The Netherlands: The Coronavirus exposes the Netherlands as a tax haven – again – by Boris Kowalski

Governments miss out on billions of tax revenues annually as the result of tax havens such as the Netherlands. The Coronavirus pandemic tellingly shows how such tax havens undermine public policy and cohesion within the EU, argues Boris Kowalski.

Read more at: The Coronavirus exposes the Netherlands as a tax haven – again – EURACTIV.com

Historic winter weather: Will the Netherlands see these weather phenomena?

The so-called “cold invasion” the Netherlands is experiencing this week is extremely rare: the combination of heavy snowfall, very low temperatures, and bitter winds is “only experienced by an average person a few times in their life,” according to meteorologist Alfred Snoek.

Considering the fact that this weather is so unusual means that many are starting to wonder whether they can look forward to any other naturally-occurring weather phenomena - beyond the canals freezing over.

Temperatures in the Netherlands have settled at around -2 or -3 degrees during the day, dropping to as low as -15 degrees overnight. Thanks to these absolutely freezing temperatures, there are a handful of natural delights that you might be lucky enough to experience over the coming days.

Read more at: https://www.iamexpat.nl/lifestyle/lifestyle-news/historic-winter-weather-will-netherlands-see-these-weather-phenomena

'WHO - Coronavirus: Extremely unlikely' COVID originated from a laboratory leak, says WHO official - by Luke Hurst

It is "extremely unlikely" COVID-19 originated from a laboratory leak in Wuhan, China, an expert with the World Health Organization (WHO) says.

The team of experts sent by the WHO to investigate the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic in the city also said they found no evidence of an outbreak related to the virus in the city prior to 2019.

Read more at: 'Extremely unlikely' COVID originated from a laboratory leak, says WHO official | Euronews

The Netherlands: Roads and trains disrupted, schools shut as winter grips the Netherlands

The wintry weather continued to cause problems on the roads and railways on Monday morning. No newspapers have been delivered and primary schools remain closed in many places, including Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht and Leiden, due to the transport problems. They were due to open on Monday after six weeks of closure due to coronavirus.

The KNMI weather bureau has revised down its weather warning to code orange because of the continuing slippery conditions, but both motoring organisation ANWB and the transport ministry’s roads department say people should avoid all travel unless their journey is absolutely necessary.

Read more at: Roads and trains disrupted, schools shut as winter grips the Netherlands - DutchNews.nl

The Netherlands: First snowstorm in the Netherlands since 2010

Between 11 p.m. and midnight on Saturday, an average wind force of 8 was measured for an hour between Enkhuizen and Lelystad. This, in combination with the snowfall, has officially caused a snowstorm, Weerplaza reports. The last time that happened in the Netherlands was in January 2010.

Read more at: First snowstorm in the Netherlands since 2010 | NL Times

EU taxation of multinationals—bypassing the unanimity blockage – by Tommaso Faccio and Francesco Saraceno

he French car-service company Heetch recently displayed an advertising campaign on the streets of Paris (see photo), which proudly affirmed its presence in many French cities but not in Luxembourg—a clear allusion to the tax headquarters of some of its competitors. The fact that ‘paying taxes in France’ has become a commercial argument shows that the issue of corporate avoidance is rising up the public agenda in many countries.

Yet the G20 process on taxing digital firms and introducing a global minimum tax to limit tax competition, led by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, failed to reach consensus in 2020, mostly because of determination by the United States to protect its digital giants. The European Commission has made clear that, were the G20 to fail to deliver a global solution by mid-2021, it will act. But the EU is stuck between a rock—the US position will likely not change with the new administration—and a hard place: its own tax havens.

Read more at: EU taxation of multinationals—bypassing the unanimity blockage – Tommaso Faccio and Francesco Saraceno

EU: In Europe Union, vaccines from Russia and China are now under study - by Loveday Morris

As the European Union's vaccination program stumbles, Russia and China are poised to fill the gap — with Moscow opening talks to produce vaccines in the heart of Europe and both building political cachet as they supply those scrambling for shots on the bloc's fringes.

Vaccines produced in Russia and China are already on the program in parts of the Balkans and Eastern Europe outside the European Union.

Speaking to the Atlantic Council on Thursday, Macron called China’s vaccine efforts a “clear diplomatic success” which is “a little bit humiliating for us.” He and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have expressed their openness to using vaccines from Moscow and Beijing if E.U. regulatory approval is granted.

Read more at: In Europe Union, vaccines from Russia and China are now under study - The Washington Post