Dutch News

Another week, another round of infighting and backtracking in the coalition, this time over an eye-watering 0.4% increase in the rate of VAT. The Drents Museum is the reluctant star of an international heist drama stretching from Bucharest to Heerhugowaard. Calls for a fireworks ban grow louder following another rise in injuries and attacks on emergency service workers at New Year. Feyenoord fans are banned from Lille and spared the humiliation of watching their team go down 6-1. And we probe the mystery of the missing wolves.

A hazy cloud hangs over the cabinet after it loses another court case against its nitrogen reduction policy. Marjolein Faber's latest wheeze to send asylum seekers home is a one-way trip to Damascus, with compensation for going via Brussels. Shoplifters are getting away with theft and it's down to privacy laws, says a debt collection firm that was implicated in dodgy dealings with the police. More migration woes as muskrats and wolves are invade our borders and sheds. And Brian Priske oversees a Danish pasting for Bayern, but is it enough to save his job at Feyenoord?

Some people call it the most depressing day of the year: to others it's known as the return of parliament. Geert Wilders' coalition crisis roulette wheel lands on the spring budget cuts as he yet again vows not to budge an inch. The lawyer for drugs baron Ridouan Taghi is accused of abusing her privilege to run messages for her client in a case that has rocked the legal profession. Venezuela banishes Dutch diplomats in revenge for giving refuge to the opposition leader. The chair of the Elfstedentocht steering committee steps down after waiting for 20 years for Friesland to freeze over. And there's news of a nine-goal thriller in the KNVB Beker and double Dutch delight in the draughts world championship.

In keeping with tradition, 2025 kicked off with an explosive row about whether to ban fireworks. Pharmacists go on strike for more pay while they warn about a shortage of supplies. The wartime archives of suspected Nazi collaborators are opened up and immediately stir up a hornet's nest. Blades are sharpened in the world of figure skating as the leading Dutch pair are taken to court for not spending enough time in Eindhoven. And we announce the winner of the coveted 2024 Ophef of the Year award. Documentary on the collaborators archive: https://npo.nl/start/serie/nos-nationaal-oorlogsarchief-open/seizoen-25/nos-nationaal-oorlogsarchief-open

It's time once again for our annual round-up of the minor incidents that got everybody hot under the collar for five minutes on social media at some point this year. And what a bumper harvest it's been. Caroline van der Plas performed a hardboiled cunning stunt in front of Geert Wilders, a man called Willie fell foul of the regulations on phallic garden ornaments and Nicky Minaj was jailed for trying to take drugs out of the Netherlands. We'll also remind you of how Brussels tried to cancel a Dutch delicacy and why a group of pensioners revolted over a bingo booze ban. And don't forget to vote for your favourite so you can win a deluxe Dutch News mug and a coveted Zeesluis IJmuiden coaster. Vote here: https://forms.gle/42uSXMTDP9knBAFJ7

Asylum minister Marjolein Faber produces her rapid-response emergency plan to deal with the urgent refugee crisis, a mere six months after taking office. Police believe the explosion in The Hague that cost the lives of six people may have been the work of an enraged ex-boyfriend. Farmers' party minister Jean Rummenie outlines his strategy on problem wolves and how to deal with them. An auction house is widely rebuked for selling a skull that may have been stolen from an African tribe. And the sporting week is dominated by darts, draughts and some Quick Boys.

The Hague was in shock this week after six people died in a huge blast that police believe was an attack on a bridal wear shop. A "monster alliance" wrings concessions from the coalition parties on the education budget, but universities say the cuts will still damage the sector. Enhanced border checks come into force but experts say they will make little difference, while the Council of State pours cold water on Marjolein Faber's asylum crackdown. Max Verstappen is ordered to mentor young drivers in Rwanda as penance for swearing at a press conference. Scientists raise the alarm about disappearing seals in the Waddensee. And Dick Schoof edges out SIfan Hassan but loses out to a Chinese web shop in the Google search league table.

The government is running out of time to make its education budget add up as opposition parties form a "monster alliance" against its spending cuts. Sandra Palmen, who blew open the childcare benefits scandal, is put in charge of compensating the thousands of victims. Two Dutch members of a gang who smuggled cocaine in crates of onions are given eye-watering jail sentences in the UK. Drivers are warned they could lose their insurance cover if they use their phones behind the wheel. And the debate about wolves takes another sharp turn.

You don't need a degree in rocket science to work out that the government's higher education cuts are in deep trouble after opposition parties form a united front in the Senate against the €2 billion package. More budget headaches in Brussels as the EU raps the Netherlands over the knuckles for busting the deficit limit that it was instrumental in setting up. Integration lessons for refugees are so time-consuming that they damage their efforts to find work and participate in society, a new report finds. Dutch football clubs have a sensational week in the Champions League, while the tennis team fall agonisingly short of glory. And newly discovered letters from Albert Einstein provide evidence for the theory that Groningen is the most stubborn place in the universe.

NSC leader Pieter Omtzigt returns to The Hague to survey the tattered remains of his Nieuw Sociaal Contract party. Two MPs follow junior finance minister Nora Achahbar through the exit, complaining of a lack of basic decency in government. Another NSC minister, Caspar Veldkamp, had an awkward day in parliament as he explained the consequences of the ICC's arrest warrant against Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Environmental campaigners take Schiphol to court over its nitrogen compound emissions. And Botic van de Zandschulp is the unlikely name on everyone's lips as he brings down the curtain on Rafael Nadal's illustrious tennis career.

Amsterdam has been hardly out of the headlines this week, after trouble before, during and after a football match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv, with politicians at home and abroad pouring oil on troubled waters. Oil giant Shell, meanwhile, won the return match in its ongoing legal battle with environmental campaign group Milieudefensie. Health insurers publish their premiums for next year with few surprises and, surprise surprise in Gelderland, there have been a lot more attacks by wolves this year. And with the international distance skating championships starting, we explain the wonderful world of the team pursuit, the allround and why Jetta Leerdam wears black.

The minister for tax affairs becomes the first casualty of Dick Schoof's cabinet as Geert Wilders settles a score with NSC over the asylum law. A police report reveals how criminals have infiltrated the healthcare system with fake qualifications and bogus agencies. Parents are blocked from checking their children's homework online, while the axe hangs over household goods chain Blokker. And Abdi Nageeye retakes Manhattan for the Dutch by winning the New York Marathon.

A frustrating week for asylum minister Marjolein Faber as all her hypothetical hard work on the government's emergency refugee law goes up in smoke. Geert Wilders rediscovers his appetite for bananas and democratic processes while Dick Schoof struggles to convince even himself that the "strictest asylum rules" ever will actually work. Meanwhile in overcrowded Ter Apel, the accommodation agency faces even bigger fines for packing refugees in like sardines. Analysts also criticise the government's efforts to meet climate change targets and build affordable housing. And in sport, Ajax get back to winning ways just as their former coach Erik ten Hag is told to pack his bags at Manchester United.

Geert Wilders insists he doesn't have a banana for a backbone, but his flexibility may have saved Dick Schoof's bacon for now ahead of a crucial cabinet meeting to finalise the government's asylum policy. Marjolein Faber's talent for confecting word salads throws the coalition parties into a state of confusion, while Reinette Klever cleverly rebrands the Rwanda refugee scheme by substituting a neighbouring country with a similar name. Universities warn that plans to limit foreign students and English courses will damage their international status. And in sport, Ronald Koeman laments the tactical superiority of the Germans and the Dutch bullet train steamrollers the competition at the track cycling championships in Denmark.

The signs are looking bad for Dick Schoof's cabinet as it hits the 100-day mark, and not just the ones that Marjolein Faber wants to hang in refugee centres. Geert Wilders goes on the offensive against Amsterdam's mayor Femke Halsema for her handling of a pro-Palestinian demonstration on October 7. Dutch universities do their bit for the government's plan to deter foreign students by plunging down the international league table. A mechanic sparks panic in a museum when he clears out a lift shaft. And the world of football mourns Johan Neeskens, whose penalty kick in the 1974 World Cup final was one of the iconic moments of Dutch sport.

An unnamed "foreign power" hacked into the Dutch police database this week, with cybersecurity experts pointing the finger squarely at Russia. Mark Rutte declared his love for Brussels as he started work as the new boss of Nato with a pledge to bring Ukraine into the alliance. The first fine is handed down for street harassment since it was criminalised, although it's still less costly than firing up a wood burner on a still day in Amersfoort. And Feyenoord win in the Champions League thanks to two own goals, one more than Marjolein Faber managed on a fact-finding trip to Denmark.

What started out as an asylum crisis became a fast-track route to disaster this week as Geert Wilders hinted he could torpedo the coalition if his plans are thwarted. Meanwhile in the North Sea, Russian marine research vessels turn out to be engaged in the kind of fishing expedition that involves mini submarines, radar and armed guards. Three wolf cubs are killed in a road collision as the debate rages about the animals' protected status. And Max Verstappen is tight-lipped about his prospects as the Formula One season enters its final closing stages.

The horse-drawn carriages rattled through the streets of The Hague as usual, but in other ways it was a new-look Prinsjesdag. Finance minister Eelco Heinen warned that the days of "free money" were over as he delivered a stripped-down budget designed to balance the books. The budget debate revolved around Geert Wilders's favourite hobby-horse, immigration. Frans Timmermans and Dick Schoof clashed over blacked-out documents, Esther Ouwehand served up some spiced watermelon, while demolition specialist Wilders tried his hand at bridge-building. Elsewhere, Amsterdam is bubbling with new ideas to clean up its waterways while Germany steps up border controls with typically understated efficiency. A Dutch author makes it onto the Booker Prize shortlist for the first time. And PSV and Feyenoord suffered Champions League misery.

It's been a rollercoaster year for NSC, but after realising that most rollercoaster rides end back down at the bottom, leader Pieter Omtzigt decides to take a break. As budget day draws near, BBB leader Caroline van der Plas threatening to quit after her own party's agriculture minister unveils plans to buy out farmers. In the most unsurprising news of the year so far, we tell you how much more you'll be paying for health insurance from January. Amsterdam has a whip-round for the world's biggest Dutch birthday party, while Groningen's plans to celebrate the end of gas drilling are undermined by bureaucracy. And the new owners of Scheveningen Pier explain how they aim to make it the pearl of the North Sea once more.

Cabinet ministers returned from their summer break this week and got stuck into late-night budget talks. Pieter Omtzigt was accused of sabotaging his own plans to make government more accountable by setting up a "war room" with NSC's two senior ministers to renegotiate the budget. Omtzigt also voiced concern about the declining Dutch and European birth rates, in a speech that was definitely not dog-whistling to far-right Great Replacement theories but kept mentioning the number of babies in Africa. The right-wing cabinet cuts funding for "bed and board" accommodation for failed refugees and tells provincial governments to scrap their nitrogen reduction plans. And Ajax captain Steven Bergwijn is told his international career is over after accepting a €27 million carrot to play in Saudi Arabia.