Ministers, Shell admit failings over Groningen gas fields

DutchNews, February 24, 2023 

This cafe in Zeerijp has been shored up for years. Photo: Graham Dockery

Mines minister Hans Vijlbrief has described the findings of the parliamentary inquiry set up to look into problems caused by the exploitation of a massive gas field under Groningen as ‘extremely serious’. ‘

If you read the facts one after another, it takes your breath away,’ he told reporters after the report’s presentation. ‘I feel shame more than anything else, and that means we have to do something.’ 

The highly damning report said that the state and oil firms had a ‘debt of honour’ to the people of Groningen, whose interests were continually subordinated to that of earning money. 

More than 1,600 quakes of up to 3.6 on the Richter scale have hit the province since 1986, damaging tens of thousands of homes, but it took until 2018 for the government to start winding down gas production. 

Prime minister Mark Rutte said in a short statement that ‘what began at the end of the 1950s as something wonderful ended up in a nightmare for the people of Groningen. ‘Hopefully we can do something to win back their trust,’ he said. ‘The report does justice to the Groningers and the cabinet must do that too.’ 

The cabinet will issue a formal reaction at a later date. 

Oil companies 

Shell and ExxonMobil, who jointly own the gas exploration company NAM, have described the report as an ‘important milestone’ which needs to be studied closely. 

Both were criticised in the report alongside the government for failing to take the concerns of locals seriously and for putting profit above people. ‘

The people of Groningen carried a great deal of the disadvantages of the gas extraction but only a few of the benefits,’ Shell Nederland president Marjan van Loon said in a reaction. 

The companies involved in gas extraction, including Shell, did not listen to the people of Groningen properly when they expressed their concerns about the damage to their homes and the safety risks, she said. ‘As a company, we have important lessons to learn.’

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"Recalibration of Free Choice"– Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth, 4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical) 8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)

“… 4 - Energy (again)

The natural resources of the planet are finite and will not support the continuation of what you've been doing. We've been saying this for a decade. Watch for increased science and increased funding for alternate ways of creating electricity (finally). Watch for the very companies who have the most to lose being the ones who fund it. It is the beginning of a full realization that a change of thinking is at hand. You can take things from Gaia that are energy, instead of physical resources. We speak yet; again about geothermal, about tidal, about wind. Again, we plead with you not to over-engineer this. For one of the things that Human Beings do in a technological age is to over-engineer simple things. Look at nuclear - the most over-engineered and expensive steam engine in existence!

Your current ideas of capturing energy from tidal and wave motion don't have to be technical marvels. Think paddle wheel on a pier with waves, which will create energy in both directions [waves coming and going] tied to a generator that can power dozens of neighborhoods, not full cities. Think simple and decentralize the idea of utilities. The same goes for wind and geothermal. Think of utilities for groups of homes in a cluster. You won't have a grid failure if there is no grid. This is the way of the future, and you'll be more inclined to have it sooner than later if you do this, and it won't cost as much…

Water

We've told you that one of the greatest natural resources of the planet, which is going to shift and change and be mysterious to you, is fresh water. It's going to be the next gold, dear ones. So, we have also given you some hints and examples and again we plead: Even before the potentials of running out of it, learn how to desalinate water in real time without heat. It's there, it's doable, and some already have it in the lab. This will create inexpensive fresh water for the planet. 

There is a change of attitude that is starting to occur. Slowly you're starting to see it and the only thing getting in the way of it are those companies with the big money who currently have the old system. That's starting to change as well. For the big money always wants to invest in what it knows is coming next, but it wants to create what is coming next within the framework of what it has "on the shelf." What is on the shelf is oil, coal, dams, and non-renewable resource usage. It hasn't changed much in the last 100 years, has it? Now you will see a change of free choice. You're going to see decisions made in the boardrooms that would have curled the toes of those two generations ago. Now "the worst thing they could do" might become "the best thing they could do." That, dear ones, is a change of free choice concept. When the thinkers of tomorrow see options that were never options before, that is a shift. That was number four.”

“Afraid of Love” + “What’s Wrong Today”, Laguna Hills, California, US(2), Dec 9, 2018 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)

• Stagnation of the current US Politics: Compassioned (US) leaders will arise in the future
• Shortage of fresh/drinking water: Invention to make salt from salt water magnetic and remove it with water desalination process in high volumes
• Pollution on Earth: 1 - Stop killing the environment! / 2 - The rise of temperature on Earth is “temporary” and is part of the "regular" Watercycle.
• Replacement of current fossil energy source: Use of magnetics based (small/big) engines to produces electricity / free energy
• Plastic pollution in the oceans: Invention to remove the plastics gradually from the oceans

Shell ordered to slash CO2 emissions more quickly in landmark court case

DutchNews, May 26, 2021 

Photo: Sem van der Wal ANP

Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell must do more to fight climate change and slash its carbon dioxide emissions more quickly than planned, judges in The Hague said on Wednesday. 

‘Shell must do its part to contribute to the fight against dangerous climate change,’ the court said. ‘The oil company is required to reduce the carbon dioxide emitted by the Shell group and its customers by 45% net by the end of 2030, compared with the level in 2019.’

Milieudefensie, the Dutch branch of Friends of the Earth, led the case against the The Hague-headquartered multinational, which was supported by other environmental groups and some 17,000 ordinary citizens. 

The environmental group argued that Shell is violating Dutch liability law by emitting two times as much carbon dioxide as the Netherlands as a whole. Shell argued that these emissions do not come from its headquarters but its subsidiaries in some 80 countries around the world, and any complaint must be taken up with them directly. 

Milieudefensie director Donald Pols told reporters before hearings started in December 2020 that the lawsuit was ‘unique’. He claimed that if the environmentalists were successful, this would be the first court to order a private company to change its business model to reduce its carbon footprint. 

Shell had argued that it cannot be held liable in the Netherlands for events that take place worldwide. ‘The scene of the crime, in this case, is the location where the emissions take place,’ a Shell lawyer told the court. 

Urgenda 

Activists worldwide are watching the case closely. Following a 2019 Dutch Supreme Court ruling, known as the Urgenda decision, the Dutch government was ordered to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25% of 1990 levels by the end of 2020. 

That ruling found that the Dutch government was required to meet the conditions of international treaties, including the Paris climate agreement. 

In the present case, Shell argued that because it isn’t a party to such treaties, as they are between nations, it isn’t obliged to meet their targets. 

Shell is facing pressure to change its strategy on several fronts. Earlier this month, some 30% of Shell shareholders backed a motion by campaign group Follow This at the company’s AGM, calling on the oil and gas giant to draw up a more ambitious plan to help meet Paris agreement climate targets.

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Current coronavirus rules will last well into December, Dutch prime minister says

DutchNews, October 27, 2020 - By Robin Pascoe 

Mark Rutte and Hugo de Jonge outline the latest situation. Photo: Bart Maat ANP

The partial lockdown imposed in the Netherlands two weeks ago will last deep into December, prime minister Mark Rutte and health minister Hugo de Jonge told reporters on Tuesday evening. 

‘You can assume that you will celebrate Sinterklaas in a small group, with no more than three people from outside your household,’ Rutte said. ‘It is still too early to say about Christmas.’ 

Ministers are also working on new recommendations for holiday travel, both in the Netherlands and abroad, and that could be published as early as later this week, Rutte said. 

‘We are now at the crossroads,’ Rutte said. ‘It is too early to say if the measures of October 13 are having an impact and too early to take more measures. If we look at the figures, the week on week growth is slowing, but the number of new infections is still too big and must go down.’ 

In total, 67,543 positive coronavirus tests were registered with public health institute RIVM in the week up to Tuesday 10am, a rise of 22% on the previous week but well down on the figure two weeks ago. 

However, the coming days will be crucial, Rutte said. ‘You can assume we will hold another press conference next Tuesday and that all the options are being looked at.’ Should the number of positive tests not go down in the coming days, Rutte said he would not hesitate to act earlier. 

Loneliness 

However, people should be aware that far reaching measures will have a major impact on the economy, increase loneliness, and impact more heavily on students and on teachers, the prime minister said. 

The R factor, which indicates how the virus is spreading is still above 1, and must be brought down below that in the coming days, De Jonge said. ‘The speed at which it declines is also important when we are deciding about other measures,’ he said. 

Asked why more measures are not being introduced now to reduce the pressure on hospitals, De Jonge said the people being hospitalised now were infected last week. The hospital admission peak will be later than the peak in new infections, he said. 

Some 2,358 people are currently being treated in hospital for coronavirus, of whom 529 are in intensive care. More coronavirus patients continue to be admitted than are discharged, the patient coordination centre LCPS said earlier on Tuesday.

Ministers, unions and employers finally agree on new pension system

DutchNews, June 13, 2020 

Photo: DutchNews.nl 

Government officials, unions and employers have finally reached a definitive agreement about a new pension system which, according to social affairs minister Wouter Koolmees will be ‘more robust, more personal’ and will ‘better meet the needs of today’s labour market’. 

The new system will be implemented in 2026, if passed in parliament, but companies and funds can begin making the switch in 2022. 

The agreement means that most pension funds will not have to cut pensions next year after all, because of the change-over period and because of the ‘very special circumstances’ due to the coronavirus crisis, Koolmees said. 

The main strands in the new agreement were decided last year and the government has not yet published the results of the latest round of talks. 

However, in a nutshell, in the new system, the size of pensions will not be based on coverage ratios and official interest rates, but will depend on stock exchange developments. 

‘If the economy is going well, pensions will go up more quickly. If things go badly, then we will make cuts,’ Koolmees said. 

Reforms 

The decision to reform the Dutch system, currently viewed as one of the best in the world, was first taken some 10 years ago. At the time the decision was made because the aging population is putting more pressure on the current pension system and pension funds are having to pay out to more people for longer. 

The rise in self-employment is also having an impact, with fewer people paying into company and sector-wide schemes. 

The Dutch pension system is currently based on three pillars – the state pension AOW, compulsory corporate pension schemes – either sector-wide or company based – and individual or private pension schemes. 

Main points 

In the new system, the state pension age will rise less quickly than originally planned, and there will be an early retirement option, aimed at people doing hard physical work. 

Secondly, the reforms aim to spread the burden of paying for pensions more fairly across the generations. Corporate pensions will no longer be on based average (wage related) contributions but on everyone paying the same. 

The under 40s will profit most from the decision to scrap average contributions and weaken the link between life expectancy and the state pension age – because they will have the most time to build up a full pension and their retirement date will be slightly earlier. 

Compensation 

The over-40s who may be disadvantaged by this because less money goes into their existing funds, will get ‘adequate compensation’, the negotiators have agreed. Details have not yet been made public. 

However, according to the Financieele Dagblad, this means that two pension schemes will effectively operate alongside each other and costs will therefore go up. 

The unions will now discuss the agreements with their members and Koolmees hopes the new strategy can be put to parliament before the summer break, the FD said. 

‘It is a lot of information to go through with lots of technical calculations,’ the minister said.

Dutch to introduce new tax to cut evasion via dividend payments

DutchNews, May 29, 2020

Photo: Depositphotos.com

The finance ministry has decided to impose a withholding tax on multinationals which are sending more dividends than thought to tax havens, junior tax minster Hans Vijlbrief said on Friday. 

The tax will be introduced in 2024 and follows new research by the Dutch central bank which indicates €37bn in interest, royalties and dividends flowed out of the Netherlands to tax havens in 2018. Earlier estimates put the figure at €22bn.

‘This extra tax at source is yet another step towards tackling tax evasion,’ Vijlbrief said. ‘Money flows which move via or from the Netherlands to another country where they are not taxed soon will be.’ 

The Netherlands was already planning to bring in a withholding tax on royalties and interest next year. If MPs vote in favour, a 21.7% tax on dividends will be introduced three years after that. 

The taxes would affect money flows to the 24 countries on the EU blacklist, including Panama and the Seychelles, as well as countries in which taxes on corporate profits are below 9%. 

Some 10,000 shell, or letter-box, companies are based in the Netherlands and are primarily used to shift corporate earnings and obscure ownership.

Dutch government must show more solidarity with hard-hit EU countries: SER

DutchNews, May 22, 2020 

Photo: Depositphotos.com

The Netherlands must show solidarity with the EU member countries which have been hardest hit by the coronavirus crisis in its own interest and make haste with investment, government policy advisory group SER has said in a report out on Thursday. 

Instead of a strict system of loans subject to conditions and reforms, the government should show more leniency and aim for ‘a responsible form of risk sharing’, SER’s Coronacrisis think-tank said. 

The think-tank, which includes unions, employers, advisory bodies CPB and SCP and Dutch bank DNB and was set up in March, ‘deviates from the government line’, chairwoman Mariëtte Hamer told the FD. 

It is in the Dutch interest to makes sure the southern European countries in particular do not drown in debt and find their way out of the crisis as soon as possible, Hamer said. 

‘Our call to the government is to cooperate with other member states.(..) If there is a criticism it is this. Include the other countries in the journey out of this crisis or you will suffer yourself. Europe is an economic family, so work together where you can.’ 

The think-tank’s advice echoes the stance of the leader of coalition partner D66 Rob Jetten earlier this week. Jetten criticised what he considers the implacable Dutch attitude to other EU members and made a plea to break open the government accord to allow for further integration. 

An accord must be reached quickly on a European budget for 2021 to 2027, Hamer said, which could possibly include the adoption of the recent German-French proposal to make an extra €500bn in bail out funds available. 

Alternative 

The Netherlands, Austria, Denmark and Finland opposed the plan because of a lack of guarantees of reform in the countries concerned. An alternative plan is being worked on by the four which will be presented by the European Commission next week, the FD said. 

The think tanks supports economic minister Wopke Hoekstra’s move towards ‘anti-cyclical’ investment. The Netherlands must invest itself out of the crisis, Hamer said, and planned investments must be brought forward so the financial sector and the housing market remain unaffected. 

The government must make haste to establish a fund worth billions to spend on innovation, infrastructure and education. ‘The Netherlands must be steadfast in carrying out its agenda for growth,’ Hamer said.

Museum of Bags and Purses is first museum to close for good

DutchNews, April 30, 2020 

Photo: Bert Knottenbeld via Wikimedia Commons

Amsterdam’s museum of Bags and Purses is closing its doors for good, citing financial problems caused by the coronavirus crisis. 

‘All options to keep the museum open haven been investigated by the supervisory board but not enough sponsoring and subsidies can be found to keep the museum open in the long term,’ the museum said in a statement on Wednesday. 

The Tassenmuseum opened its doors in 2007 in the plush surroundings of the 17th century former mayoral residence at Herengracht 573 and housed some 4,500 bags both old and modern. The collection started with a tortoise shell bag found in England by antiques dealer Hendrikje Ivo. 

Over half a million people have visited the museum over the last 13 years and many  Dutch and international designers were given a chance to show their work there. 

The museum, which is an independent foundation, said efforts will be made to keep the collection intact but no plans have been put forward as yet to find another home for it. In total, 32 people, including a number of freelancers, will be out of a job because of the closure. 

‘I am very sad to have to close the doors of this very special house, this beautiful museum. I and my team were exploring the importance of bags for identity, fashion, workmanship and society but reality caught up with us,’ director Manon Schaap said. 

The Tassenmuseum is the first museum to announce its closure because of the coronavirus crisis. The Dutch museum association recently said that the consequences of the crisis are pushing small and medium-sized museums in particular into the danger zone and warned that as many as 100 out of 400 museums might close for good before the end of the year. 

Most museums will be closed until at least June 1.

Study investigates if mother’s milk could protect against the coronavirus

DutchNews, April 24, 2020 - By Senay Boztas

Photo: Depositphotos

Researchers at the UMC teaching hospital in Amsterdam are studying whether antibodies in mother’s milk could have a preventative effect against the coronavirus. 

Britt van Keulen, a doctor at its mother’s milk bank is recruiting 30 breastfeeding mothers who have had the coronavirus and who are willing to donate some of their milk for testing. 

‘We know that mother’s milk protects newborns against respiratory infections, because it contains antibodies,’ she said in a press release. ‘By breastfeeding, the mother passes on her own antibodies to her child.’ 

She expects that coronavirus antibodies would also find their way into breastmilk, based on reports of a pregnant woman during the SARS epidemic in 2003. ‘This woman was seriously ill with the SARS virus and gave birth to a healthy baby at 38 weeks,’ she said. ‘Her breastmilk contained antibodies against the SARS virus. The coronavirus is very similar to the SARS virus – it is in the same family – so I think that corona antibodies will also be passed along into mother’s milk.’ 

However, even if enough antibodies are found in the breastmilk of mothers who have developed immunity to the coronavirus, the team will then have to test whether these survive a necessary pasteurisation process. This is a standard process for donor milk which is given to premature babies, for instance. 

She said that if this is the case, the milk could be given as a preventative medicine for vulnerable groups such as newborn babies or even older people. ‘It might be a strange image having old people drink mother’s milk as protection,’ she added. ‘But it is still logical, because antibodies in the milk would protect them against the coronavirus.’ 

She told the Parool that if a newborn baby is given a glass of milk a day, older people might need more to represent their greater body weight. 

‘Why would we joke about this?’ she reportedly added. ‘Milk in the supermarket comes from someone else, namely a cow who walks with muddy udders through a meadow. We have simply accepted this image, so why would milk from a clean mother’s breast be such a crazy notion?’ 

Around 3,500 Dutch women between 25 and 40 are confirmed to have had the coronavirus, reports the Parool, although it is not known how many are breastfeeding. 

DutchNews.nl has contacted the UMC for a comment.

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Dutch cabinet faces demands for tougher conditions on corporate bail-outs

DutchNews, April 22, 2020

Photo: DutchNews.nl 

The Dutch cabinet is prepared to extend its coronavirus bail-out for industry but is facing mounting pressure to bring in tougher conditions, the Financieele Dagblad said on Wednesday. 

In particular, MPs want the cabinet to make sure companies which get taxpayer help do not pay any bonuses or dividends while they are being supported, the paper said. And left-wing opposition MPs have also said that companies based in tax havens should automatically be excluded from state support. 

Now, the coalition Liberal democrats D66 have said they too support a bonus and dividend ban for 2020 and 2021, the FD said. The FNV trade union federation has also come out in favour of such a move. 

‘It would be insane if big companies which hold out their hand for help give money to their shareholders,’ chairman Han Busker said. 

Extension 

The cabinet has allocated some €19bn to help companies and the self-employed cope with the impact of coronavirus up to July 1, but finance minister Wopke Hoekstra has already said the package can be extended if necessary. He too has hinted at tougher conditions. 

Meanwhile, research by website De Ondernemer suggests that one third of firms face difficulty in financing this year’s holiday pay, traditionally included in salaries at the end of May. 

Ministers are expected to finalise a second round of help for companies by early next month.

Reform taxes on multinationals and earn €600m, advisory group tells ministers

DutchNews, April 16, 2020 

Photo: Joep Poulssen

Multinationals in the Netherlands would pay a combined €600m more in taxes if ministers introduce seven simple measures, according to a report drawn up on behalf of tax minister Hans Vijlbrief. 

Tax payments can be improved along two routes – one involving changes to the system, and one to combat tax evasion, according to Berard ter Haar, who chaired the advisory committee. 

One example of adapting the system would be to introduce an acceptable lower limit for the amount of tax profitable companies should pay, he said.

‘At the moment, companies which make a profit in the Netherlands can end up paying no tax because they combine it with losses or deductions booked elsewhere,’ he said. ‘The commission wants to make an end to this.’ 

International approach 

The committee also recommends countries work more closely together to develop a global system ‘without the undesirable strategies used by multinationals’. 

Countries currently compete with each other when it comes to low taxes, but working together would make this fairer for all countries, the committee said. 

The advisory committee was set up to look into developing a fairer tax system after a majority of MPs voted for change last year. 

Tax breaks 

Late last year sources in The Hague told broadcaster NOS that an end will be made to the way multinationals can offset their losses outside the Netherlands from their Dutch tax bills. 

Earlier in 2019 both Shell and Philips admitted they do not pay tax on their Dutch operations because of the tax break. 

The Dutch tax system allows companies like Shell and Philips with an international headquarters here the option of deducting costs against the international HQ, such as losses booked elsewhere. As a consequence, the Dutch companies are, on balance, loss making and do not have to pay any corporation tax.

Freelancers to get three month government support package

DutchNews, March 28, 2020 - Senay Boztas

Feeling the snip? Photo: Depositphotos.com 

Freelancers whose income has been hit by the coronavirus will be eligible for a three-month subsidy, the Dutch government has announced. 

If their monthly income falls to below the ‘social minimum’, they can apply to their local council for a subsidy of up to €1,050 per month for single people or €1,500 for families. 

The rule will run until June 1, and has been added to a package of measures to support businesses during the country’s ‘intelligent lockdown. 

No checks 

The new deal is effectively a speeded-up version of an existing income support subsidy, the ‘Tozo’, but only requires a declaration from the freelancers that their income has been hit. Assets and partner income will not be taken into account. 

People who apply will get the subsidy within four weeks and if it turns out that their income was actually higher, there will be checks later in the year, officials said. 

The ruling applies to people who are working at least 24 hours a week and who have a business that was registered with the chamber of commerce before 17th March 2020. 

‘The government urges freelancers to use this ruling only if it really is necessary,’ the official statement said. ‘This way we will avoid abuse of public money and unnecessary pressure in rolling it out.’ The statement warned that local councils are legally obliged to combat benefits fraud and impose fines in the case of abuse. 

‘The government has announced strong measures that have a huge impact on companies to combat coronavirus,’ said junior employment minister Tamara van Ark. 

‘They mean that many entrepreneurs and freelancers are seeing the consequences, and their work may even come to a complete standstill. With this scheme, we want to provide income and capital to support independent entrepreneurs and so that we can get through this tough period together.’ 

Loans

Freelancers will also be able to apply for special three-year business loans of up to €10,517, with a 2% interest rate, while those firms that – like hairdressers – have been forced to close, are eligible for another €4,000 in support. 

Natascha Cloutier, an event planner, DJ and translator who has campaigned for support for freelancers told DutchNews.nl that this support was very welcome. 

‘Some people have seen their income disappear like snow in the sun, and they need clarity, quick answers and not for 1.4million freelancers to be treated the same,’ she said. ‘It’s normal for freelancers to have irregular income, and while some have long-term projects, others are paid per job, per piece or per hour. Everyone has a different situation.’ 

She added that she is being paid now for work that she did in January, so only in a few months will her income reflect the current drop in work for DJing and events. 

For some weeks, freelancers and organisations have been calling for special rules to support sole traders explicitly.

New baby? Unilever expands paid-for partner leave to six weeks

DutchNews, March 4, 2020 

Photo: Depositphotos.nl

Unilever is to give the partners of new mothers in the Netherlands six weeks fully paid leave from July this year, Dutch media reported on Wednesday. 

The agreement is part of the new pay and conditions deal for 1,500 local staff which has been struck between the unions and the food and cleaning products giant, the paper said. 

The deal includes a wage rise of 2.6% backdated to the start of this year, plus a further increase of 0.65% in July. Workers will also get a one-off bonus of €850. 

Unilever has a workforce of some 3,100 people in the Netherlands but the new deal will not apply to international staff in management roles who have a different agreement, the paper said. 

By law, partners have been entitled to five days paid leave since last year, when the entitlement was put up from two. From July this year, partners will also be able to apply for a further five weeks leave, paid at 70% of salary. 

The Unilever deal means the company is effectively topping this up to 100%, RTLZ said. 

Gender balance 

The deal comes as Unilever announced it has ‘achieved gender balance’ across its management levels, a year ahead of the target it set itself. 

Unilever’s workforce is closing the gender gap with 50% women at management level globally, up from 38% in 2010; and a non-executive board of 45% women, the company said in a press release. 

The company says the progress has been particularly notable in departments where women have historically been under-represented such as finance, operations and supply chain management.

Unions, employers agree on freelancer disability insurance deal: FD

DutchNews, February 26, 2020

Unions and employers have reached a preliminary agreement on a compulsory disability insurance scheme for freelancers, the Financieele Dagblad said on Wednesday. 

The scheme would cost freelancers up to €200 a month, depending on their income, and insure them for a maximum €1,650 per month, with a waiting period of up to two years, the paper said. It bases the report on documents and sources close to the talks. 

Unions and employers will now put the draft agreement to members in the hope that it can be formally presented to social affairs minister Wouter Koolmees next week. 

The introduction of a compulsory disability insurance package for freelancers and the self-employed stems from the 2019 agreement on reforming pensions and was urged by unions and left-wing opposition parties GroenLinks and the PvdA. 

Currently few freelancers take out formal disability insurance and, say unions, this allows them to undercut salaried staff by charging lower fees. 

Koolmees has said earlier he wants to send plans to bring in the freelancer insurance scheme to the lower house of parliament before the summer. It would then be introduced in around 2024, the FD said. 

The paper says the new insurance will be compulsory for everyone who is self employed, including professionals and one-man company directors. Those who have an alternative insurance package will be able to apply for an exemption. 

The government is also reducing the size of the freelancer tax allowance in an effort to make self-employment less attractive.

More foreign firms move to the Netherlands to beat Brexit

DutchNews, February 19, 2020 

The European Medicines Agency has brought hundreds of new jobs.
Photo: Odi Busman

A record 397 foreign companies set up shop in the Netherlands last year, of which 78 made the move because of Brexit, according to new figures from the Dutch foreign investment agency NFIA. 

In total, 140 companies have now started some form of operation in the Netherlands  because of Brexit, and they are expected to create some 4,000 jobs between them, the NFIA said. 

Not all the firms are moving from Britain and some have opted to set up new European operations in the Netherlands rather than the UK because of the uncertainty caused by Brexit. 

The agency says it is currently in talks with 425 companies which are considering either moving to the Netherlands or expanding their current operations because of Brexit. 

‘Much will depend on the specifics of an economic partnership between the UK and the EU,’ said agency chief Jeroen Nijland. ‘The impact of this will vary from sector to sector and the pressure to reach agreements will be high this year. We see that a lot of companies and investments are waiting for the impact of these new agreements before making a decision.’ 

Together the new arrivals are expected to create 14,000 direct jobs and invest €4.3bn in their Dutch operations over the next three years, the NFIA said. 

‘Foreign companies make an important contribution to our economy and account for 30% of the total private spending on research and development,’ economic affairs minister Erik Wiebes said. ‘This contributes to solving challenges that we face as a country and to our future earning potential.’ 

Most new arrivals came from North America and Asia (94 and 93), followed by Europe with 55.

Court backs Yukos shareholders against Kremlin in $50 bn case

Yahoo – AFP, Jan HENNOP with Andrea PALASCIANO in Moscow, February 18, 2020

The long-awaited ruling comes almost 14 years after the once powerful
company filed for bankruptcy (AFP Photo/DENIS SINYAKOV)

The Hague (AFP) - A Dutch court Tuesday upheld an appeal by shareholders of the dismantled oil giant Yukos in a landmark ruling, boosting their fight in a $50 billion case for compensation.

The ruling overturns a lower Dutch court's ruling in favour of Russia, which had contested an original decision by the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration that awarded shareholders billions of dollars after Yukos was dismantled in the mid-2000s.

"The Appeals Court in The Hague decided today that a previous ruling in favour of the Russian Federation was incorrect," the court said in a statement, adding an original $50 billion award by the PCA -- an international arbitral tribunal -- "is in force again".

Russia swiftly said it would appeal.

The long-awaited ruling comes almost 14 years after the once powerful company filed for bankruptcy and follows a controversial 2014 ruling that ordered Russia to pay out billions of dollars in compensation to its former shareholders.

The PCA that year ruled that Russia had forced Yukos into bankruptcy with excessive tax claims and then sold off its assets to state-owned companies.

It based its ruling on the provisions of a multilateral 1994 accord, the Energy Charter Treaty, which aimed to promote energy security and which says a dispute between a member state and a foreign investor could be solved through arbitration.

It then ordered Moscow to pay more than $50 billion to the former shareholders -- a record award for the arbitration tribunal.

'Brutal kleptocracy'

In a shock turnaround a local Dutch court in 2016 annulled the PCA's decision, saying the legal body was "not competent" to rule in the case, based on the treaty.

But appeals judges Tuesday disagreed with the lower court's findings, saying "Russia was under an obligation to enforce the treaty unless it was in breach of Russia law."

"This court finds that there was no breach of Russian law."

Yukos' main shareholder GML hailed the ruling.

"A brutal kleptocracy has been held to account," chief executive Tim Osborne said in a statement.

Tuesday's decision however may not be the end of the saga: the parties may still fight the decision at the Dutch Supreme Court, officials said.

Khodorkovsky, left, and his business partner Platon Lebedev, right, both spent 

a decade in jail for corruption. Putin unexpectedly pardoned Khodorkovsky in 

2013 (AFP Photo/Alexey SAZONOV)

Moscow "will continue to defend its legitimate interests and, in an appeal, contest the verdict", Russia's justice ministry said in a statement.

Yukos, once Russia's biggest post-Soviet oil company, was broken up after its former owner, Kremlin critic and ex-tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, was arrested in 2003.

Khodorkovsky says the case against him was always political.

"The expropriation of Yukos was not about taxes, but about the fight against political opponents," Khodorkovsky, who lives in exile in London, said on Twitter.

His arrest came after Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the nation's growing class of oligarchs against meddling in politics.

Yukos was sold off in opaque auctions to state companies led by Rosneft between 2004 and 2006. State-owned Rosneft was then small, but has since grown into one of the world's biggest listed oil companies by production volume.

The claimants have been seeking compensation for what they say are their losses caused by the break-up of Yukos.

'Expropriation of the century'

The question "relates to the circumstances of the Yukos takeover by the Russian oligarchs during its privatisation in 1995 and 1996," Russian government lawyer Andrea Pinna told AFP ahead of the ruling.

As the Soviet Union crumbled, unscrupulous businessmen amassed immense fortunes and influential empires by scooping up former Soviet assets -- particularly in raw materials -- at bargain-basement prices.

"Russia considers that the acquisition of Yukos was only possible through corruption and other illegal acts," Pinna said.

Emmanuel Gaillard, representing former shareholders, told AFP that "Russia is making considerable diplomatic efforts to try and discredit the players in this case" which he called "the greatest expropriation of the 21st century".

Khodorkovsky, who is no longer a stakeholder, spent a decade in prison on charges of tax evasion, fraud and embezzlement. He was suddenly pardoned by Putin in 2013 and flown out of the country.