About: Pays-Bas

Wilders’ election strategy in shambles after racist remarks [updated]

Following a racist comment by Geert Wilders last week, his party took a dive in the polls, and lost several members, including its lead candidate for the EU elections.

Dutch need in/out euro referendum, says former socialist leader

Wouter Bos, the former leader of the Dutch Labour Party (PvdA), has said that an in/out referendum on the euro should be put to Dutch citizens. "It is the only way to provide democratic legitimacy to European integration," Bos remarked on Sunday (9 March).

Netherlands breaks with EU to open dialogue with Cuba

The Dutch foreign minister signed an agreement on Tuesday (7 January) with his Cuban counterpart to engage in political consultations, breaking ranks with the European Union which limits high-level visits and talks with the Communist-run Caribbean island.

The Netherlands has the best healthcare in the EU: Survey

The Netherlands has retained its position at the top of the annual Euro Health Consumer Index (EHCI) which compares healthcare systems in Europe.

Verhofstadt ‘is barking at the moon’, says fellow liberal Bolkestein

The Dutch liberal politician and former EU Commissioner Frits Bolkestein has launched a scathing attack against Guy Verhofstadt, who leads the liberal and pro-European ALDE group in the European Parliament, highlighting tensions within the liberal family ahead of next year's EU elections.

Le Pen visits Wilders to broker far-right post-EU election deal

Marine Le Pen, leader of the French party the Front national (FN), visited The Hague today (13 November) to meet with Dutch politician Geert Wilders, in an effort to build a powerful far-right political force during the 2014 EU elections.

Why the Dutch version of the balance of competence review will not please the Brits

In order to show off their new eurosceptic credentials, the Dutch government announced a major "subsidiarity review" of Dutch EU policy – begging comparisons with the UK’s home-grown "competence review". But British Tories will find little comfort in reading the review, writes Andrew Duff.

Dutch ‘subsidiarity review’ strikes a chord with UK euro critics

The British government hailed yesterday (24 June) a move by the Netherlands to initiate a process in the EU aimed at slashing the number of areas covered by common EU policy and legislation. The European Commission said it would follow the debate and figure out what conclusions to draw from it.

Germany leads in averting youth unemployment, study says

Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands all hold lessons for countries seeking to ease what German Chancellor Angela Merkel calls Europe's biggest burden - youth unemployment, a think tank said today (29 January).

‘Flop train’: EU’s high-speed rail ambitions hit a setback

The EU’s top transport official says the troubled launch of a now-suspended high-speed rail service between Brussels and Amsterdam - christened the ‘flop train’ by angry passengers - is “not our problem” despite years of efforts to encourage such premium transnational rail service.

EU budget delay keeps pressure on UK over banking union

The failure to agree on the next EU budget at today's extraordinary summit leaves Germany with powerful negotiating leverage over the UK for the crucial summit on banking union scheduled in December, EURACTIV has learned.

Dutch election remains wide open as voters head to the polls

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte of the liberal VVD and the Labour (PvdA) leader Diederik Samsom were neck-and-neck heading into today's general election, the latest polls showed.

Experts: Rutte poised for second term in the Netherlands

Dutch caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte is expected to once again form a coalition government after the general elections in the Netherlands on Wednesday (12 September), experts predict. However, the outcome of the election is still highly uncertain as many voters remain undecided.

Greece warned that delaying reforms ‘is not an option’

While Eurogroup chief Jean-Claude Juncker expressed support to Greece's conservative government yesterday (22 August), the Netherlands rebuked Greek pleas that more time should be allowed for the country’s painful reforms.

Dutch town enacts own migrant rules

Vaals, a town of 10,000 inhabitants in southeast Netherlands, is introducing special rules banning the right of residence of foreigners including EU nationals without the financial means to sustain themselves. The Commission said it would examine the decision closely.

Serbia: A Weimar Republic?

The current situation in Serbia mirrors that of post-WW I Germany and threatens to re-focus international attention on the region, writes Marko Papic, an analyst for Stratfor, a global intelligence company based in the US.

New Dutch coalition seeks to downplay populists’ influence

Fearing an international backlash against the Netherlands for having a government that depends on the support of an outspoken anti-Islam party, the new Dutch minority coalition government is trying to downplay the influence of Geert Wilders' right-wing populist party PVV.

Mayor urges local commitment to ‘Europe 2020’ plan

Local leaders must be given the freedom to create tailor-made solutions for making the 'Europe 2020' growth strategy work, but must likewise take more responsibility for doing so, Lodewijk Asscher, acting Mayor of Amsterdam, told EURACTIV in an interview.

Amsterdam mayor: Cities can play their part in Europe 2020 plan

Local leaders must be given the freedom to create tailor-made solutions for making the 'Europe 2020' growth strategy work, but must likewise take more responsibility for this task, Lodewijk Asscher, acting Mayor of Amsterdam, told EURACTIV in an interview.

Party politics is back in the Netherlands

The new Dutch government will have to come up with a tough economic reform policy and budgetary cut-back programme, while convincing the divided electorate that they are taking immigration seriously, writes Jos Boonstra, a senior researcher at Madrid-based think-tank FRIDE.

Dutch poll: Liberals lead, anti-Islam party make huge gains

Liberals won a narrow one-seat lead in the Dutch election, putting them in pole position to form a coalition that must tackle a ballooning budget deficit, preliminary results showed this morning (10 June).

Kroes may face second round of questions

Dutch members of the European Parliament are calling on Neelie Kroes, the EU's commissioner-designate for the new 'Digital Agenda' portfolio, to face a second round of questioning to rectify what they describe as her weak performance at a confirmation hearing last week.

Dutch PM said to be eyeing EU president job

Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende is conducting a "very subtle" lobbying campaign in Brussels to be considered a candidate for the job of EU Council president, according to sources, who forecast that should the Lisbon Treaty enter into force, he will be strongly backed by Angela Merkel.

Dutch politicians: EU poll results ‘disappointing’ and ‘shameful’

The projected results of the Dutch European elections, in which the far-right anti-EU and anti-immigration Freedom Party (PVV) have recorded huge successes, are "disappointing" and "shameful", leading candidates from the Netherlands' main centre-left and centre-right parties told EURACTIV in an interview.