The Netherlands: "If we reelect Mark Rutte "the Dutch political Houdini" we don't deserve any better" - by Johan Fretz

The self induced fall of the Rutte III cabinet took place in such a slow motion that its impact was spread out over a week. That was precisely Rutte's intention: if you move more slowly towards the ground, the impact will be less hard. Even in his own fall, Rutte remained the merciless strategist. If there was no other option, then only with as little damage to himself as possible.

Earlier this week, he had put on the table a sample of genuine “Rutlet logic”. Before the Christmas holidays, he had pretended that he thought it was all so intense and had to deal with it first. Now, after the holidays, he said that stepping down was a thing of the past. He may have thought we were all stupid and blame him: he has never been punished for anything in ten years. But the dynamics suddenly changed rapidly.

Lodewijk Asscher of thr PVDA labor party, the only one who had said aloud since the beginning that he felt shame and regret about his part in the benefits affair, still resigned. As is so often the case, it is the politicians who prefer integrity over power who pay the highest price, even though Asscher's choice was very justified and inevitable.

In looking back on his years in The Hague, he will have to reflect on the fact that he and his party entered Rutte II so indiscriminately, a cabinet that aimed to develop the public sector and human scale and in which it was established from the outset that such accidents would happen. That is why support for Asscher has crumbled so quickly in recent weeks: the affair reminded many voters how angry they were about this fatal government participation.

Even after Asscher's departure, Rutte continued to stop the fall of his cabinet behind the scenes. After all, it was not necessary from his VVD party viewpoint, and he undoubtedly felt strengthened by the voters behind the forty polled seats, who don't give a damn. But on Friday, Rutte solemnly said at the press conference: “We had to take responsibility,” as if it came from his deep inside. Those who listened more closely heard his cunning again: "Of course, it is always my ultimate responsibility in the end." In other words, I, the Good Samaritan, now fall for other people's sins, but have clean hands myself.What Typical Rutte B.S.


Political reality and public pressure can force a cabinet's resignation, but what they clearly cannot enforce is an inner realization in those responsible that they have failed morally. Mark Rutte does not resign out of regret or shame. He resigns because he had no other option. In doing so he devalues ​​the symbolic value of the fall, which if it had been sincere could have contributed to the healing and the initial restoration of trust in the institutions.

Now our political Houdini PM has again freed himself from the chains underwater and has escaped from the steel box. On March 17 last year, he happily emerges, with that tirelessly cheerful grin that for ten years has kept others from seeing his brutal politics of hollowing out and reckoning behind it. Do we deserve better? If we re-elect him or not ?

Read more in the original Dutch version of "Het Parool" from where this translated version came: Als we Rutte opnieuw herverkiezen, verdienen we niet beter | Het Parool

The Netherlands: Dutch government quits over 'colossal stain' of tax subsidy scandal - by Stephanie van den Berg

Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s government resigned on Friday, accepting responsibility for wrongful accusations of fraud by the tax authorities that drove thousands of families to financial ruin, often on the basis of ethnicity.

Read more at: Dutch government quits over 'colossal stain' of tax subsidy scandal | Reuters

The Netherlands: Rutte Government under fire over costly healthcare and educational student loan programs - by RM

The Netherlands privatized Healthcare and Educational programs are not proving to be one of  the Dutch PM's Rutte success stories. As a matter of fact, they are both a disaster, too costly and worst of all undemocratic.

It seems that Mr. Rutte and some of his colleages in the Dutch Government don't seem to be aware that education and healthcare, are not, and can never be seen as marketable commodities.

They are a basic democratic right for everyone, poor or rich, and must be free and widely available to all citizens.

The present privatized health and educational programs, applied by the Dutch Government and a few other Governments in the EU, and around the world, are not only undemocratic, they are also proving to be a financial barrier in providing proper education and healthcare to every level of the population, and when all is said and done, actually do not benefit the overall economy.

It is regrettable that some countries, including the Netherlands, have turned these basic human rights, related to education and healthcare, into marketable commodities.

Almere-Digest

US-Netherlands relations: Rutte's visit to Washington focuses on jobs and security issues

 During their press conference, Trump was asked about the racist chanting made during a speech at which he again criticized four congresswomen.

The questioning made Rutte visibly uneasy, the Volkskrant said. In 2017, Rutte was himself at the centre of a similar row when he told a Dutch newspaper people who are not happy living in the Netherlands and with the way things are done should leave. And in 2016, he said a group of Dutch Turks demonstrating in Rotterdam should ‘eff off’.

The visit ended with a special ceremony to hand over a US flag which flew during the Normandy landings in 1944. The flag had been bought by a Dutch art collector at auction in 2016 for €450,000 and he decided to donate it to the US. My visit to the White House came to an end with a special ceremony. On D-Day in 1944, the first navigation vessels landed on Utah Beach, Normandy under this very flag. Today this flag returned home, after its Dutch owners presented it to President Trump

Read more: Rutte's visit to Washington focuses on jobs and security issues - DutchNews.nl - Live

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The Netherlands: Trump's Muslim ban casts shadow over Dutch PM's visit to U.S. - by Janene Pieters

Prime Minister Mark Rutte is visiting the United States and meeting with Donald Trump on Monday. Rutte plans to announce that the Netherlands will again negotiate establishing American customs personnel at Schiphol. But the D66 fears that Trump's so-called Muslim ban will mean that American customs officers will deny Muslims access to the U.S. on Dutch soil, AD reports.

Coalition party D66 is therefore calling on Rutte to under no circumstances take steps that could make the Netherlands complicit in this entry ban. D66 parliamentarian Sjoerd Sjoerdsma calls the entry ban discriminatory and against the core values of the Netherlands and the Dutch constitution. "Enforcing the Muslim ban on Dutch soil is too crazy for words", Sjoerdsma said, according to the newspaper. "I now expect the government to reflect again and to not take any irreversible steps in this area."

For BBC report on actual visit click here. 

Read more: Trump's Muslim ban casts shadow over Dutch PM's visit to U.S. | NL Times

The Netherlands: New government under pressure over dividend tax ' corporate blackmail' claims

Rutte:"Being good to corporations is good for Holland"

MPs have called on prime minister Mark Rutte to explain the new government’s decision to scrap the tax on dividends for a second time, amid mounting reports that Shell and Unilever put pressure on the coalition negotiators.

The move to scrap the tax, which will cost the treasury €1.4bn and only benefit foreign firms, was not included in any of the party manifestos and has been condemned by opposition parties.

Broadcaster NOS reported earlier on Thursday that it had been told Anglo Dutch firms Shell and Unilever and two other companies had urged the new coalition to scrap the tax. ‘There was a real threat that a couple of bigger Dutch firms would go to London,’

NOS correspondent Ron Fresen said. Shell and Unilever have headquarters in both the Netherlands and Britain and both have been considering their position in a post-Brexit economy. Shell said on Wednesday it welcomed the new government’s decision.

It has campaigned for the tax to be scrapped for at least 10 years. Unilever has said it will decide by the end of the year whether or not to keep its dual headquarter structure. The company has also said that it is pleased with all measures which strengthen the Netherlands’ position as an international business centre. Jobs

Prime minister Mark Rutte has said repeatedly that the measure is needed to keep jobs and to make sure the Netherlands remains an attractive location for foreign firms.

However, leading economists and the government’s own macro-economic think-tank CPB have also questioned the move. During Thursday’s debate, GroenLinks (Greens) popular  leader Jesse Klaver said the government had laid itself open to being ‘blackmailed’ by big companies.

Read more: New government under pressure over dividend tax 'blackmail' claims - DutchNews.nl

The Netherlands: Dutch government under fire over tax cuts favoring big business - by Bart H. Meijer &Toby Sterling

Mark Rutte copies Trump's
Tax Proposals favoring corporations

The new Dutch government came under fire in parliament on Thursday, November 8, for scrapping a 15 percent dividend withholding tax, after a national broadcaster NOS said Shell, Unilever, Akzo Nobel and Philips had lobbied for the change.

Shell confirmed to Reuters it had sought the change, while Philips denied it.

Akzo Nobel declined to comment. Unilever would not say whether it asked for the change but it “welcomes measures that improve the business climate in countries where we operate.”

Prime Minister Mark Rutte has said the policy will help the country retain its appeal to foreign investors as it cuts other tax perks in response to concerns that Dutch tax policies have helped multinationals avoid paying fair taxes.

Note EU-Digest: Dutch PM Rutte (Conservative) seems to have copied the new US Tax proposals from the Trump Administration, favoring Corporations above the average taxpayers. To make matters worse Dutch tax payers will now pay 9% instead of 6% Vat Tax, on products they buy in the store and super markets. And like Trump, he has also increased the military budget. One should question if PM Rutte is aware that he lives in the Netherlands (EU) and not in the US.?

Rutte's government is also cutting its corporate tax rate to 21 percent from 25 percent.

Read more: Dutch government under fire over tax cut favoured by big business

The Netherlands: What to Expect from Right-Green Coalition in Netherlands – by Nick Ottens

The Green party in the Netherlands has agreed to start negotiations to form a government with the center-right
.
Coalition talks could take months. The four prospective ruling parties have many differences to bridge.

The Greens want to raise taxes on pollution; Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s liberals want to build more roads. The Greens want to shrink the income gap; the liberals want to cut high taxes and social insurance costs.

The Christian Democrats and liberal Democrats are close in terms of economic policy but miles apart on cultural issues. The former have called for a mandatory national service; the latter want to legalize certain drugs and expand euthanasia rights.

Nevertheless, there may be enough common ground for an accord.

The national broadcaster NOS compared the election manifestos of the four parties and found that they all favor comprehensive tax reform, including lower income tax rates.

They all want to invest in security. The Greens would prefer to spend more on developmental aid than defense, but, after decades of cuts and in light of (unfortunately) American pressure, higher military spending seems inevitable.

All four parties also want to spend more on elderly care and lower the health insurance deductible.

Read more: Nick Ottens What to Expect from Right-Green Coalition in Netherlands – Atlantic Sentinel

Netherlands -Turkey: Economics of the standoff between Turkey and the Netherlands - by Altay Atli

 Mark Rutte and Recep Tayip Erdogan in the better days

As the diplomatic squabble between Turkey and the Netherlands continues to fester, concerns are raised about whether — and to what extent — the tensions will harm bilateral relations, particularly in economics where the two countries have robust trade and investment connections.

For Turkey, the Netherlands offers a large and expanding export market. Trade between the two countries has roots in the 17th century when the Ottomans exported wool and cotton (later tobacco as well) to the Netherlands and imported clothes and linen in return. Commerce between the two
countries remained strong into modern times; in 2016 the bilateral trade volume was US$6.6 billion.

The Netherlands is the 10th largest export destination for Turkey, and perhaps more importantly from the Turkish perspective, it is also a fast-growing market. Last year Turkish exports to the Dutch market amounted to $3.6 billion, against $3 billion in imports. And while the annual increase in imports was 3.4%, exports expanded much faster, at 13.8%. For the Turkish economy, which is suffering an acute current-account deficit, the increasing trade surplus with the Dutch is a precious commodity.

On the other side of the equation, Turkey is and has always been a favored destination for Dutch investment. A process that started in 1930 when the Dutch company Philips set up shop in the newly established Republic of Turkey has reached new levels since then, making the Netherlands by far the largest source of foreign direct investment in Turkey today. According to data by the Turkish Central Bank, Dutch investment stock in Turkey was $22 billion in 2016, compared with $11.2 billion in US investments in second place, and $9.8 billion from Austria in third place.

Turkey is home to 2,700 companies funded by Dutch capital. This figure includes those transnational companies registered in the Netherlands for legal and tax-related purposes. This sizeable Dutch involvement in the Turkish economy benefits both sides. For Dutch multinationals such as Unilever, ING Bank, Philips, Perfetti, Royal Dutch Shell and Philip Morris, Turkey is not only a favorable production base but also a lucrative market and a trading and logistics hub for access to the Middle East and North Africa, Balkans, Caucasus and Central Asia. More Dutch investment is set to come to Turkey, such as the recent purchase by Vitol Group of the Turkey-based fuel products distribution company Petrolofisi for $1.47 billion. Investment needs a stable political climate, and the diplomatic spat between Turkey and the Netherlands doesn’t help.

It is also worth nothing that while the amount of Turkish investment in the Netherlands is considerably smaller, there are several large Turkish firms that have set up subsidiaries enabling access to the larger EU market.

For the past week, Dutch pundits have been commenting that Turkey is more dependent on the Netherlands, so possible sanctions imposed by Ankara would only mean “shooting themselves in the foot.” Turkish authorities have imposed political sanctions over the Dutch government’s refusal to allow Turkish ministers to meet with members of the Turkish diaspora there, including halting high-level political discussions between the two countries and the closing of Turkish airspace to Dutch diplomats. But Ankara has carefully ruled out economic sanctions. Turkey’s economics minister, Nihat Zeybekçi said: “If we take these steps, both sides would be hurt.” Ömer Çelik, minister of EU affairs said the Dutch business community, which is “investing in Turkey, doing commerce and generating employment” is “certainly not a part of this crisis,” and “Dutch investment in Turkey is by no means under risk.”

Economic sanctions between Turkey and the Netherlands don’t seem likely at the moment, but longer-term threats remain. First, even if no sanctions are imposed, the significant loss of confidence caused by recent events will take a toll on bilateral economic relations for some time.
Second, the sizeable Turkish diaspora in the Netherlands, as well as the relatively smaller Dutch community living in Turkey, will face uncertainty, and this will have an economic impact too. An estimated 400,000 Turks live in the Netherlands, according to a diaspora association, and there are 25,000 businesses with Turkish owners, most of them smaller enterprises. Many of these companies are doing business with Turkey, and they are negatively affected by the current dispute between the two governments. So is the much smaller Dutch community in Turkey. But it is equally active in the economy, especially in the tourism sector. Declining tourist numbers will hurt Turkish and Dutch operators alike, and it might take some time to recover to pre-crisis levels of business.

Third, the diplomatic spat is likely to have a negative effect on efforts to revise the Turkish-EU Customs Union. The union, which took effect in 1996, is outdated, failing to catch up with the requirements of today’s global trade. Ankara and Brussels had begun talks to improve the deal, but the current circumstance is likely to overshadow attempts based on economic rationality.

This week Turkish football team Beşiktaş played the Greek side Olympiakos in the European cup. The Turks won 4-1 helped by two goals from Ryan Babel, the Amsterdam-born Dutch striker. Turkey and the Netherlands have links that are closer than many realize, and it will benefit both to keep them intact.

Read more: Economics of the standoff between Turkey and the Netherlands | Asia Times

Netherlands says No to Trump and Wilders populism in General election-as Rutte wins again - by Philip Blenkinsop

Mark Rutte

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said his VVD party was on course for victory in Dutch parliamentary elections on Wednesday in a result he declared represented a rejection of "the wrong kind of populism".

"It appears that the VVD will be the biggest party in the Netherlands for the third time in a row," a beaming Rutte told supporters at a post-election party in the Hague.

Rutte, who beat off a challenge from anti-Islam and anti-EU far-right firebrand Geert Wilders, said he had spoken to a number of European leaders already by telephone.

"It is also an evening in which the Netherlands after Brexit, after the American elections said stop to the wrong kind of populism," he said.

Read more: Dutch PM Rutte - Netherlands said no to 'the wrong kind of populism' - World | The Star Online

Turkey-The Netherlands -EU: Diplomatic row as Dutch withdraw landing rights for Turkish minister's plane

The Netherlands says NO

The Netherlands has withdrawn landing rights for a plane carrying a Turkish government minister who wanted to address a rally in support of a controversial referendum giving more power to the president.

Foreign affairs minister Mevlüt Cavusoglu was planning to speak at a meeting in support of the referendum in Rotterdam late on Saturday afternoon. The decision to stop the plane carrying Cavusoglu from landing was taken on public order grounds. The call by the Turkish authorities for a mass demonstration is a threat to public order and safety, the Dutch foreign affairs ministry said in a statement.

‘The Netherlands was in talks with the Turkish authorities about an acceptable solution to the visit,’ the statement said. Talks were ongoing about whether the meeting could take place in a smaller, closed environment such as a Turkish consulate or the embassy. ‘But before those talks could be completed, the Turkish authorities made a public threat about sanctions.

That made the search for a reasonable solution impossible,’ the statement said. The ministry said that many Dutch Turkish have voting rights in Turkey and that the government has no objection to information meetings. ‘But these meetings cannot contribute to the tensions in our society,’ the statement said.

More powers Cavusoglu hopes to win support for a yes vote in the Turkish referendum on amending the constitution to concentrate more power with president Tayyip Erdogan. Prime minister Mark Rutte has said the visit, planned for just four days before the Dutch general election, is ‘undesirable’.

The timing is inopportune, given that much of the election campaign revolves around maintaining the Dutch identity. It would also be playing into the hands of Geert Wilders, who held a short demonstration for the press in front of the Turkish embassy on Wednesday, Dutch commentators said.

Note EU-Digest: Obviously this move by the Dutch PM will score a lot of points for him in the upcoming Dutch elections in 4 days ,


Read more: Diplomatic row as Dutch withdraw landing rights for Turkish minister's plane - DutchNews.nl

What's acceptable to US is not always so to EU: Uber, Taskrabbit, other Silicon Valley darlings urge Europe not to screw their business

In a letter addressed to Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte, currently president of the EU, the companies argue that they are "remodelling whole value chains." They are also "challenging more established methods of product and service delivery, and those whose businesses are based on them."

Covering everything from dog sitters to car sharing, art rental and multiple room rental services, the representatives of the "European Collaborative Economy Industry" are concerned that the EU's discussions over the "digital single market" will be used by some to limit the development of the businesses by getting local authorities to impose new restrictions that protect the status quo.

"As innovators, we are challenging more established methods of product and service delivery, and those whose businesses are based on them," the letter argues. "This new way of operating is making better use of resources, allowing more efficient allocation of supply and demand, creating new sources of income, promoting micro-entrepreneurship and flexible working and offering greater market choice and convenience."

Uber has most famously run up against taxi regulations in France and Belgium that have seen it banned, fined, picketed and raided. AirBnB has also faced aggressive lobbying from hotel groups threatened by its ability to flood the market with more accessible and cheaper rooms.

We've not heard of the same tactics being applied in the dog sitting or yacht renting market but the letter is hoping to remind politicians that their job is help consumers through competition and their economies through efficiency rather than be swayed by arguments and lobbying from vested interests.

On the flip side, however, an increasing number of European countries are concerned about the risks that the new sharing economy companies may bring. Traditional taxi drivers go through a long-defined approval process that seeks to guarantee riders' safety: Uber's driver selection process has been repeatedly criticized for being significantly less robust.

Likewise, hotels have to meet and maintain strict licensing requirements that ensure visitors are kept safe. Numerous examples exist of problems with insurance or general safety have appeared with services like AirBnB.

As a result of these concerns, countries have asked the EC to look into things and issues guidance on how to apply current EU law to the new companies. It's these guidelines, and an upcoming meeting of the European Competitiveness Council that the companies are worried about.

"We urge Member States to support these objectives and continue to seek to ensure that local and national laws do not unnecessarily limit the development of the collaborative economy to the detriment of Europeans," it pleads.

AirBnB has written an accompanying blog post to the letter it which it asks the EU to "unite behind an agenda for the collaborative economy that secures sustainable economic growth for Europe."

How far that argument goes against the all-too-real fears of liability and damage to established businesses working under existing laws remains to be seen.

Read more: Uber, Taskrabbit, other Silicon Valley darlings urge Europe not to screw their business • The Register