The income gap in the Netherlands is getting wider, researchers say

The gap between rich and poor in the Netherlands has increased over the past 35 years, according to researchers at Amsterdam University.

The financial position of the 10% of the population with the lowest incomes worsened by about 30% between 1977 and 2011, while the rest had more to spend, the research, quoted by the Volkskrant, shows.

The main reason for the deterioration in the position of low income households is cuts in social security benefits.

In 1977, the richest 10% of the population earned 5.1 times as much as the poorest 10%. But by 2011 this had stretched to 8.2%, the research showed. Growth was fastest in the second half of the 1980s when the minimum wage and benefits were frozen.

The current coalition government has made reducing the income gap a central part of its policies and is increasing the tax burden on the better off.

Read more: DutchNews.nl - The income gap in the Netherlands is getting wider, researchers say

Dutch Euthanasia Deaths Soar; Increase Includes Victims Incapable of Consenting to “Assisted Suicide” - by Jennifer Popik,

Although assisting suicide is only legal for a small fraction of the world’s population, its advocates in the U.S. and abroad remain focused on promoting this dangerous legislation. While opponents of euthanasia and assisted suicide have long warned of the dangers to vulnerable populations, evidence of abuse is mounting in Europe.

In one country, the Netherlands, overall euthanasia deaths soared by 13 percent last year – and this included many patients with dementia and some suffering only from psychiatric problems. This poses the question, “How can those with dementia and mental illness ‘chose’ assisted suicide?”

The number of people in the Netherlands killed by medical euthanasia has more than doubled in the 10 years it has been legal. The nation reported that the number of documented euthanasia deaths totaled 4,188 in 2012.
Shockingly, this number now represents more than 3% of all deaths nationwide from all causes. One explanation for the large increase in 2012 is the introduction of mobile euthanasia units allowing patients to be killed by lethal injection when family doctors refused.

Read more: Dutch Euthanasia Deaths Soar; Increase Includes Victims Incapable of Consenting to “Assisted Suicide” | NRL News Today

World Trade Center: Almere:: "the Netherlands lives because of Europe" - symposium October 16

 "The Netherlands lives because of Europe" - another great symposium at the Almere World Trade Center.

Don't believe one word the Eurosceptics are saying about the Netherlands and many other EU member states - that these countries would be better of  by pulling out of the EU and go at alone.

These Eurosceptics actually don't know what they are talking about and if they do talk its all populist blabbering.

In the Netherlands the working population earns approximately 600 billion euro's per year based on money which is somehow accumulated because of the EU. The Netherlands exports around 500 billion euro's internationally, of which 400 billion in goods and 100 billion in services.

Of this total three quarters of Dutch exports and services go to EU member states.

Consequently a healthy economic EU also means a prosperous Holland.

The afternoon symposium wil; consequently addressInternationalizing your own company or organization. At the end of the symposium there will be a networking reception.

For additional info including reservation for the symposium click on the link below.

Re:ad more: REMINDER "Nederland leeft van Europa" een symposium voor actieve ondernemers op 16 oktober 2013

Netherlands - Flevoland Province: decision to delay shale drilling brings mixed reactions

UPI reported that a Dutch government move to delay a decision on allowing shale gas drilling was hailed by local communities but "regretted" by energy boosters.

Netherlands Economic Affairs Minister Henk Kamp announced last week the Cabinet would take 1 1/2 more years to study the potential effects of hydraulic fracturing on the environment before allowing Britain's Cuadrilla Resources to drill test wells in the province of Flevoland.

In a Wednesday letter to the House of Representatives in The Hague, Kamp said more time is needed to study the entire range of possible shale gas sites in the country before approving the licenses, the Dutch daily Volksrant reported.

"I have listened carefully to the reactions in both the country and in The Hague," he wrote. "Some possible locations for test drilling for shale gas have been identified by companies applying for a license. But I want to be able to evaluate all sites in the Netherlands where drilling is possible.

"Then attention can be focused on those locations known to be promising, and how their environmental risks can best be overcome."

Kamp indicated he wants to be able to include more input from local governments, such as those in Flevoland -- including the cities of Noordoostpolder, Boxtel and Luttelgeest, which have vociferously opposed "fracking" after being identified as promising shale gas areas.

Almere-Digest

World Trade Center Almere: Invitation to the "Masterclass of Useful Alliances"

Participate in the "Masterclass of Useful Alliances" and integrate this knowledge into your own company or organization. To register and for further details please click on the link below.

Uitnodiging Masterclass Waardevolle Allianties 22 oktober 2013

The Netherlands: Dutch biking turns Bostonians speechless - by Martine Powers

The intersection at De Koppeling Street is the kind of sight that might render a Bostonian speechless.

The Netherlands: a bikers paradise

“This,” howled Andrew Brunn, a burly 22-year-old engineering student   grinning like a kid at Disneyland, “is totally crazy!”

To the average American, that’s exactly how Dutch bicycle traffic seems. This is a place with more bikes than people, where about 26 percent of commuting trips are taken by bicycle, where toddlers and 85-year-olds ride happily in traffic, and where the likelihood of getting killed on a bike is among the lowest in the world, about five times less than the United States.

Almost every major street features separated bike lanes, bike-specific traffic lights, bike highways, and yield signs that, together, deliver one message: The bicycle is king.

Read more: Bicycling the Dutch Way - Metro - The Boston Globe

The Netherlands: Unrest In The Labor Party (PVDA) About JSF Purchase And Other Issues Could Topple Rutte Government

The former Dutch Vice-PM, Finance Minister and (PVDA) Labor party leader Wouter Bos, who writes a bi-weekly column for the well know Dutch Volkskrant newspaper  recently expressed his dismay in this column about the present Dutch Government of Mark Rutte's turn to what he called a "classical liberal American and ultimately marginalizing participative society".

"Even The King was allowed to announce that the established Dutch welfare state was going to make place for this so-called "participation society", said Bos 

Bos noted: "If the participation society as expressed in the speech from the throne on "Prinsjesdag" is not only the view of the  PM Rutte, but also that of  the Coalition (which includes the PVDA labor party), than the labor party must have gone through an ideological revolution... please tell me that this is not the case".

Given the unrest in the labor party on several actions undertaken by the government, including the recent decision by Defence Minister Jeanine Hennis and the government to abruptly finalize the year-long discussions about the JSF by unilaterally choosing to purchase 37 JSFs for the air-force at more than 5 billion euro's, has created a swell of protest not only in PVDA  circles, but around the country.

This could lead to a situation, if the present Labor party (PVDA) parliamentary leader Diederik Samsom does not succeed in holding his parliamentary fraction together, whereby several Labor party members would cast their votes in parliament with the opposition against the proposed government budget, and toppling the Rutte government. 

EU-Digest

Netherlands: Dutch to buy JSF fighter jets in 4.5-bn-euro deal - question is - can Holland afford or need the JSF?

Global Post reports the Netherlands wants to buy 37 new F-35 Joint Strike Fighters (JSF) from US-based Lockheed Martin in a deal worth 4.5 billion euros ($6 billion) to replace its ageing fleet of F-16s by 2019, the country's defense minister said Tuesday.

Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert announced the long-debated purchase in a letter to parliament at the presentation of the government's 2014 budget at the Lower House's official opening in The Hague. afford

"In view of our current planning, the F-35 (also known as the Joint Strike Fighter) will go into service by 2019," operating from two Dutch air force bases, the minister said.

"After evaluating competitors in 2001 and 2008 and with updated relevant data in 2013, the cabinet has decided, based on operational and financial considerations, to choose the F-35 as the new fighter plane for the Dutch armed forces," she said.

The choice had been widely expected, with the Netherlands closely involved as one of the contributing countries to the JSF's development.

As early as 1997, the JSF has been flagged as the preferential candidate to replace the Dutch fleet of F-16s because of its stealth features, which make it almost invisible to radar.

In 2002, the Netherlands and eight other countries joined the fighter's development phase.
But a finalized Dutch purchase had been rejected in parliament, mainly by the centre-left Labour Party (PvdA) while in opposition.

However, that decision changed after Labour formed a majority coalition in the Lower House with Prime Minister Mark Rutte's Liberal party (VVD) after last September's elections.

The bottom line however is: can the Netherlands afford an expense of   4.5 billion euro's for this airplane while the Dutch taxpayer is asked to make all kinds of sacrifices to meet Government austerity measures. In addition the Government is buying into an airplane which has been plagued by problems.

An other problem is that the Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program continues to trigger new controversies. Latest comments allege flawed estimates of the jet's weight and, as before, questions about the timeline for the plane's delivery and final cost.

The F-35 was spotlighted in technical troubles in addition to debates over its costs. In February the U.S. Department of Defense suspended flights of all 51 F-35 planes after a routine inspection revealed a crack on a turbine blade in the jet engine of an F-35 test aircraft.

Outgoing Executive Vice President and JSF General Manager Tom Burbage was quoted in the news media as saying the manufacturer miscalculated on the aircraft's weight during its early development.

The question remains: should the Netherlands cut their losses on the JSF and pull out of the project or go deeply into debt with a project which is extremely questionable? 

EU-Digest

Netherlands King Warns:" Dutch Welfare State Gone"

In his first major public address, the recently crowned Dutch King Willem-Alexander has warned his subjects that the welfare state of the 20th century is gone.

While still traveling past waving fans in an ornate horse-drawn carriage to the 13th-century Hall of Knights in The Hague, the monarch's traditional speech on the government's budget was gloomy.

In televised remarks, King Willem-Alexander said the traditional welfare state that has made the Netherlands famous is coming to an end.
 
"In its place," he said speaking carefully, a "participation society" is emerging, "in which people must take responsibility for their own future and create their own social and financial safety nets, with less help from the national government."

He stressed that, "The classic welfare state of the second half of the 20th century in these areas in particular brought forth arrangements that are unsustainable in their current form."

Note : EU-Digest: Regardless of the comments the King made about the end of the Welfare State had come to an end he still made use of the ornate gold-plated horse drawn carriage to take him to Hall of Knight. Said one onlooker: "if he wants us to tighten our belts  he should have driven to Hall of Knights with his wife in his own car."

Read more: Netherlands King Warns: Dutch Welfare State Gon

The Netherlands: "Prinsjesdag" - a special occasion this year as new King makes his first speech

This year's Prinsjesdag is special because it is the first time for Willem-Alexander, who succeeded his mother Queen Beatrix on April 30 this year, to read the speech written jointly by the ministers and secretaries of the state.

And this is also the first time since 2002, when late Prince Claus, Beatrix's husband, was too ill to attend, two thrones, for the king and his wife Queen Maxima, will be set on the platform in the "Ridderzaal," the Hall of Knights.

In this speech, the cabinet usually looks back to past events and gives a broad outline of cabinet policy for the coming year.

After the speech, the Minister of Finance Jeroen Dijsselbloem will move to the House of Commons with a traditional briefcase filled with the "Miljoenennota," the budget plan of the government.

According to the leaked content of the budget, it outlined additional austerity measures of 6 billion euros (8 billion U.S dollars). The budget deficit is expected to be 3.3 percent of GDP next year, which is above the European standard of 3 percent, but the Dutch have permission to exceed the limit in 2014.

Based on the figures, the Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (CPB) calculated an economic growth of 0.5 percent next year. 

Read more: Dutch King to present policy plans on "Budget Day" - People's Daily Online

Lotteries: are they a hidden "scam" to make the lower income earners pay more tax?

The world lottery news reports that in the the first half of the year global lottery sales were up nearly 5% world-wide after a sluggish start with Latin American, Asia Pacific, and North American markets performing strongly in the second quarter.

Latin America showed a increase in sales of 24.6% for the first six months of 2013. Argentina’s Lotería Nacional Sociedad reported an increase in sales of 31% for the period January–June 2013 and Brazil’s Caixa Econômica Federal also enjoyed healthy sales growth, reporting an increase in sales of 12.5% for the first half of 2013.

The Asia Pacific region witnessed an increase in sales of 11.1% for H1 2013 over H1 2012, including the China Sports lottery increased by CNY 10.54 billion and the Chinese Welfare lottery increased by CNY 10.11 billion for the first six months of 2013.

European lotteries witnessed a relative decrease in sales of 1.7% but was still up a small percentage against the same time frame in 2012.

In the North American market, an increase of 9.4% on sales for the second quarter of 2013 was reported. 

The North American lottery system is a $70 billion-a-year business, an industry bigger than movie tickets, music, and porn combined. These tickets have a grand history: Lotteries were used to fund the American colonies and helped bankroll the young nation. In the 18th and 19th centuries, lotteries funded the expansion of Harvard and Yale and allowed the construction of railroads across the continent.

Since 1964, when New Hampshire introduced the first modern state lottery, governments have come to rely on gaming revenue. (Forty-three states and every Canadian province currently run lotteries.) In some states, the lottery accounts for more than 5 percent of education funding.

While approximately half of Americans buy at least one lottery ticket at some point, the vast majority of tickets are purchased by about 20 percent of the population. These high-frequency players tend to be poor and uneducated, which is why critics refer to lotteries as a regressive tax. (In a 2006 survey, 30 percent of people without a high school degree said that playing the lottery was a wealth-building strategy.) On average, households that make less than $12,400 a year spend 5 percent of their income on lotteries—a source of hope for just a few bucks a throw.

A 2008 Carnegie Mellon study found that "lotteries set off a vicious cycle that not only exploits low-income individuals' desires to escape poverty but also directly prevents them from improving upon their financial situations." As the study's lead author said: "The hope of getting out of poverty encourages people to continue to buy tickets, even though their chances of stumbling upon a life-changing windfall are nearly impossibly slim and buying lottery tickets in fact exacerbates the very poverty that purchasers are hoping to escape." (For what it's worth, the odds of winning the latest Powerball drawing were about one in 175 million.) A Duke University study found that the poorest third of households purchase more than half of the lottery tickets sold during a given week.

So let's acknowledge the lottery for what it is: a tax on those who can least afford it that is levied by preying on the very fact that they can't afford to buy the things they need. Sure, buying lottery tickets can be fun in the short term, but in the long run, lotteries are a truly cynical way for states to raise money.

As to the operational mechanics of lottery systems - investigators probably would have a field day looking into these structures. It is obvious that the super-computers which run these lotteries can easily be manipulated.

EU-Digest 

Golf - Netherlands: Luiten beats Jimenez in playoff to win KLM Open

Joost Luiten beat Miguel Angel Jimenez on the first playoff hole Sunday to win the KLM Open for his second European Tour title of the year.

Luiten became the first Dutch winner of his country's national open since Maarten Lafeber in 2003 and the first Dutchman to win twice in a season on the European Tour. He also won the Lyoness Open in Austria in June.

Jimenez made four early birdies to take the lead but Luiten rallied on the back nine at the Kennemer Golf & Country Club, with both making par on the 18th to force the playoff. Jiminez shot a 3-under 67 while Luiten had a 68. Both finished with 12-under totals of 268.

"It was tough. He was playing really, really good, especially on the front nine," Luiten said of the far more experienced Jimenez. "I thought 'I just have to hang in there until the back nine and hopefully I can make a move there,' and luckily it happened."

The players returned to the 18th tee and Luiten made par, while Jimenez hit his drive into the rough right of the fairway, left his second on the fringe and could not hole out in two.

On the back nine, Jimenez missed a birdie putt on the short par-5 12th, while Luiten sank his birdie putt to draw even at 13 under.

But the Spanish veteran, who won this tournament 19 years ago, responded immediately by rolling in a birdie on the 13th and stretched his lead to two strokes as Luiten's par putt slid past the hole.

Luiten birdied the 14th and Jimenez bogeyed the 15th and 17th to drop back level with Luiten and set up the playoff.

Read more: Luiten beats Jimenez in playoff to win KLM Open in Netherlands

Almere World Trade Center Starts Master Class Business Modelling

The Almere World Trade Center is offering a one day Masterclass for entrepreneurs who are starting up a business and for established managers in both the Public and Private sector.

This Masterclass is based  on "learning by doing".  Following the completion of this course participants can even develop their own business model.

For starting companies the model can be used as a marketing tool and for already established companies and organizations it can be used to develop new innovative ideas.

Either way, a win win offer for self motivational enrichment.

For additional information click here  

EU-Digest

EU asks youth: How would you fight poverty? - by Elisabeth d'Auchamp

International development may not be the first thing on the mind of a 13-year-old. Talk of frameworks, donor priorities, annual reports and endless acronyms will, in most cases, be less attention-grabbing than, well, everything else in the life of a teenager.

But while the future of the globe might currently be handled by adults, youth has an equal if not a bigger stake in creating a sustainable world.

As such, aid groups are now ramping up efforts to engage young people in global development. Among them: the European Commission.

“How would you fight poverty?” the commission is asking young people in a video contest recently launched on Facebook. The competition is open to everyone aged 13-24 regardless of nationality, and the only condition is to create a video of no more than 120 seconds which answers the question, and upload it on YouTube by Nov. 1.

For the winners, the prize involves having their solution to global poverty presented to thought leaders and decision makers in Europe. They will be flown to Brussels to attend the 2013 European Development Days in November, where their short videos will be screened.

So what do you want changed to create a poverty-free world? Take out your smartphone, digital camera, tablet or any other video-taking device, and have your say — or invite a teenager or twenty-something near you to do so. Join Young Voices Against Poverty.

EU-Digest

The Netherlands: Clipper Stad Amsterdam 'home' again!

Stad Amsterdam at sea

The Clipper Stad Amsterdam is back in Amsterdam for about 6 weeks after a wonderful time in the Mediterranean, the south coast of England and Belgium.

The coming weeks are mostly dominated by various day sails, cocktails and seminars on board. On September 7th and 8th she was moored be at the Maritime Museum in Amsterdam,where  visitors of the museum could visit her.

In late September we will go back to the shipyard for 10 days for maintenance following our intensive 6-month yard period earlier this year. Middle of October, the Clipper Stad Amsterdam will sail down south again: to the Canary Islands and later on to the Caribbean with the help of the trade winds. We will be arriving at Martinique on December 1st.

For additional Information click here

Almere-Digest

The Netherlands: Health Insurers saw their profits double last year but premiums remain high

Dutch insurance companies nearly all doubled their profits last year, but industry business leaders said they are doubtful that they can reduce their customers premiums in 2014.

Last year Dutch health insurers saw their profits more than double to 1,4 billion euros. In response to the figures, the Minister for Health Edith Schipper said was that there was a "social imperative" to conclude that higher income leads to lower premiums.

Roger van Boxtel, CEO of insurance company Menzis, said that he wants nothing more than to lower premiums, but that any further decrease in premium costs depends very much on the measures that the government presents in the Budget.

As to the large profit figures made by the health insurers, van Boxel said, "Many people have been saying over the last few months ‘that we made very large profits’. But if you want to be a healthy company, you need to have buffers."

The Dutch health insurance system (since January 1st, 2006) is a combination of private health plans with social conditions built on the principles of solidarity, efficiency and value for the patient.

Health insurance in the Netherlands is mandatory if you are on a long-term stay and is designed to cover the cost of medical care. As a rule, all expats must have a Dutch health insurance even if they are insured for healthcare in their homeland also.

Dutch insurance companies are obliged by law to offer you the basic package. They can not deny coverage because of gender, age or health profile.

Almere-Digest

Almere: Asian tiger mosquito found in seven Dutch locations, clean-up underway

The Asian tiger mosquito has been identified at seven locations in the Netherlands and efforts are underway to eradicate it, government safety experts said recently.

The mosquito, which can carry dangerous diseases such as yellow fever, has been identified at used tyre import companies in Oss, Weert, Montfort, Almere, Lelystad, Emmeloord and Harderberg, the NVWA inspectorate said in a statement.

The European centre for infectious diseases said earlier this year the tiger mosquito, an aggressive, day-time biting mosquito which can transmit some 20 viruses and parasites, had made its home in the Netherlands, but that was denied at the time by local officials.

Read more: DutchNews.nl - Asian tiger mosquito found in seven Dutch locations, clean-up underway

The Netherlands - cardiologists’ Olympics: Riding bicycle regularly keeps heart diseases away says Dr Garg from India

If you are worried about the daily consumption of petrol in the wake of price hike, you must start bicycling. By riding a bicycle, you can control the cardiac diseases and can also reduce the transportation expenses.

These views were expressed by city’s renowned cardiologist Dr Vijay Garg after he returned from Amsterdam, Netherlands recently. Dr Garg attended the conference of cardiologists’ Olympics, held between October 31 and September 4. More than 28,000 cardiologists from 82 countries attended the conference and pondered over topics of medical sciences.

Dr Garg further detailed that the government of the Netherlands supports citizens who exercise by constructing separate roads for cyclists. 

It is a matter of concern that ratio of people suffering from cardiac diseases is increasing frequently in developing countries in comparison to developed ones. If a man does exercise regularly, he can reduce 40 percent the possibility of having heart diseases.

People, who have A+ blood group, are at a higher risk to fall sick with heart diseases.

People living luxurious life have more chances of suffering from cardiac arrest. Dr Garg has been felicitated with the honor of European Society of Cardiology Fellow three years back. India has only 2500 fellows of European Society of Cardiology at present

Read more: The Freepress Journal

Netherlands liable for deaths of three Bosnian Muslims killed at Srebrenica: says Dutch supreme court

The Dutch Supreme Court ruled Friday that the Netherlands was liable for the deaths of three Bosnian Muslim men during the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, even though its forces there were part of a U.N. peacekeeping mission.

The decision upheld a 2011 appeals court judgment that was seen as setting a worrying precedent for countries providing troops for United Nations peacekeeping forces, because it held the Dutch state responsible for events that happened during a UN mission.

The case was brought by Hasan Nuhanovic, an interpreter who lost his brother and father, and relatives of Rizo Mustafic, an electrician who was killed. They argued that all three men should have been protected by Dutch peacekeepers. Mustafic and Nuhanovic were actually employed by the Dutch, but Nuhanovic’s father and brother were not.

The victims were among thousands of Muslims who took shelter in the UN compound as Bosnian Serb forces commanded by Gen. Ratko Mladic overran Srebrenica on July 11, 1995. Two days later, the outnumbered Dutch peacekeepers bowed to pressure from Mladic’s troops and forced thousands of Muslim families out of the compound.

Bosnian Serb forces sorted the Muslims by gender, then trucked the males away and began executing some 8,000 Muslim men and boys. Those bodies were plowed into hastily made mass graves in what international courts have ruled was genocide.

The slaying was the worst massacre on European soil since World War II.

Read more: Netherlands liable for deaths of three Bosnian Muslims killed at Srebrenica: supreme court - The Globe and Mail

Almere - the environment: Using sheep instead of grass mowers

Sheep instead of lawn mowers?

Starting today a herd of some 300 sheep will take over from the gas guzzling and noisy grass mowers in Almere Harbor ( Almere Haven) to keep all public "green" areas trimmed and proper during a three year trial period.

The local city council says they believe this is an environmentally friendly way to keep public grass areas not only trimmed, but also to protect certain plant species, which sheep don't eat, from extinction.

The Council also expressed the hope that the grazing sheep will create additional interest among the local inhabitants as to the ecology and wildlife surrounding them.

Almere-Digest

Almere Harbor Festival - 3 day fun for the whole family and free parking

This weekend the Almere Harbor Festival in Almere Haven, Province of Flevoland, kicks off with free activities for the whole family, including an open air classical concert of the Gelderland Province Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Gijs Leenaars on Saturday, September 7, 8.30 pm. 

A special performance by the Almere Youth Symphony Orchestra on Friday, September 6, 8.00 pm, conducted by Hans Welle, with guest  performances by Almere's Elise Doorn, Elise de Koning and Iris Lommerse. 

The 3 day festival will also include boat rides on the century old classic Dutch fishing boats known as "botters", food and beer tasting events, circus Corrosia, and a two day antique market. 

Parking during the 3 day festival at Almere Haven is free.

Festival Program  

Friday  Deptember 6

11.30-16.00  Botterrace
16.00-22.00  Havenkom Proeverij
16.00-22.00  Bierproeverij
19.45-21.30  Jeugdorkest AJSO  

Saturday 7 september
11.00-17.00  Kunstmarkt
12.00-17.00  Circus Corrosia12.00-16.00  Botterfestival
13.00-23.00  Havenkom Proeverij
13.00-23.00  Bierproeverij
20.00-22.00  Yakult Havenkom Concert
 
Sunday 8 september
11.00-17.00  Kunstmarkt  12.00-17.00  Circus Corrosia  11.00-18.00  Brocante en Antiekmarkt
12.00-16.00  Botterfestival
11.30-18.00  Shantykoren
12.00-18.00  Havenkom Proeverij
12.00-18.00  Bierproeverij

Almere-Digest   

Dutch PM Rutte Says Netherlands in Difficult Times, Unemployment to Rise - by Fred Pals

The Netherlands is going through extraordinarily difficult economic times and unemployment will continue to rise for some time, Prime Minister Mark Rutte said.

Dutch PM Mark Rutte

“Radical changes will come to the Netherlands,” Rutte said in a lecture in Amsterdam yesterday. “We stand for fundamental choices, and we need to make the right ones.”

The government will unveil a plan to save 6 billion euros ($7.9 billion) in parliament on Sept. 17. That’s on top of a four-year, 16 billion-euro austerity package approved in November when Rutte took office.

The Dutch economy, in its third recession since the financial crisis started in 2008, shrank 0.2 percent in the second quarter.

Rutte’s government, which comprises his Liberal Party and the Labor Party, stands at an all-time low in the polls.

The coalition would only retain 32 of the 150 seats in parliament if elections were held now, a drop of 47 seats, according to a survey published by polling agency Peil.nl on Aug. 25. The Labor Party would have 12 seats, while Rutte’s Liberal Party would get 20 seats, according to the poll.

Read more: Rutte Says Netherlands in Difficult Times, Unemployment to Rise - Bloomberg

Almere WTCAA Business Services launched on September 3

Patricia van Giessen Business Club and events manager

From Tuesday September 3 WTCAA Almere offer the members of their International Business Club a comprehensive package of business services.

The WTClublounge is open every day from 9: 30 am-5 pm for IBC members. Members can also use this space as a flexible workplace or as a place to have an informal meeting with clients. Coffee and tea is available, as well as daily newspapers and magazines. Guests and members can also make use of the free Wi-Fi and the attached network printer. (Usage based on fair use.)

The WTConference room can also be reserved by IBC members, free of charge, for up to 16 hours per year. This meeting room has all the presentation equipment available for your professional presentations..

WTC members can also book their travel reservation  via the WTC website  If you lost "your log-in codes" contact the Secretariat of  the WTC. (see their website).

In case you are traveling for business or pleasure the WTC can take care of a variety of your chores while you are away.

The WTC Almere also has some rental units available on the second floor. These units (80-100 m2 per unit) are slightly bigger than the current units. If you have any interest in  renting one of these units, or anything, else please contact.

Almere-Digest

Almere : some EURO 86 million appropriated money for job creating projects still on the shelf

It has been reported that in Flevoland millions of euros in 2006  investment funds, which were earmarked  for stimulating the economy there are still held back in the Province administration capital of Lelystad.

Consequently many projects did not get off the ground. This is the conclusion of a Court of Auditors report on the investment program Flevoland-Almere (IFA).

The IFA, which has a term of ten to fifteen years to administer Government funds, specially aimed at the 'unique urban climate of Almere' designed to develop and market the economic position of Almere in the North Wing of the Randstad. 

The idea was also to encourage entrepreneurs and residents to come up with appealing ideas for Almere. For example social, cultural and economic focused  projects.

The Suburban Court of Auditors and the Court of Auditors also examined individually and later  in cooperation with the municipality of Almere the recommendations of  previous evaluations, which for example included tighter control mechanisms.

But despite all this, the earmarked money is still  on the shelf "somewhere". Originally the Province of Flevoland and Almere agreed  that EUR 100 million would be made available in three tranches.  This has now shrunk to around EURO 89 million.

Once these funds are released it will require to have hands-on projects available which can be put into immediate action. Unfortunately these projects are still on the drawing board and don't seem to have been thought through in any detail yet.

Almere=Digest .