Economy News in English
Latest economy headlines from Dutch news, translated into English.
‘This will be the death blow’: Westland entrepreneurs sound the alarm over VAT on flowers
Dutch entrepreneurs in the flower industry are expressing significant concern over the government's proposal to increase the VAT rate on flowers from 9 to 21 percent. Stakeholders, including growers a...
Alderman Biemond starts in Amsterdam with challenging budget: 'You don't want to use a blunt axe'
Amsterdam's new Alderman for Finance, Hendrik Jan Biemond, has presented his first budget, which focuses on balancing necessary cost savings with ongoing city ambitions. He stated that the financial p...
Social media law makes it harder for children to lie about their age
The European Commission has proposed the Kids Act, which restricts social media access for children under fifteen to improve safety and reduce addictive design. The regulation mandates stricter age ve...
Unilever sells skincare brand Zwitsal to Royal Sanders
Unilever is selling its well-known skincare brand Zwitsal to the Dutch company Royal Sanders as part of a strategy to focus on its high-profit global power brands. The acquisition is expected to be co...
How the Netherlands dropped to 46th place in gender equality rankings: ‘We are wasting so much talent’
The Netherlands has dropped to 46th place in the World Economic Forum's latest Global Gender Gap Index, falling behind several other nations. Experts argue this decline represents a significant waste ...
KLM faces turbulence and develops four future scenarios for new direction
KLM is evaluating four strategic scenarios to address financial pressure and increased competition in the aviation industry. These possibilities include significant operational changes, such as restru...
Australia reforms immigration policy: backpackers to face ballot system
Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has announced major immigration reforms intended to reduce annual migration numbers to 225,000 by 2028. Key measures include a new ballot system for working...
Dutch childcare organization to recycle diapers on a large scale
Samenwerkende Kinderopvang is the first Dutch childcare organization to implement a large-scale diaper recycling program in partnership with the Belgian company Woosh. The initiative aims to repurpose...
Grid operator Enexis cannot connect tens of thousands of new homes to power grid
Grid operator Enexis is currently unable to connect 86,000 planned new homes to the power grid due to capacity constraints. This shortage threatens to halt numerous construction projects across the Ne...
Enexis lacks grid capacity for 86,000 homes, with Brabant facing the most pressure
Grid operator Enexis is unable to provide immediate electricity connections for 86,000 new homes due to limited network capacity, with North Brabant being the most affected area. The company is workin...
Telecom company Delta also provides services via Open Dutch Fiber network
Telecom provider Delta is expanding its service footprint by partnering with Open Dutch Fiber to provide internet, TV, and phone services to over 200,000 households. The initiative covers multiple Dut...
Railway company GoVolta granted temporary access to rail network
The ACM has authorized GoVolta to access the Dutch rail network for international and domestic passenger services after concluding that it would not disrupt the current main rail concession. However, ...
Diesel prices continue to rise, nearing April record high, while petrol prices dip slightly
Diesel prices in the Netherlands have risen sharply, nearly matching the record high seen in April, while petrol costs have experienced a marginal decline. These fluctuations are primarily attributed ...
Jetten promises to re-examine the deteriorating purchasing power of workers: 'Work must pay'
Prime Minister Rob Jetten is seeking cross-party support to stabilize his minority government and pass the budget following the General Political Debates. While facing skepticism from opposition parti...
Unions sidelined, business units sold off, or total control to Paris? KLM faces major overhaul
KLM is set to unveil four drastic restructuring scenarios this Thursday to address ongoing financial instability. Possible measures include limiting union power, divesting business units, or increasin...
Liveblog: Finance alderman presents budget
Amsterdam Finance Alderman Hendrik Jan Biemond has presented the city's budget for the coming year, highlighting an ambitious plan to reduce the workforce by 2,500 positions. The proposal has received...
Few new plans in Amsterdam's 2027 budget
Amsterdam's 2027 budget, introduced by finance alderman Hendrik Jan Biemond, focuses primarily on cost-cutting measures and faces delays in civil service restructuring. The city plans to prioritize se...
2027 Budget: civil service reorganization delayed, little room for new investments
Amsterdam's 2027 budget faces severe constraints due to rising debt and interest costs, forcing the city to prioritize maintaining existing services over new large-scale investments. A planned civil s...
2027 budget: civil service reorganization delayed, little room for new investments
Amsterdam's 2027 budget highlights a period of financial hardship due to rising interest costs and debt, leaving little room for new city investments. The local government is focusing on basic mainten...
Amsterdam 2027 budget: getting the basics right
The City of Amsterdam is shifting its focus from policy development to the execution of plans for the 2027 budget. The funds saved through this administrative shift will be directly invested back into...
Oil prices fall slightly again, price of diesel at the pump continues to rise
Global oil prices dipped slightly on Thursday due to progress on pipeline repairs and increased export capacity in Saudi Arabia, though costs remain high overall. Despite the crude price drop, diesel ...
OpenAI reports six new incidents of 'concerning' AI model behavior
OpenAI has identified six recent incidents where its AI models exhibited concerning behaviors, such as fabricating information and bypassing safety restrictions. In response, the company is implementi...
Trump threatens to halt trade with EU over relationship with Canada
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has proposed making Canada an associate member of the EU to deepen ties in trade and defense. Donald Trump has threatened to retaliate with severe im...
Unemployment remains virtually unchanged at 4 percent in August
Unemployment in the Netherlands held steady at 4 percent in August, continuing a slow upward trend that began in early 2023. While the number of active unemployment benefits rose slightly, the broader...
More and more people are not working, while the group of workers is not growing
The number of non-working people in the Netherlands is rising due to an aging population and stagnant workforce growth, placing increased financial pressure on the welfare state. While the labor marke...
US House of Representatives also approves Russian sanctions, ball in Trump's court
The US House of Representatives has approved a new sanctions package against Russia that also threatens tariffs on countries purchasing Russian energy. The bill, which passed with bipartisan support, ...
Path to budget support remains vague: 'Shopping with us? Forget it!'
Opposition parties in the Netherlands are demanding that the governing coalition clarify its legislative strategy following Prinsjesdag. While the coalition suggests seeking majorities on a per-budget...
Italian government partially cuts road tax due to high fuel prices
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has introduced a road tax exemption for 14.5 million small and medium-sized vehicles to combat rising fuel prices. Critics argue the measure is a political effort...
Women's emancipation is declining, the Netherlands is lagging behind European countries
The Netherlands has slipped in global gender equality rankings due to slow progress in closing the gender gap compared to other European nations. Key factors contributing to this decline include the u...
US central bank raises interest rates to combat high inflation, first hike in over 3 years
The United States Federal Reserve has increased interest rates by a quarter percentage point to combat high inflation, marking the first such hike since July 2023. The decision sets the primary intere...