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Source: Government of the Netherlands

News item | 03-03-2022 | 15:25

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a number of polling stations will open in every municipality on 14 and 15 March. With the possibility of early voting, voters can choose a quiet moment to cast their vote.

Voters need a stempas (polling card) and valid form of ID or residence document to vote. It is also possible to grant someone else the right to vote on your behalf. Voters who have not received a stempas or have lost one can apply for a replacement pass at the municipality.

Source: Government of the Netherlands

News item | 12-03-2021 | 17:29

State Secretary Knops: “I have been consulting with the Saba Executive Council for a while about the height of the free allowance and the shortage of structural means. Saba has in the past years shown that it has its financial management and the rightful spending of means. With this contribution I want to accommodate Saba.” 

In comparison to Bonaire and St. Eustatius, the two other public entities within the Caribbean Netherlands, Saba has little liquidity. As a result of this, Saba has had to increasingly use incidental means to cover structural costs. The addition of the intended US $1 million to the free allowance will be finalized after approval of the Dutch Parliament.

State Secretary Knops: “In the longer term, we will work towards a structural solution through the advices from the Council of State investigation and the Intra-departmental Policy Review.”

Saba Commissioner of Finance Bruce Zagers is very content with the contribution from the Ministry of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations (BZK). The Public Entity can use this additional financial contribution to help finance areas in the 2021 budget that were lacking due to the shortage of means.

Commissioner Zagers: “Although this is only incidental financial assistance, it will go a long way in allowing the public entity to meet its legal obligations without having to reduce the quality of services. It will also improve the liquidity position which has been weakened during the past few years.”

The 2021 budget, approved by the Saba Island Council in November last year, showed a deficit of over US $1.3 million. This was the first time that Saba presented a budget deficit since it became a public entity of the Netherlands in 2010. The free allowance in the 2021 budget was a little over US $10.2 million, an amount that has basically remained the same since 2012. The free allowance is insufficient to cover government’s structural and operational costs.

Only the most urgent needs were accounted for in this year’s budget, covering government’s basic legal obligations, such as the payment of salaries, keeping the offices open and providing the necessary services to the public, Commissioner Zagers said during the budget’s presentation. The budget lacks the means for structural investments and the upkeep of infrastructure.

Commissioner Zagers: “Hopefully the negotiations with the new Dutch Government will bring structural solutions for the structural financial problems. However, we are very appreciative for this support. It is another confirmation of the good relationship which has been built based on respect and trust between Saba and the Netherlands. And, it confirms the ‘More for more’ approach of State Secretary Knops.”

Source: Government of the Netherlands

News item | 03-11-2020 | 07:37

To ensure sufficient capacity in the short term, the COA will devote extra attention to making use of more commercial properties such as hotels and holiday parks. Furthermore, the programme of requirements for reception centres will be re-evaluated, which will mean, for example, that extra capacity could become available during renovation work. Together with the Ministry of Justice and Security, the COA will make use of the lodger scheme to allow more residence permit holders to stay with guest families, which will be a good start to their integration and participation. A number of scenarios will also be formulated if these efforts prove insufficient in the short term. Furthermore, in collaboration with the security regions, the emergency reception centres can be used as a last resort provided this can be organised in compliance with the health measures set by the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM).

Integration into municipalities

Extra efforts will also be made to accelerate the entry of asylum seekers with a residence permit into municipalities. These are people who have fled war or persecution and are seeking a safe haven in the Netherlands. We expect that 13,500 of these residence permit holders will require housing in the municipalities in the next half-year period (1 January to 31 June 2021), with the same number also expected in the subsequent half-year period. The increase in the accommodation target is partly due to the fact that the Immigration and Naturalisation Service is working through a backlog of over 15,000 asylum requests. In recent years, the half-year accommodation target has fluctuated between 5,500 (in the second half of 2019) and 23,000 (at the height of the refugee crisis).

Support measures for municipalities

These figures will be a substantial challenge for the municipalities, due in part to the shortage of available housing. For this reason, a set of support measures has been compiled that provides resources for reception, accommodation, naturalisation and integration. In the coming period, this set of measures will be further fleshed out by the ministries concerned, the Association of Netherlands Municipalities (VNG) and the Association of Provincial Authorities (IPO). It will then be incorporated into a comprehensive implementation agenda that will give all parties involved a clear and comprehensive strategy to tackle all of these problems.

In any event, efforts will be made in the short term to boost temporary accommodation via interim facilities or transitional housing, in collaboration with local and regional authorities. At the local level, municipalities, housing associations and tenants’ organisations can make performance agreements relating to the expansion of housing stock, e.g. accommodation targets for specific target groups such as single-person households and larger families. The Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations will facilitate this system of collaboration via performance agreements.

Furthermore, the ministry will investigate whether additional financial support can be given to municipalities that accommodate residence permit holders quickly. In such cases, the funds that are usually provided by the Ministry of Justice and Security to the COA to support asylum seekers with the right to residency could be provided to the municipalities instead. In addition to social housing, municipalities can also investigate the possibility of accommodating residence permit holders in converted office blocks, temporary housing or rented rooms.

Source: Government of the Netherlands

News item | 22-03-2020 | 22:00

On Wednesday 18 March Belgium imposed a ban on all non-essential travel to other countries, including the Netherlands. The border remains open for trade in goods and services. Cross-border commuters and others for whom crossing the border is essential may continue do so, but specific rules apply:

• People who do not work in a crucial sector must present a declaration from their employer, stating that they need to cross the border for work purposes.
• The Belgian authorities are providing a special vignette for cross-border commuters who work in crucial sectors (key workers). It can be downloaded from the website of the Belgian Crisis Centre. This will allow them to cross the border without delays.
• Travelling between two points in the Netherlands via Belgium is not permitted. This also applies to commuting. However, an exception has been made for key workers with a vignette who are travelling for work purposes.

The Belgian authorities are carrying out border checks and several border crossings have been closed. The special vignette has been introduced in order to prevent key workers being held up at border checks. It is the result of consultations between Dutch justice and security minister Ferd Grapperhaus, Dutch interior minister Raymond Knops, and Belgian interior and security minister Pieter De Crem.

Violation of the ban on non-essential travel is an offence. The Belgian authorities are actively enforcing this ban. Using a vignette on the grounds of false information is forgery. This is also an offence.

Source: Government of the Netherlands

News item | 04-03-2020 | 11:15

Following an earlier call to action issued by the LRT, the majority of provinces have consulted with municipal authorities to draw up a list of potential locations for new reception spaces. It was agreed that the King’s Commissioners will join forces with the COA, the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND), the Association of Netherlands Municipalities (VNG) and Ankie Broekers-Knol (the Minister for Migration) to process this information and propose specific locations in each province where additional reception capacity can be realised in the short term.

The common goal is to have a clearer idea by early April. The objective is not just to create new asylum seekers’ centres. It is equally important that municipal authorities move asylum permit holders (asylum seekers with a residence permit) into permanent accommodation to free up spaces in existing centres. This will also lead to additional reception capacity. The operation will be supervised by the provinces.

At the meeting, the LRT participants also expressed their appreciation for the efforts made by Leeuwarden and Goes to create temporary reception spaces for asylum seekers in multi-purpose venues. This buffer capacity is a solution for the short term.

Additional reception capacity needed

In addition to the need to renew contracts with 10 existing locations (due to the expiry of administrative agreements), another 5,000 beds must be added in regular reception centres in 2020. These are required for a number of reasons. Firstly, there will be a slight increase in the number of asylum seekers entering the country (compared to the forecast number). Secondly, the processing times at the IND have increased, as a result of which asylum seekers need to stay in reception centres for longer. On Tuesday, the Minister for Migration told the House of Representatives that she would take measures to reduce processing times. A third reason is the tight housing market.

The participants in the LRT are the Ministries of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, Social Affairs and Employment and Justice and Security, Jetta Klijnsma on behalf of the King’s Commissioners, Theo Weterings on behalf of the VNG, the Association of Provincial Authorities and the COA. When it transpired at the last meeting in October 2019 that the COA required additional regular reception capacity, the Minister for Migration asked the King’s Commissioners to promote the realisation of reception spaces in their provinces. Since then, regional consultations have taken place in many provinces with a view to realising these new spaces. These efforts will continue unabated.

Source: Government of the Netherlands

News item | 16-10-2017 | 18:20

The French delegate Philippe Gustin, who is also responsible for reconstruction efforts in Saint Barthélemy, received his Dutch counterpart Hans Leijtens at the French Ministry for Overseas France. Mr Leijtens is the director-general of the Dutch project team for the reconstruction of St Maarten, Saba and St Eustatius. The delegates and their teams discussed the current situation on the island, reconstruction efforts and continuing the excellent partnership between France and the Netherlands.

‘Bilateral cooperation was already well underway before this meeting,’ Mr Gustin said. ‘We have been sharing important information since Irma hit the island. We have also been working together effectively on security matters. The aim of this meeting is to formalise our partnership for the long term and find ways of making a joint contribution to the sustainable development of the island.’

‘Our governments are working to ensure a better future for all the people of St Maarten and Saint Martin,’ Mr Leijtens added. ‘I believe we have laid a firm basis on which to build our partnership.’

The two delegates stressed the importance of carrying out joint infrastructure projects, for example with regard to the airport or a waste treatment plant, in close cooperation with the local authorities. The two countries will also support each other in their contacts with the European Commission with the aim of raising EU funding for reconstruction efforts.

Finally, Mr Gustin and Mr Leijtens spoke about the necessity of giving a new impetus to the existing ‘four-party consultations’, which bring together representatives of the French government, the Dutch government, the collectivity of Saint Martin and the government of St Maarten.

‘Irma has provided an opportunity to breathe new life into cooperation between the two parts of the island,’ Mr Gustin explained.

Source: Government of the Netherlands

News item | 08-07-2023 | 00:00

Source: Government of the Netherlands

News item | 23-06-2023 | 10:45

Until a new minister is appointed, the Minister of Education, Culture and Science, Robbert Dijkgraaf, will take on the responsibilities of the Minister for Primary and Secondary Education.

Source: Government of the Netherlands

News item | 19-12-2022 | 16:18

We are doing this – and doing it now – so that, standing on the cusp of an important commemorative year, we can find a way forward together. We not only share a past; we share a future too. So with this apology we are writing not a full stop, but a comma.

The prime minister’s apology and the dialogues elsewhere are an important part of the government’s response to the report entitled ‘Chains of the Past’, which was presented by the Slavery History Dialogue Group in July 2021. The report advised the government to proceed with acknowledgement, apology and recovery, in relation to slavery in the Kingdom. The government response to the report was sent to the Dutch House of Representatives this afternoon.

After his speech, the prime minister, together with deputy prime ministers Sigrid Kaag, Wopke Hoekstra and Carola Schouten and ministers Hanke Bruins Slot and Robbert Dijkgraaf, held a private meeting with the various representatives.

Government response

The government will make €200 million available in a fund for measures aimed at raising awareness, fostering engagement and addressing the present-day effects of slavery. The programming of activities and allocation of funds will take place in consultation with descendants and other relevant parties.

In addition the government has proposed establishing an independent commemoration committee. The committee will be tasked with ensuring a large-scale, dignified commemoration of the history of slavery on 1 July 2023, together with the Caribbean parts of the Kingdom, Suriname and other countries. The government wants to use the upcoming commemorative year as an opportunity to assess, together with parties from across society and the commemoration committee, how this annual commemoration can be arranged on a larger scale and in a more fitting and cohesive way going forward.

The upcoming year of commemoration, which starts next year on 1 July, will include several major Kingdom-wide events. The King personally feels very engaged with this subject and will be present at the commemoration in Amsterdam on 1 July. The commemorative year will provide a great deal of scope for social, cultural and educational initiatives throughout society.

Further steps

The government sees today’s apology as a first step. In its response to the report by the Slavery History Dialogue Group, it announced that it will give the Netherlands’ role in the history of slavery a substantial place in education, as this is where young people come into contact with history.

The government will also work to enhance knowledge and awareness, by preserving and developing museums and archives and protecting cultural heritage, both in the European Netherlands, the Caribbean parts of the Kingdom, and the other countries involved. Consultations will be held with Aruba, Curaçao, St Maarten, Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba about their specific wishes in these areas. In addition, the government will contribute to the development of a national slavery museum, with an affiliated knowledge centre. The multiannual research that was recently announced will provide input for these new institutions. The government will also make it easier for people to change their surname if that name is related to slavery.

The government will announce the official rehabilitation of the Curaçao resistance hero Tula, who was brutally murdered. The above-mentioned fund will also provide scope for honouring other resistance fighters in an appropriate manner.

Source: Government of the Netherlands

News item | 10-01-2022 | 11:20

The swearing-in ceremony in the presence of His Majesty King Willem-Alexander marks the official start of the fourth Rutte government’s term in office.

The People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) has 8 ministers and 3 state secretaries in the new government. Democrats ’66 (D66) has 6 ministers and 3 state secretaries, the Christian Democratic Alliance (CDA) has 4 ministers and 2 state secretaries, while the Christian Union has 2 ministers and 1 state secretary.

Ministries and ministerial positions

The ministries in the fourth Rutte government are unchanged from the previous government. However, four new ministerial positions have been created:

• Minister for Climate and Energy Policy
• Minister for Nature and Nitrogen Policy
• Minister for Housing and Spatial Planning
• Minister for Poverty Policy, Participation and Pensions.

Coalition agreement

All the new government’s plans are set out in the coalition agreement of 15 December 2021, entitled ‘Looking out for each other, looking ahead to the future’.

First cabinet meeting

The new government will hold its first cabinet meeting later today.