Category: Netherlands

The Dutch Government Faces a No-Confidence Vote


In what is possibly one of the under-appreciated political events of the year, the Netherlands holds a plebiscite today on an associational agreement with Ukraine already approved by the Dutch parliament, the European Parliament and all other 27 EU members. 

When stated so baldly, it is difficult to see what is at stake. Yet the consequences of a no vote, which seems likely, will send reverberations throughout Dutch politics, the EU, and the geopolitical balance in central Europe.   

Netherland’s Influence on European Natural Gas Prices


Natural gas prices in Europe continue to climb, as the continent’s largest producer, the Netherlands, announced a further reduction in their production cap for the first half of 2015. Sources from Groningen announced that the production from the gas field, the largest in Europe, would fall below a level announced at the end of last year.

This is the opposite of America, where supply is up and prices down because of innovation and creativity by the private sector via oil shale and fracking.

Dutch Government Heads For Breakdown As Austerity Talks Collapse


The Netherlands could be the latest eurozone member forced into an early election later this year, said the BBC on Saturday, after the nation’s political parties failed to agree on a fiscal austerity package that would have brought their budget deficit in line with the EU target of under 3 percent of its GDP.

Netherlands Economic Forecast


The economy of the Netherlands is open and highly dependent on imports and exports. Although this country is noted for many things, its stable international industrial relations, along with strong national current account balance surplus, hub for European transportation, as well as moderate inflation and unemployment rates puts this economy in a good position. Some of the things the Netherlands economy depends on include food stuffs processing, chemicals, oil/gas refining, and electrical machinery.