Wednesday 30 November 2022

Waterboards will no longer have 'secret' industry representatives

Waterboards will no longer have 'secret' industry representatives

The upper house of parliament, or senate, has voted in favour of draft legislation which will cut the influence of industry and farmers on the country’s 21 water boards. Currently, seven to nine seats on each waterboard are reserved for farming, environmental and industrial representatives, but that will no longer be the case at the next waterboard elections in March 2023. The senate voted by 37 to 32 in favour of a GroenLinks and D66 motion which will scrap the... More >

Farm compulsory purchase 'still an option'

Farm compulsory purchase 'still an option'

The cabinet has published its plans to reduce nitrogen-based pollution in the Netherlands and, as widely leaked, they include a buy-out plan for farmers. Ministers have confirmed that 2,000 to 3,000 farms and other major polluters located close to environmentally sensitive areas will be offered a buy-out deal amounting to ‘well over’ 100% of the value of their company. The leaks had suggest the deal would be 120%, but the terms of the buy-outs have not yet been finalised by... More >

Dutch liable for bombing of Afghan village

Dutch liable for bombing of Afghan village

The Hague district court has found the Dutch state liable for the 2007 bombing of residential buildings in an Afghan village that left 50 to 80 civilians dead, saying the attack violated international law. A group of Afghan civilians, survivors and relatives of those killed, brought a civil suit against the government. They argued the attack on Chora was unlawful because the military had not established the buildings were being used by Taliban fighters at the time. The Dutch were... More >

Jetten told to compensate Gazprom switch

Jetten told to compensate Gazprom switch

Two coalition parties have called on energy minister Rob Jetten to offer full compensation to councils that cancelled their contracts with former Russian gas supplier Gazprom. Jetten ordered some 300 municipalities, schools and water boards whose gas was provided by Gazprom Energy to switch to another supplier before the end of the year. The minister reversed his decision last week after Germany nationalised its Gazprom subsidiary and renamed it Sefe Energy Ltd (‘Saving Energy For Europe’) in August. The move... More >

VVD conference backs refugee housing law

VVD conference backs refugee housing law

Members of the ruling VVD party have overwhelmingly endorsed a law that will allow the government to force local councils to accommodate asylum seekers. More than three-quarters of delegates at the party’s autumn conference backed asylum minister Eric van der Burg’s plan, which he says will ensure refugees are distributed evenly around the country. The vote ends weeks of turmoil within the VVD over the law, which some factions said conflicted with the party’s liberal principles by imposing the cabinet’s... More >

D66: ban parties that undermine democracy

D66: ban parties that undermine democracy

Coalition party D66 has called for the law to be changed to allow political parties to be banned if they ‘undermine the democratic order.’ The progressive-liberal party wants to drop the exemption for political parties in the law that applies to criminal gangs and terrorist organisations, which can be banned if judges decide they threaten the foundations of the Dutch state. The move is clearly aimed at the far-right Forum voor Democratie (FVD), which was condemned last month for posting... More >

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