Economy News in English

Increasing share of Amsterdam region residents' income spent on housing costs

Netherlands once again doing too little to improve nature

A new report released on Thursday indicates that the Dutch government is failing to take sufficient action to improve nature quality in the Netherlands. Although some progress has been made, it remain...

Trump says he will release oil from US strategic reserve

US President Donald Trump has announced plans to release oil from the United States' strategic reserve. He expects that this action will help lower fuel prices for consumers.

Volkswagen misses out on billions, and that is good news for car buyers: Prices are going down

Volkswagen Group reported a 44 percent drop in profits to 6.9 billion euros, marking its worst performance since the emissions scandal. Despite the financial decline, the company remains stable, and c...

Anti-money laundering checks cost banks 1.6 billion in 2024, but results are unclear

An investigation by the Netherlands Court of Audit reveals that anti-money laundering checks cost banks 1.6 billion euros in 2024, though their effectiveness remains unclear. The report highlights tha...

Box 3 overhaul raises eyebrows in Parliament

The Dutch House of Representatives is expressing frustration and skepticism following Finance Minister Eelco Heinen's announcement that the recently approved wealth tax (box 3) legislation must be adj...

Scammers target 6,000 Bastion Hotels guests with stolen information

Scammers targeted approximately 6,000 guests of the Bastion Hotels chain with phishing messages after obtaining their personal information. The data breach was triggered when an employee clicked on a ...

Saving energy is simple, says tipster Saskia. Defrosting in the fridge is cheaper

Saskia Buurman from Soest has provided simple energy-saving tips to the Ombudsteam to help people manage rising energy costs. Her suggestions include effortless methods such as defrosting food inside ...

Middle-income earners squeezed in Amsterdam rental market

Middle-income earners in Amsterdam are increasingly struggling in the rental market due to rising prices and a declining supply of private rental properties. A biennial housing report by the city indi...

More social housing in Amsterdam, affordable housing remains scarce

Amsterdam added approximately 12,000 new homes over the past two years to increase its housing supply. Despite this growth, affordable housing remains scarce and difficult for many residents to find i...

The Netherlands to release part of its emergency fuel and oil reserves

The Netherlands is set to release a portion of its strategic oil and fuel reserves in response to rising prices caused by the conflict in the Middle East. This action is part of a coordinated effort b...

Netherlands releases part of oil reserves to dampen prices: 5.4 million barrels

The Netherlands and more than thirty other countries decided on Wednesday to release part of their strategic oil reserves to help lower global oil prices. As part of this International Energy Agency i...

D66 shares opposition concerns over impact of WIA cuts

The Dutch political party D66 has joined opposition parties in expressing concern over proposed budget cuts to social security, which are expected to impact disabled and chronically ill citizens. Duri...

State Secretary considers higher salary for prison staff

State Secretary Claudia van Bruggen is investigating the possibility of a separate collective labor agreement for prison staff to allow for higher salaries. Currently, employees of the Custodial Insti...

Council of State overturns proposal to limit Schiphol flights

The Dutch Council of State has annulled a government proposal to reduce the number of flights at Schiphol Airport, ruling that the plan was insufficiently justified. The court stated it was not convin...

KLM cancels all flights to Dubai until March 28

KLM has cancelled all flights to Dubai until March 28th due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The airline will not fly to the destination for the time being as a result of the regional secur...

Middle East war costs European taxpayers an extra 3 billion euros

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that the first ten days of the war in the Middle East cost European taxpayers an additional €3 billion in fossil fuel imports. The conflict ...

Karremans: Utrecht Ring Road ruling bad news for housing construction

The Dutch Council of State has blocked the planned widening of the Utrecht ring road, prompting a disappointed response from Infrastructure Minister Vincent Karremans. Karremans warned that the decisi...

Iran now also sees banks and tech companies as targets in war

Iran has declared financial institutions and technology companies with ties to the United States and Israel as potential military targets. An Iranian military spokesperson stated that this move follow...

Grid operator Alliander invests billions, but power grid remains full

Grid operator Alliander is investing billions to expand the power grid, yet the number of companies waiting for connections continues to increase. Although the operator helped nearly two thousand cust...

Fish, fertilizer or mortgages: everything more expensive due to high oil prices

The war in the Middle East is driving up oil prices, resulting in higher costs for a wide range of products including fuel, bricks, and fertilizer. These economic impacts are expected to be widespread...

Netherlands must create emergency gas reserve to prevent new crisis

Gasunie has advised the Dutch government to establish a strategic emergency gas reserve to prevent future energy crises. The recommendation follows concerns about the vulnerability of the national gas...

Petrol price drops slightly again for the first time since the start of the war in Iran

Fuel prices at Dutch gas stations saw a slight decrease on Wednesday, halting a sharp rise caused by conflict in the Middle East. The average national recommended price for diesel dropped to 2.495 eur...

CNV asks government to cut fuel excise duty by 20 cents

The Dutch labor union CNV has called on the government to temporarily reduce fuel excise duty by 20 cents per liter due to rising oil prices. This request follows a sharp increase in fuel costs trigge...

Ikea's second-hand corner had a slight scent of greenwashing

How wooden homes boost construction speed and living pleasure: ‘It really does something to you’

BAM, the largest construction company in the Netherlands, is significantly increasing its focus on timber construction for new housing projects. This shift aims to improve environmental sustainability...

CBS: emissions rose in 2025, climate goals further out of reach

Greenhouse gas emissions in the Netherlands increased by 0.8 percent in 2025, reaching a total of 145.6 megatonnes. According to data from the CBS and RIVM, this rise makes achieving the national clim...

Dutch CO2 emissions rise as neighboring countries close power plants

Dutch greenhouse gas emissions increased in 2025, primarily due to a rise in electricity production for export. The surge in exports to neighboring countries like Belgium and Germany occurred as those...

Large differences in cancer drug prices, KWF calls for more transparency

KWF and the Netherlands Cancer Institute report that hospitals pay significantly different prices for the same cancer medications, with variations up to 2,800 euros per treatment. The organizations ar...

Wealthy executive behind Jupiler receives 85.8 million bonus: ‘This is unprecedented’

AB InBev CEO Michel Doukeris received an unprecedented compensation package last year, earning nearly 1,800 times more than the company's lowest-paid employee. The total amount includes a bonus of 85....