Outgoing Dutch parliament makes way for new

The outgoing lower house of parliament met for the last time Wednesday. On Thursday, the new-elected representatives will meet for the first time. A total of 69 new MPs will be taking their seats.
There have been calls for an immediate vote on the question of an amnesty for asylum seekers who have run out [...]

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Dutch court orders release of detained journalists

A court in The Hague has ordered the release of two newspaper journalists who were detained on Tuesday after refusing to reveal their sources.
The two reporters refused to say who passed them confidential intelligence service files containing information about a major crimes boss.
Their detention led to a storm of protest in the Netherlands. [...]

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December 2006: 20 Jazz sessions in Maastricht

Jazz Maastricht annonces:
Maastricht now offers six times a week the opportunity to meet musicians who play for you this exciting music with its warm atmosphere. Here is an overview of December:
Monday:• Grand Café Tramhalte/Maastricht Jazz Club 22.00 h:
Jam Session with combo Coen van Dam (€ 2,- entrance fee)
• Café de Belsj 21.00 h: open session [...]

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Dutch gays widely accepted, but not in immigrant community

Amsterdam- Dutch gays and lesbians enjoy greater acceptance in society at large and more rights under the law than almost anywhere else. Since 2001, they have been allowed to marry, and the law specifically provides for same-sex couples to adopt children.
Only around 6 per cent of the Dutch would object to a gay neighbour, [...]

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Literary Guide to Netherlands literature

Very interesting overview of the “essentials” of Dutch literature, published by Salon.com:
For a country that was once the global capital of the publishing industry, it’s extraordinary how little the Netherlands has influenced world literature. Most of the canonical writers of Dutch fiction are unknown outside Holland; many are untranslated. From a traveler’s point of view, [...]

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Sinterklaas tradition pressured by multicultural society

The Sinterklaas tradition appears to be gradually ebbing away in the multicultural Dutch society. The saint was attacked by youths at a number of locations in recent days. Additionally, public broadcasting appears to want to start a debate on the ‘Zwarte Pieten’ (Black Peters).
According to tradition, Sinterklaas, the Dutch equivalent of Santa Claus, arrives by [...]

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Culture: The Five Heads

Crossroads proudly presents an original short story by Anke Scheeren, a promising young writer from Maastricht. Anke’s imagination was triggered by a sinister event that took place here almost 400 years ago…

De la Court and brother Nottijn had discussed the meaning of life for a while, but now they looked puzzled. They stared into the direction of the Spanish fort in Navagne. [continued]

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New EU task force to boost science education

The European Commission has created an expert group to look into how best to support science education in Europe’s primary and secondary schools.
The new group will formulate policy recommendations designed to improve the way that Europe approaches science teaching and so ensure that future generations are well equipped to live and work in a [...]

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EU seeks to boost consular protection for nationals abroad

The European Commission on Tuesday published proposals for boosting consular protection for European Union passport holders abroad, including the introduction of joint offices where national embassies are unavailable.
The proposals, designed to deal with emergency situations such as the Asian tsunami or the conflict in Lebanon, include the creation of “joint offices” in tourist areas [...]

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New report finds widespread racism in Europe

Migrants and ethnic minorities, in particular gypsies, continue to face discrimination across the European Union in employment, education and housing, according to a report published Tuesday by the EU’s racism monitoring centre.
“In spite of some heartening examples of good practice, I stand here today unable to say that there has been a substantial improvement [...]

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Councillors try to turn Arabic

Fourteen councillors of Lelystad will take a course in ‘reverse integration’ tomorrow. They will do everything they can to adapt to Arabic culture.
Fourteen immigrant women will show the councillors what it is like to go through life as an immigrant. Politicians of various parties will be given a lesson in Arabic, dress in Arabic garments [...]

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Dutch women really are naughty: study

Dutch women snack, make up excuses, gossip and spend too much — and they say so themselves in a new study.
Gossiping, flirting now and again and spying on men with girlfriends remain favourite activities and yet almost every woman still enjoys being alone.
Commissioned by the Household Fair, the study’s findings were published on Monday under [...]

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Free university on internet

The Open University is to make material for three short courses available free on the internet.
The courses are all part of a full degree programme and the University hopes more people will be encouraged to study for a degree. The experiment is being funded by the education ministry and the American Hewlett Foundation.
Source: Dutch [...]

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Dutch police on culture course in Morocco

The Hague police are sending 25 officers to Morocco to get acquainted with the culture of this North African country. This should help them deal with young Moroccan criminals in a more adequate manner, newspaper Algemeen Dagblad revealed Friday.
“Tackling criminal young Moroccans takes top priority. But in order to deal with them, we also need [...]

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Netherlands keeps borders closed to Bulgarians, Romanians

The Netherlands will not introduce free movement of labour for Bulgaria and Romania at the moment that these countries join the EU on 1 January 2007. It has opted for a transition regime that will in principle apply for two years.
The caretaker cabinet decided Friday that companies must continue to apply for a work permit [...]

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Expatriate community: What do a life jacket and the Maastricht International Playgroup have in common?

Your partner comes home and tells you: “It’s official, we are transferring.” The “we” includes himself, yourself, and your nearly-there-but-not-quite-crawling child. This occurs as you have finally overcome those post-natal “baby blues” sufficiently that you don’t have a panic attack every time you leave the house. [continued...]

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Strong shopping ranking for Maastricht

Maastricht, Roermond and Heerlen have achieved first, third and sixth place in the national rankings of the strongest downtown area established by Elsevier’s weekly magazine. These Limburg cities owe their position in the Elsevier rankings to the excellent mix of catering, shopping, the arts and services available in their cities.
Maastricht is a clear winner [...]

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27 November: We Feed the World - in English!

On Monday 27 November at 19.30 for just once, Lumière presents the acclaimed documentary “We Feed the World” subtitled entirely in English. The film itself is in German, Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian. An exclusive event for all non-Dutch speakers and those who missed out this extraordinary film first time around.
Austrian filmmaker Erwin Wagenhofer filmed a [...]

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Dutch set for difficult coalition formation

The final results of the Dutch general election mean the Christian Democrats remain the largest party in parliament. With all the votes from Wednesday’s poll counted, Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende’s party has 41 MPs in the 150-seat house, three less than after the last election. The main opposition Labour Party has 32 seats, down [...]

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Christian Democrats win Dutch elections

The Christian Democrat CDA led by Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende is the winner in the Dutch general election. It topped the poll with 41 seats. Second was the Social Democrat PvdA, led by Wouter Bos, with 32 seats.
But the party making the biggest gains was the Socialist Party led by Jan [...]

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25 November: Open Day at the Jesuits Caves in Maastricht

To mark their 10th anniversary as official national monument, the magnificent Jesuits Caves in Maastricht will be open to the public on Saturday 25 November from 10 am till 4 pm. One-hour guided tours will depart every 15 minutes. Definitely worth the visit!
For more information check the website: De Jezuietenberg, available in Dutch, English, German [...]

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Netherlands sets up Security Studies Centre

Education and Science State Secretary Bruno Bruins is making half a million euros available for the establishment of an expertise and training centre for securities studies in The Hague.
The universities of Leiden and Delft will set up the centre. They will also involve other universities and research institutions. The centre is to focus on questions [...]

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Investigation of below-standard properties in Liège

Judge Doyen of Liège awarded 140 search warrants for the entry of 14 housing blocks in Liège to investigate the living conditions of tenants. All 14 building were owned by a banker based in Brussels.
Read full story: Expatica Belgium, 22 November 2006

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Rita Verdonk’s brother insults Senegalese man

Read in Radio Netherlands Press Review of 21 November 2006:
An inconspicuous a story in Trouw about an otherwise untold incident involving one Ibou, a Senegalese man who has lived in the Netherlands for 17 years. One evening in September Ibou was driving to his girlfriend’s house and had to pass a car, which was blocking [...]

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Eurocontrol receives Single European Sky certification

Eurocontrol press release:
Eurocontrol announced on 13 November that the Maastricht Upper Area Control Centre (MUAC) has been formally certified as compliant with European Community requirements for the provision of air navigation services. For more than 30 years, MUAC has provided air traffic services in the upper airspace of The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and North-Western Germany.
On [...]

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The Netherlands goes to the ballot box on 22 November

The Netherlands goes to the ballot box on Wednesday 22 November to elect a new Lower House. An election review:
ELECTORATE: Over 12 million Dutch people can vote in the general elections. The electorate are those aged over 18 with Dutch nationality. This is in contrast to the local elections of last March, in which all [...]

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Judge allows comparing islamisation with rise of nazism

Politician Marco Pastors did not violate the law by comparing the rise of Nazism with the increasing influence of Islam in the Netherlands. The district court in Rotterdam yesterday determined that the comparison he made is not punishable.
In a radio ad, Pastors stated: “The establishment were looking away in the 1930s during the rise of [...]

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Stricter policy for entry fraud in the Netherlands

Foreigners who lie or withhold information to enter the Netherlands will be dealt with more firmly, Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk announced yesterday in a letter to the Lower House.
Foreigners who commit fraud in their applications for entry can be refused upon all subsequent attempts to enter the country on the basis of the first lie. [...]

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Foreign graduates work less, but paid the same

One year after leaving college or university, graduates from higher education with a foreign background earned just as much as their native Dutch peers. Moroccan, Turkish and Surinamese graduates from vocational college even earned more than native Dutch graduates, even when differences in age and study discipline are taken into account.
Fewer foreign graduates work
In [...]

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Negative population growth in Limburg

In 2005, the provinces of Groningen, Friesland and Limburg faced a reduction of the number of residents. More people left than moved into these provinces. Additionally, the mortality rate in Limburg was higher than the birth rate.
Mainly young people leave
For some time now, emigrants have outnumbered immigrants in Limburg. Over the past decade, a negative [...]

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