The Brexit withdrawal agreement, which still has to be approved by European leaders, the European parliament and the British parliament, does not appear to contain any improved rights for British nationals living the Netherlands and the rest of the EU. The parts of the withdrawal agreement on citizens rights were agreed in March and have not changed substantially since then. This means British nationals will be able to stay, work and use the healthcare services in the Netherlands but will lose their right to move to another EU country at will. 'What counts is this agreement will country-lock British people where they are living,' Laura Shields, of the British in Europe movement, told broadcaster France 24. 'Four out of five of our members need to cross borders for work.' Nevertheless, the agreement does give some clarity about the rights British nationals will have after March 29 2019. 'This agreement, if it goes through, means all British citizens living in the Netherlands by the end of December 2020 - the end of the transition period - will continue to be entitled to live here,' says immigration lawyer Jeremy Bierbach, of Franssen Advocaten. 'It is always a good plan to apply for a permanent residence document as an EU citizen because it is confirmation of the fact you are here. As the withdrawal agreement states, you will be able to exchange it, free of charge, for whatever new permit they come up with.' In addition, people who have not registered with their local authority, for whatever reason should do so now, Bierbach says. 'You should start collecting evidence about your stay here such as pay slips, jaaropgaven, bank statements, homeowner's insurance and utility bills.' Cliff edge Businessman Stephen Huyton, who has lived in the Netherlands for 23 years, says the deal avoids the ‘cliff edge’ scenario but still has a long way to go. ‘Since the document was published last night and is almost 600 pages long, it’s going to be a case of the devil in the detail. Until the experts have read the documents in full I will reserve judgement,’ he told DutchNews.nl. ‘On a personal note, as I understand it, a UK national will cease to be an EU resident as from end March so will be obliged to use non EU passport lines like somebody from, say, Australia. This is going to be a challenge at Schiphol.’ European parliament Campaigners are now pinning their hopes on the European parliament. Jane Golding, co-chair of the British in Europe group, said in a statement: 'It is now up to the European Parliament, not only to walk the talk on its red lines – free movement in our case – but to put pressure on all sides to ring fence the agreement on citizens’ rights so that 4.6mn people can sleep at night now whatever happens on Brexit.' The Dutch immigration service website continues to state that 'the validity of an EU permanent residence document officially will expire permanently for you on 29 March 2019. After all, on that day British citizens are no longer EU citizens.' DutchNews.nl has asked the IND for comment. You can comment on this story in the section below.  More >

The leader of the small orthodox Christian party ChristenUnie has called for limits on the number of immigrants from central and eastern Europe allowed to move to the Netherlands, warning that without action there will be another 'multicultural drama'. Gert-Jan Segers told television current affairs show EenVandaag on Wednesday evening that the arrival of large groups of eastern Europeans is having 'a large impact on local communities and leading to great unease'. According to national statistics office CBS, some 250,000 people from central and eastern Europe are living and working in the Netherlands. Segers says he is worried that many of them will live here for longer and fail to integrate properly into Dutch society. In addition, workers from central and eastern Europe are taking jobs which Dutch people living in disadvantaged neighbourhoods could be doing because they are cheaper, Segers said. ChristenUnie is part of the current four-party Dutch coalition. Just last month, new research by the government's socio-cultural policy unit SCP showed migrant workers only rarely take jobs which were being done by the native Dutch population. ‘Most of the scientific literature on migration also offers no evidence of migration-induced displacement.’ Other research by the SCP shows that despite having jobs and working long hours, Polish nationals earn on average a third less than the Dutch and 17% live in poverty. However, just 1.8% are claiming welfare benefits, compared with 2.6% of the Dutch population as a whole. RTL journalist Joost Vullings who interviewed Segers about the issues pointed out that European elections will take place next May. 'You could say Segers is kicking off the ChristenUnie campaign,' Vullings said. In the interview, Segers also blamed the British Brexit vote on the arrival of large number of Polish and other eastern European workers.   More >

The taste of food cannot be copyrighted, the European Court of Justice has ruled in a dispute which centres on a Dutch processed cheese. The dispute is between the makers of Heks'nkaas (witches' cheese) and Witte Wievenkaas (white or wise women's cheese), both of which are a spreadable cream cheese with herbs. Heks'nkaas first came on the market in 2007 and was then owned by food group Levola. In 2014, Frisian company Smilde began producing Witte Wievenkaas and Levola went to court, arguing that the new product was too similar to Heks'nkaas. The Dutch court then referred the case to the European court in Luxembourg for its opinion. In that ruling published on Tuesday, judges say that, in order to be protected by copyright under EU directives, the taste of a food product must be capable of being classified as a ‘work’. To be classed as a 'work' the subject matter is an original intellectual creation, the court said. In the case of food, however, the taste 'cannot be identified with precision and objectivity', the court said. 'The taste of a food product will be identified essentially on the basis of taste sensations and experiences, which are subjective and variable.' A spokesman for Smilde welcomed the ruling, saying it had helped to further define the boundaries of intellectual property.   More >

Dutch MEPs and campaign groups have welcomed Wednesday’s vote in the European parliament to ban plastic straws and throwaway cutlery and plates from 2021. The new measures to tackle plastic in the ocean cover the 10 single-use plastic products most widely found on European shores as well as lost fishing gear. Together these two groups account for 70% of marine litter, according to EU figures. Just 9% of plastic waste is currently recycled and in the Netherlands alone, 900 million plastic bottles are thrown away, the AD said. ‘The time has come to put a stop to the plastic soup and rubbish in our seas and on our streets,’ Christian Democrat MEP Annie Schreier-Pierik, who was involved in drawing up the draft legislation, said. ‘Plastic is used for a couple of seconds but it takes several centuries for it to be broken down.’ 'Good news for the climate,' said MEP Sophie in 't Veld, who leads the Liberal democratic party D66 in Europe. In total, 571 MEPS voted for the proposal, with 53 against and 34 abstaining. The measure still has to be approved by EU environment ministers. The plan also envisages measures to reduce plastic food packaging and the use of disposable cups. Sweet and cigarette filter makers will have to pay collectively towards cleaning up their waste and plastic processing. MEPs also say that nine in 10 plastic bottles should be collected separately by 2025, and a deposit system could be useful to achieve this. In the Netherlands, 328 out of 380 municipalities have joined a campaign by the Statiegeld Alliantie to extend the deposit system that currently applies to small glass bottles to plastic. The cabinet, however, has said it has no plans to change the deposit system before 2021 and wants to see if the drinks industry can come up with alternative solutions first. Plastic bags In 2016, the EU said that member states had to take measures to reduce the use of plastic bags. The Netherlands introduced a ban on shops and market stall holders giving their customers free plastic bags unless it was essential for food hygiene. Environmental groups have also welcomed the EU parliament's decision to ban throwaway plastic items. 'Great news,' said the Urgenda clean air campaign group.  More >

British nationals in the Netherlands and Dutch nationals who live in the UK, deserve special attention now the UK is leaving the EU, king Willem-Alexander said in a speech at the British parliament on Tuesday afternoon. Brexit, the king said, 'does not mean farewell. Our close, historic relationship will continue, albeit on a different footing.' He referred to the trade, creative and investment ties between the two countries before going on to state: 'One group deserves special attention: the 50,000 British nationals who live in the Netherlands, and the 150,000 Dutch nationals who live in the UK.' 'Many of them have lived and worked there for many years. They feel at home in their local community and their contribution to society is valued, whether as employees, colleagues, neighbours or volunteers. 'Yet all these individuals now live under the shadow of uncertainty about their future status. I understand how difficult this is for them and I trust that this uncertainty will be resolved,' Willem-Alexander said. Earlier on Tuesday the king and queen Maxima met members of the Dutch community in London, partly to discuss their concerns about Brexit. No agreement has yet been made about the rights of British nationals in the Netherlands and the Dutch in Britain after March 29 and many people are extremely worried about their future. The two-day visit is the first official state visit by a Dutch monarch to Britain since 1982. Read the full speech Last Friday Dutch foreign minister Stef Blok, who has accompanied the royals to London, said the Netherlands will ensure a 'decent solution' for British citizens in the Netherlands if there is a no-deal Brexit. 'We will not abandon these people,' Blok said. 'Even in a no-deal scenario we will make sure there is a decent solution so that British nationals can stay in our country after March 30, 2019.' A solution is already being worked on, Blok is quoted as saying by the AD.  More >