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Source: Government of the Netherlands

News item | 15-11-2023 | 09:00

Expedited liquidations allow entrepreneurs to close down their business in time when the business no longer contains anything of value, for example, to sell the last stocks and use these proceeds to pay off as many debts as possible. In this way, an entrepreneur can prevent debts from mounting further if, for example, they can no longer be paid due to the loss of income. The alternative is often bankruptcy where creditors get much less of their money back. New measures should prevent potential abuse of expedited liquidations, increase transparency and offer creditors more legal protection. For example, entrepreneurs must actively inform creditors about the termination of the business.

In addition, in the event of an expedited liquidation, entrepreneurs will be required to submit financial accounts to the Chamber of Commerce. This makes it clear what the last proceeds were spent on and why more debts could not be paid. Greater transparency also makes it possible for creditors to take action against the expedited liquidation, for example by demanding access to the records, holding directors liable, or having the expedited liquidation reversed by the court. Abusing an expedited liquidation is punishable under the Economic Offenses Act and can lead to an administrative ban of up to five years. 

To quickly introduce the measures for greater transparency and legal protection, an interim act has been chosen by which the measures will apply for two years. After this period, the measures can be extended.  

Source: Government of the Netherlands

News item | 10-11-2023 | 14:48

Now that the Council of State has deliberated on the bill, it will be put to the vote in the House of Representatives. The bill focuses on participants of terrorist organisations who commit terrorist crimes punishable by life imprisonment. This includes, for example, committing acts of terrorism and other severe terrorism-related violence.

Minister Yeşilgöz-Zegerius: “Increasing the maximum sentence from 15 to 20 years sends an important signal to people who intend to join terrorist organisations that aim to impose their ideology on others through the most brutal and destructive violence. Participants are jointly culpable. As far as I am concerned, this should be accompanied by a punishment that further clarifies this message.”

The role of participants

Participants are of great importance to terrorist organisations. To achieve their objectives, terrorist organisations depend on participants. Participants in terrorist organisations make an indispensable – and indisputable – contribution to that organisation’s criminal objectives. They do so by preparing, supporting or committing acts of terrorism, for example.

Maximum penalty

At present, a maximum sentence of 15 years applies for participation in a terrorist organisation. That maximum sentence has remained unchanged since 2004, despite developments over roughly two decades. Accordingly, the Minister of Justice and Security now seeks to amend the maximum sentencing.

The maximum sentence for leading a terrorist organisation will not be increased. This is, after all, already subject to the highest maximum sentence (life imprisonment or temporary imprisonment of up to 30 years).

House of Representatives

After the House of Representatives has debated the bill, it is still to be passed through the Senate.

Source: Government of the Netherlands

News item | 08-11-2023 | 16:30

Minister Weerwind: “With this one-time compensation, the merits of legal aid in 2023 match the costs they incur in their important work. Legal aid lawyers and mediators working legal aid cases allow the most vulnerable in our society to access the law. High inflation has hit all of society, including legal aid providers. I clearly heard the call in the Sneller motion. I want to support this profession whenever possible.”

Automatically paid out

Legal aid providers do not have to submit an application themselves. The Legal Aid Board pays out the compensation automatically in December. The amount to be received is determined based on the number of legal aid cases issued, duty lawyer notifications and additional hours granted in the period from October 1, 2022 to October 1, 2023. The total amount for compensation is 26 million euros.

Fees

Legal aid fees could not rise directly with cost increases due to high inflation in recent years. The increase for compensation is based on figures from two years earlier. As a result, the indexation for 2023 was 0.67 percent. From January 1, 2024, the fee will increase by 5.29 percent.

Minister Weerwind’s one-time compensation will consist of the difference between these indexations. This means that an additional compensation of 4.62 percent will be paid this year in the form of a subsidy. This is the percentage by which fees will increase as of January 1, 2024, minus the percentage by which fees increased as of January 1, 2023.

Independent commission

In addition to this one-time compensation, Minister Weerwind is working to better align legal aid fees with the practice of legal aid providers. Therefore, an independent commission will be set up before the end of this year to investigate the average time spent on certain case types in 2022 and 2023. The purpose of this is to examine whether the fees are still appropriate for how many hours are spent on a case.

Source: Government of the Netherlands

News item | 12-10-2023 | 16:15

Physical duty to report

The mayor can impose an administrative area ban on people who have disrupted public order. The mayor can link a duty to report to this to ensure that the individual does not enter the prohibited area. This could, for example, be in the vicinity of a football stadium where a match is being played at that time. Currently, individuals subject to a duty to report must still report to the police station at a specified time. In practice, a physical duty to report is now rarely imposed as it is considered a severe measure that may be disproportionate to the offence, and it strains police capacity who are then required to receive and register the reporting person on location.

Digital duty to report

A digital duty to report is already legally admissible but is not yet imposed in practice as the technology is still under development. The Ministry of Justice and Security, together with the municipalities of Rotterdam, Leeuwarden and Utrecht, will test this technology with the Mini-ID pilot. This small, portable box enables these individuals to fulfil their duty to report and registers any failure to comply with the area ban. Identification of the person subject to a duty to report takes place beforehand using fingerprinting. The pilot will assess the reliability of the system, security and privacy of users, among other aspects. 

The pilot project

In the first phase of the pilot, 10 volunteers from the participating organisations will carry the Mini-ID. They will receive a fictitious area ban and must report at specific times over a two-month period. In this phase, subjects will test the technical and organisational operation of the Mini-ID. In the second test phase, individuals who are effectively subject to an area ban with a duty to report will begin using the Mini-ID. In this phase, in addition to the trial participants, the Mini-ID will also be used by individuals from the three municipalities that are actually subject to an area ban combined with the duty to report.

Source: Government of the Netherlands

News item | 10-10-2023 | 16:00

The number of traffic offences detected with digital enforcement tools increased slightly from 2,766,195 in 2022 in the months of May to August to 2,937,129 in the same term of 2023. Digital enforcement tools include speed cameras and section speed control systems. The number of traffic stops this year is also higher than last year. The number of traffic fines following a traffic stop in the second quarter of this year was 202,309 compared to 171,617 in the same period in 2022.

Speed violations 

The majority of traffic fines were imposed for speeding: 2,509,571 in the second four-month term of 2023, compared to 2,370,783 in the same term the previous year. Of these traffic violations, the majority were detected using digital enforcement tools by licence plate. During May to August 2023, 1,299,223 speeding offences were detected using a speed camera (up 17.4%), and 420,084 using mobile radar sets (down 2.5%). There were also 728,708 offences detected at section speed control systems, down 7.4%.

 The significant increase for speed cameras compared to last year can be explained by the implementation of the flex speed camera as of November 2022. There are now nearly 30 flex speed cameras deployed across the country, and this number will continue to grow in the coming years. The decrease in section speed control systems is mainly seen in section speed control systems on N roads, which have been active since 2020. Now that these controls have been in place for a while, drivers are adhering better to the speed limit, which improves road safety.

Increase in fines for mobile phone use, violating the helmet requirement and bicycle lighting 

The ‘other’ category (which includes violating the helmet requirement, handheld phone use and not using bicycle lights) showed notable increases. A total of 402,283 fines were imposed in this four-month term of 2023 in this category, up from 344,993 in the same term last year. In the months of May to August of 2023, 30,547 fines were imposed for violating the helmet requirement, up from 13,380 fines in the same period a year earlier. The introduction of the helmet requirement for mopeds (1 January 2023) accounts for the higher number of fines in this term. In the second term of this year, more offences were again recorded for handheld phone use compared to the same period last year. While last year 66,150 people were seen holding a mobile phone while driving, this year the figure was 72,609. For lack of proper and safe bicycle lights, 5,965 fines were imposed in the second four-month term of this year, compared to 3,996 fines in the same term in 2022.

Foreign traffic offenders 

In the second four-month term of 2023, 359,110 traffic fines were issued to a foreign traffic offender. This is a slight increase from the 358,108 fines in the same period in 2022.

* The four-monthly overview of traffic fines under the Traffic Regulations (Administrative Enforcement) Act (Wahv) is compiled by the Ministry of Justice and Security, Police, Central Judicial Collection Agency (CJIB) and the Public Prosecution Service.

Source: Government of the Netherlands

News item | 24-10-2023 | 11:00

Super telescope

The Einstein Telescope is nothing like the kind of telescope people think of when they imagine looking at the stars. In fact, it’s a triangle of tubes – each one 10 kilometres long – buried several hundred metres under the ground. Scientists can use the telescope to detect gravitational waves in space by firing lasers down the tubes and carefully measuring deviations when the beams are reflected in mirrors. The information they acquire will give more insight into how black holes are born, the structure of neutron stars and what was happening in the universe immediately after the big bang. The telescope can also be used to test the hypotheses in Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity, another way it will help us better understand the universe. All this makes the telescope an extremely important instrument for international research in physics and astronomy.

A wealth of technologies

Building the telescope will require a lot of high-level technology, much of which has yet to be developed. The lasers, mirrors and extreme cooling technology are just three examples. Site conditions also need to be exactly right to ensure that measurements are not affected by the surroundings. For instance, tunnels have to be excavated with precision, and air pressure and humidity in the tunnels must be perfect. There can’t be any vibration from the surrounding area, which means no windmills in the immediate environs. And the cooling installation that the telescope requires can’t vibrate either, not even a small amount. All in all, the project comes with major technical challenges.

Pole position for businesses

The government wants to encourage businesses to get started on developing these new technologies for the telescope now. That’s why it’s providing funding to develop and test them. A total of €12 million is available.

‘I would love to have the Einstein Telescope here in the Netherlands,’ says Mr Dijkgraaf. ‘Its value for science and our economy isn’t something you can express in terms of money. I want to achieve two things through this funding. First, by investing now in the knowledge and technology that we’re going to need, we’re making our plan more robust and increasing our chances of being able to build the telescope here. At the same time, we’re driving innovation, and that’s good for our economy and our employment market and for the strength of our knowledge.’

Significant value

The construction of the Einstein Telescope in the Netherlands would be a valuable development for science in the Netherlands and the wider region. It would also be a boost for the local business sector and provide work for researchers, graduates and skilled workers. The project involves building work and maintenance as well as technology that businesses will supply. Since the telescope contributes to the Netherlands’ earning potential in the longer term, the project has received €42 million from the National Growth Fund. The budget for this funding scheme is drawn from that.

The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, the province of Limburg, the regional development agency of the province of Limburg (LIOF) and the National Institute for Subatomic Physics (Nikhef) are working hard to bring the telescope to the Netherlands. They have carried out feasibility studies and geological surveys and are establishing cooperation with Germany and Belgium. The Dutch government has reserved another €870 million to cover part of the construction work.

The EU is not expected to decide before 2026 whether to build the telescope in the border region between the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium. Italy is also developing a construction proposal. Whatever the location, construction is due to start in 2030.

Businesses can apply for funding through the regional development agency of the province of Limburg (LIOF). For more information, visit Einstein Telescope for business,

Source: Government of the Netherlands

News item | 30-10-2023 | 12:15

For the exercise, experts and high-level representatives from Ministries, grid operators and crisis centers from all Penta countries worked jointly on a scenario where a cyber-attack occurred threatening the security of supply of electricity throughout Europe. The scenario allowed testing information exchange and decision-making processes in case of a crisis between countries on various levels.

It also gave participants a view into the crisis management structure of each Penta member state, to foster a trusted international network of collaboration.

‘It is crucial that we practice together in order to be collectively prepared for a wide-scale electricity crisis. The electricity system is highly integrated and will require a coordinated response from all Penta countries in the event of a crisis’– Michel Heijdra, DG Climate & Energy

The PENTA countries conduct crisis exercises on a regular basis, in line with the requirements of the European Regulation on risk preparedness in the electricity sector. The results and lessons learned will serve as an important basis for future work within the Pentalateral Energy Forum, and thus further improve the risk preparedness in the electricity sector within the region and beyond.

PENTA

Penta is the framework for regional energy cooperation between Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Since 2005, the participating countries have been working together on a voluntary basis. Work in the Pentalateral Energy Forum is guided by the respective ministers of energy, who regularly meet. They give guidance to the work in the Forum, to foster the integration of their domestic electricity markets, and thereby take the lead in Europe.

Source: Government of the Netherlands

News item | 09-11-2023 | 12:29

Diversity

In part, SFFP 2023 is a follow-up to the Feminist Foreign Policy Ministerial Event that took place on 20 September 2023 during the UN General Assembly. At that meeting, co-organised by the Netherlands, 18 countries signed a political declaration on feminist foreign policy. SFFP 2023 included interactive plenary sessions, thematic sessions, art exhibitions and a varied marketplace. And it was enriched by the enormous diversity of the participants, who work around the world – often in the most difficult of circumstances – to defend the rights of women, girls and minority groups.

In her address, Ms Schreinemacher (Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation) underlined the importance of cooperation and optimism with regard to women’s rights and gender equality: “In these difficult times, it’s hard not to feel like the tide is against us. We are facing a global backlash against women’s rights, and the rights of LHGBTIQ+ people. And against sexual and reproductive health and rights. But even so, I believe that the best response to this is optimism. Showing that feminism is a solution. That’s why the Netherlands is committed to pursuing a feminist foreign policy, and why we’re urging others to do the same. Because this is something we can’t do alone.”

FFP-tool

At the conference, Ms Bruins Slot (Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs) gave a sneak preview of the new tool for Feminist Foreign Policy, an online practical guidance for applying feminist foreign policy. After all, feminist foreign policy is not a theoretical concept, but an instrument for achieving tangible improvements in women’s rights and the position of minority groups and for equal opportunities and equal treatment around the globe.

Ms Bruins Slot stressed the importance of Feminist Foreign Policy in her speech: “The violence in Israel and Gaza, the war in Ukraine – these conflicts demonstrate why Feminist Foreign Policy is so very crucial. Because women, in all their diversity, foster dialogue and peace. Feminist Foreign Policy is not a soft topic. It deals with the harsh realities of many women, girls and marginalised groups. I want to thank all participants in our conference for speaking up to ensure all voices are heard and included.”

Source: Government of the Netherlands

News item | 27-10-2023 | 18:02

It is proving to be an enormous challenge in practice to get aid through. ‘We must bring in more and a lot faster. The government is pressing this point in all its international contacts. There has to be a humanitarian pause so that aid can enter Gaza,’ said the minister.

The humanitarian situation in Gaza is deteriorating by the day. This is why the government has already pledged 10 million euros for the affected area. Almost 1.3 million people are in urgent need of water, medicine and food.

The United Nations estimates that 294 million dollars is needed to respond to the pressing needs of the people of Gaza and the region. The two Dutch contributions are in addition to the 51 million euros that the Netherlands has allocated this year to development cooperation and humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians.

Source: Government of the Netherlands

News item | 17-10-2023 | 17:05

Liesje Schreinemacher: ‘It’s vital that this humanitarian aid reaches Gaza quickly. Almost 1.3 million people urgently need water, medicine and food.’

The Dutch government is concerned about the growing crises in the Gaza Strip. It has emphasised that international humanitarian law must be respected. Humanitarian aid workers and other civilians must never be targets of violence. And access for aid workers and relief supplies must be unimpeded. The government consistently stresses this message in its contacts with Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Egypt and other partners in the region.

The UN needs $294 million to meet the urgent needs of the population in Gaza and the region. The new Dutch contribution is in addition to the €51 million that the Netherlands already budgeted this year for development cooperation and humanitarian aid for the Palestinians.