Rutte is visiting China with the country’s Foreign Trade minister, Geoffrey van Leeuwen. The trip comes after a year in which the Netherlands decided, under pressure from the United States, to restrict some of the export of advanced chip printing machines by Dutch chips champion ASML to China. ASML estimates that the impact of the … Read more
“I can only become prime minister if ALL parties in the coalition support it. That was not the case,” Wilders said Wednesday on X, formerly Twitter. It would be the first time since 1982 that the leader of the winning party in a Dutch general election didn’t become prime minister. Wilders said his decision had … Read more
“Russia will remain the most significant and direct threat to the Alliance for the foreseeable future,” he wrote. Iohannis would be the first NATO chief from a country that was once in the Soviet bloc, but he faces an uphill struggle to edge out Rutte. The U.S., Britain, France and Germany — the four biggest … Read more
Prague is leading an initiative to purchase 500,000 155 mm and 300,000 122 mm caliber artillery shells for Kyiv. Overall, 18 countries have agreed to finance the purchases within the Czech-led initiative. While some governments — including from Norway, Belgium and the Netherlands — have announced actual financial commitments, others, such as France and Germany, haven’t provided exact figures. … Read more
Saying that they don’t mean to stand in the way of Rutte, a senior Eastern European diplomat said: “At least somebody has to ask, ‘OK, Mark, how are you going to deal with Russia?’” They also cite Rutte’s repeated failure to bring Dutch defense spending up to the target of 2 percent of GDP agreed … Read more
Omtzigt’s support was key to securing backing for a center-right majority government with four parties, including Wilders’ far-right Party for Freedom (PVV). Wilders’ party, led by the far-right firebrand who was previously considered politically toxic in the Netherlands given his hard-line views on immigration and Islam, landed a stunning victory in last November’s elections. Negotiator … Read more
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MILAN — A coalition of European states have jointly ordered up to 1,000 Patriot air defense missiles amid a renewed wave of Russian airstrikes against major Ukrainian cities. The NATO Support and Procurement Agency is supporting the purchase, which involves Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Romania. The agency awarded a $5.5 billion production and delivery … Read more
The Chinese government on Friday announced that French, German, Italian, Dutch, Spanish and Malaysian citizens will be able to travel visa-free to China for a year starting December 1. “China has decided to apply unilateral visa-free policy to more countries on a trial basis, which involves extending visa-free treatment to travelers holding ordinary passports from … Read more