Tag Archives: politics
Euro 2020: How Brussels lost their spot to host the games Posted by Sten on Jun 22, 2021
With Euro 2020 being hosted all over Europe, many countries tried to find ways to get some games hosted in their country – including Belgium. The Eurostadion (Eurostadium) was supposed to be Belgium’s point of pride in the European Cup. But yeah, it was supposed to be… What happened, and how did it go from…
Why German Chancellor Merkel Spoke to the Dutch on May 5th Posted by Sten on May 6, 2021
May 5th is an important day in the Netherlands. It’s Bevrijdingsdag (Liberation Day). This day marks the end of the Nazi occupation and the regained freedom of the Dutch people. Normally, this is celebrated with festivals throughout the country. However, like last year, there weren’t any festivals of course. The coronavirus is still ruining that. And…
How 4 Words Caused a Political Crisis in the Netherlands Posted by Sten on Apr 5, 2021
The past two weeks, the Netherlands was in de ban van (under the spell) of the ominous words “Positie Omtzigt, functie elders” (position Omtzigt, job elsewhere). Who is Omtzigt, where do these words come from and what does this all mean? Here’s how these four words caused a political crisis in the Netherlands. Who are the verkenners? Before we…
The Dutch Nitrogen Crisis: Explained Posted by Sten on Nov 18, 2019
It was only in 2012 when the Dutch overheid (government) passed a wet (law) to allow 130 km/h (80 mph) on snelwegen (highways), up from 120 km/h (75 mph). And now, in a matter of days, a besluit (decision) was made to limit it to 100 km/h (62 mph) again, starting on January 1. A nieuwjaarsresolutie (New Year’s resolution), so to…
Big Surprises In The Dutch Provinciale Statenverkiezingen Posted by Sten on Mar 25, 2019
Last Wednesday, thousands of stemgerechtigden (voters) flocked to the hundreds of stemlokalen (polling stations) all over the country to cast their stem (vote). Or, perhaps, the plural stemmen is more apt, as the Dutch actually had two verkiezingen (elections)! One vote for the waterschapsverkiezingen (water board elections) and the other for the Provinciale Statenverkiezingen (Provincial States elections). Today, the official results will…
What does Brexit mean for the Netherlands? Posted by Karoly Molina on Mar 6, 2019
March is here and there is only one thing in the EU’s mind: Brexit! March 29th is the official day for the UK to leave the EU and everything in the news indicates that it will be a hard Brexit. The EU and the UK recently came up with an exit deal, but the British…
Words of Shock and Surprise in Dutch! Posted by Karoly Molina on Feb 27, 2019
English speakers tend to express shock and surprise with phrases such as Oh my God! or WOW! And while it is perfectly okay to use these in Dutch (because the trend with native Dutch speakers is to add some English words here and there), there are perfectly good words and phrases in Dutch you can…