leushuis. International crime and the flow of refugees have led to a greater need for professional interpreters and translators. The Dutch government claims it is unable to meet that need. Is there really a lack of professionals, and if so, how... More >

DutchNews.nl receives a lot of correspondence from readers, sometimes looking for help in tracing lost relatives, sometimes to share experiences of the Netherlands in years gone by. But this email, from reader Joost Goedkoop in the US, is different. In the summers of 1965 and 1966 I worked on Dutch freighters sailing the Caribbean Seas. The shipping line, KNSM, had beautiful little freighters with routes from Amsterdam to NYC, that continued on to Miami, Puerto Rico, St Maartin, Curacao, Bonaire,... More >

The March elections are not a run race, says columnist Syp Wynia, and the current incumbent Mark Rutte may not last the course. As the country is coming out of lockdown, politicians are jostling for position for the next general elections in March, or perhaps sooner if the coalition should fall. Prime ministerMark Rutte looks to be in poll position but more than one politician has fallen at the last hurdle. At the moment Rutte is not even officially in... More >

The SGP and D66 are not often on the same page but party leaders Kees van der Staaij and Rob Jetten agree on one thing: our constitutional rights have to be taken seriously, particularly in times of crisis. The near future has been named by prime minister Mark Rutte as ‘the new normal’. The question that immediately needs to be asked is: just how normal is this? We think the new normal is not normal at all, and, indeed, must... More >

The Dutch economy is heading for heavy weather if the government doesn’t promote the economy of tomorrow, say economists Rick van der Ploeg and Willem Vermeend. The Netherlands is one of the countries whose economy will be hardest hit by the coronavirus crisis. Its open economy and dependence on now faltering trade are bringing economic shrinkage and soaring unemployment in its wake. More and more countries are taking measures to get their stagnant economies moving again. But while other EU... More >