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Source: Government of the Netherlands

News item | 23-03-2020 | 22:10

On Monday 23 March the government introduced additional measures to combat the coronavirus outbreak. Prime Minister Mark Rutte, justice and security minister Ferd Grapperhaus, health minister Hugo de Jonge and medical care minister Martin van Rijn announced the measures at a press conference. The measures are based on the advice of the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM).

The new and stricter measures are as follows:

• Stay home as much as possible. Leave the house only to go to work if you cannot work at home, to buy groceries or to take care of others. You can go out to get some fresh air, but do not do so in groups. Always keep a good distance from other people (at least 1.5 metres) and avoid all social activities and groups of people. At home: limit the number of visitors to 3 and keep sufficient distance (1.5m) from each other.
• As before, if you have a cough or a cold: stay home. If someone in your household develops a fever, all the members of the household should stay home. This does not apply to key workers in crucial sectors and critical processes, unless they themselves get sick.
• All gatherings are prohibited until 1 June, even gatherings of less than 100 people. This is a tightening of the existing ban (that applied up to 6 April). An exception is made for funerals and religious weddings. More information about this will follow soon.
• Public transport and shops are required to take measures to ensure that people keep a good distance. For instance, by limiting the number of people allowed in the shop at the same time.
• Businesses in contact-based industries, such as hair salons and beauty parlours, must be closed until 6 April. Other professionals, such as physiotherapists, are urged to work via video calls wherever possible.
• Casinos are now subject to the same restrictions as establishments serving food and drink, and will be closed from 24 March 2020.
• Establishments such as holiday parks must put measures in place so that people keep a distance of 1.5 metres from each other. Failing this, local authorities may order these locations to close.
• Mayors may designate areas, like parks, beaches or neighbourhoods, where people are not allowed to collect together. The authorities will take action against groups of 3 or more people, who do not all maintain a distance of 1.5 metres from each other. This does not apply to children or to people in the same household, such as families.
• The ban on gatherings does not apply to public markets as these play a crucial role in bringing food to consumers in some parts of the country. Municipalities and market superintendents will examine ways that a good distance between members of the public can be maintained.
• The government also wants to be able to enforce existing measures more effectively. Mayors will have the option of enacting an emergency bye-law, to more easily and more quickly initiate enforcement activities. Mayors can also order specific locations to be closed, including parks, beaches and campsites. And people who violate the rules can be fined.

Previously published measures remain in force. For more information, read about the approach to tackling coronavirus in the Netherlands.

The measures are in keeping with the Netherlands’ approach, which is to make sure that the healthcare system is able to cope and has enough capacity to help the people who need it most. This approach and the measures are based on the advice of the Outbreak Management Team. This is a group of experts chaired by Jaap van Dissel, director of the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM).

Source: Government of the Netherlands

News item | 20-03-2020 | 13:00

The Minister for Medical Care will be received at Huis ten Bosch and sworn in on Monday 23 March 2020 in the presence of His Majesty the King.

Source: Government of the Netherlands

News item | 19-03-2020 | 17:15

Until a new minister is appointed, the Minister for Health, Welfare and Sport, Hugo de Jonge, will assume responsibility for the tasks of the Minister for Medical Care.

Source: Government of the Netherlands

News item | 08-09-2015 | 13:54

Minister of Foreign Affairs Bert Koenders, Prime Minister Mike Eman of Aruba, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Lilianne Ploumen, Minister for the Environment Wilma Mansveld and the Mayor of Rotterdam, Ahmed Aboutaleb have all announced that they will be attending the 70th Session of the UN General Assembly.

In his address, the King will discuss the significance of the United Nations, and the contribution the Kingdom of the Netherlands has made in the fields of peace, justice and development.

Queen Máxima is also attending in her role as the UN Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development. She will present the annual report on her UN activities to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

On Saturday 26 September, Prime Minister Mark Rutte will deliver a speech at the Sustainable Development Summit, when the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will be launched. These Goals build on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which expire this year.
The aim of the SDGs is to widen the scope of the MDGs by incorporating subjects such as sustainability, inequality and peace into an agenda applicable to every country. The chief ambition is the eradication throughout the world of extreme poverty by 2030. Queen Máxima and Ms Ploumen will also be attending the summit. In the past few years, Ms Ploumen has led both Dutch implementation of the MDGs and the Netherlands’ contribution to the drafting of the new SDGs.

In the margins of the UN General Assembly, President Barack Obama will hold a world leader summit on UN peacekeeping which Prime Minister Mark Rutte will address. On 26 September, Foreign Affairs Minister Bert Koenders will become co-chair of the Global Counterterrorism Forum.
The programme for the Kingdom delegation is filled with numerous events, talks and bilateral meetings.

The Kingdom aspires to non-permanent membership of the UN Security Council (2017 to 2018). This aspiration is in line with the Kingdom’s international ambitions and commitment and the position of The Hague as the world’s legal capital. As a non-permanent member of the Security Council, the Kingdom will have a voice in decisions on, for example, the mandates of UN peacekeeping missions and protection of people in areas in conflict.

Source: Government of the Netherlands

News item | 29-07-2015 | 13:18

Mr Rutte specifically addressed Russia’s doubts about the timing and form of the tribunal, stating that the Netherlands had carefully listened to Russia’s earlier questions. He stressed that it was preferable to make a decision about the tribunal before the facts and charges have been established precisely in order to avoid politicising the prosecution process. This has also been the course of action taken in the past with most of the other specialised UN tribunals. In addition, there will be plenty of scope for states to provide information to the tribunal, which will be bound by the highest international standards of independence and legitimacy.

In their open and detailed conversation, Mr Rutte urged the Russian president to allow latitude for trying those responsible for the MH17 disaster in a UN tribunal. Russia undertook to do this by approving resolution 2166. We all have a duty to the victims of this terrible disaster and their families to see justice done, said Mr Rutte.

Mr Rutte spoke to Prime Minister Razak of Malaysia about the resolution yesterday. The Dutch government has been reaching out to other leaders as well, in a concerted diplomatic effort. Foreign minister Koenders has been in talks with various parties in New York yesterday and today and will address the Security Council about the resolution at today’s session.

Source: European Banking Authority

The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched today its annual EU-wide transparency exercise, as part of its efforts to monitor risks and vulnerabilities and to reinforce market discipline. As in the past, the exercise is exclusively based on supervisory reporting data, which will keep the burden for the banks to a minimum. The EBA expects to publish the results at the beginning of December, together with the annual Risk Assessment Report (RAR).

The EBA has started today the interaction with the 124 banks participating in the transparency exercise. This interaction envisages the verification of pre-populated templates and any data quality correction that will be done through the supervisory reporting channel.

The EBA expects to release around 1 million data points, up to 10,000 data points per bank. As in the previous years, the data will cover capital positions, profitability, financial assets, risk exposure amounts, sovereign exposures and asset quality.

Source: European Banking Authority

The three European Supervisory Authorities (EBA, EIOPA and ESMA – ESAs) today issued their Autumn 2023 Joint Committee Report on risks and vulnerabilities in the EU financial system. The Report underlines the continued high economic uncertainty. The ESAs warn national supervisors of the financial stability risks stemming from the heightened uncertainty, and call for vigilance from all financial market participants.

Recent years have presented a series of adverse events, i.e., the Russian aggression against Ukraine, the energy crisis, and US mid-sized banks turmoil in March 2023, which most financial institutions have navigated well. Nonetheless, the European economy continues to experience a period of heightened uncertainty which presents material financial stability risks that necessitate vigilance from all financial market participants. The economic outlook remains fragile, not least amid persistently elevated geopolitical risks, high inflation, and an uncertain macro-financial outlook.

Market implications from turmoil in the banking sector in March also highlight the continuing sensitivity of the European financial system to exogenous shocks and the high ongoing market uncertainty. Market nervousness and bad news about parts of the financial system could spread rapidly and lead to a general jump in risk aversion.

The increase in interest rates generated heterogeneous impacts on the financial sector. This resulted in increased net interest income for banks, reduced profitability for insurers and liquidity risks for the asset management sector.

Against the backdrop of these risks and vulnerabilities, the Joint Committee of the ESAs advises national competent authorities, financial institutions and market participants to take the following policy actions:

• financial institutions and supervisors should closely monitor the broader impact from strong increases in policy interest rates and sudden rises in risk premia and accounted for in risk management;
• financial institutions and supervisors should remain prepared for a deterioration in asset quality in the financial sector. Supervisors should continue to closely monitor asset quality and loan loss provisioning;
• financial institutions and supervisors should be aware of and closely monitor the impact of inflation risk. Inflation not only impacts financial institutions by its effects on asset quality and valuation, but also through rising expenditures and rising funding costs as a result of higher interest rates and other channels;
• financial institutions should place high importance on effective risk management and governance arrangements, in particular in relation to liquidity risk and interest rate risk, as recent problems in the US and Switzerland highlight. Financial institutions need to remain resilient to the impact of future substantial interest rate changes.

Source: European Banking Authority

The EBA responds to the EU Parliament’s 2021 Discharge Report

14 September 2023

Source: European Banking Authority

The European Banking Authority (EBA) today published an Opinion following notification by the Ministry of Finance of Poland of its intention to extend a measure originally introduced in March 2022. The measure aims to limit risks associated with foreign currency housing loans by encouraging banks to enter in settlements with borrowers. Based on the evidence submitted, the EBA does not object to the temporary extension of the measure until the next periodical assessment takes place, in accordance with the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR).

With the application of this measure, the Ministry of Finance of Poland extends the current adjustment to the level of risk weights for foreign currency housing loans in force since 18 March 2022 by an additional period of 24 months. The measure sets different levels of risk weights on foreign currency housing loans for banks that actively engage in proceedings leading to settlements with borrowers of such loans. The risk weights of foreign currency housing loans are set depending on the amount of loan loss provisions, write-offs or adjustments to the exposure gross carrying amount created in connection with the planned settlements with borrowers.

In its Opinion, addressed to Poland, the EBA acknowledged the concerns of the Ministry of Finance over the financial stability risks stemming from foreign currency housing loans and the uncertainty surrounding the materialisation of litigation and settlement costs. The EBA understands that the measure may support financial stability in Poland by increasing incentives for banks to conclude such settlements and thus, decreasing the stock of foreign currency housing loans and the associated legal risks. In its assessment, the EBA reminded the Ministry of Finance that it shall reassess the appropriateness of the risk weights periodically, in accordance with the CRR.

Legal basis

On 3 August 2023, the European Banking Authority (EBA) received a notification from the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) on the intention of the Ministry of Finance of Poland extend an existing measure in accordance with Article 124(2) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (Capital Requirements Regulation, CRR).  In accordance with the third subparagraph of Article 124(2) of the CRR, within one month of receiving notification from the designated or competent authority entrusted with the national application of Article 124 of the CRR, the EBA is required to provide its Opinion to the Member State concerned.

Source: European Banking Authority

EBA issues revised list of ITS validation rules

11 September 2023