The third Tuesday of September is an important day in the Netherlands because it is the day the king will present the plans for the coming year. The speech is not written by the king, but the tradition is that he presents this plan. The following video explains what Prinsjesdag is.

This year Prinsjesdag was on September 15, and King Willem-Alexander presented the plans for this coming year. The topics of his speech were varied, but very relevant to the Netherlands and the EU.

• The king began by pointing out how much the Dutch economy has grown, as well as how much the unemployment rates have gone down. In general, the Dutch economy is on the rise.
• The king discussed the importance of health insurance for everyone in the country in case they are to get sick.
• The king also talked about an increase in money used for child care. Parents will give a small percentage less than previous years for the care of the children.
• A very important topic the king talked about is the refugee crisis in Europe. He talked about the effects conflicts can have on the Netherlands, wether these are direct on indirect, and the importance of the country to search for options for the people as well as for the countries in conflict.
• It is no surprise that the king also discussed the Greek crisis and the importance of a strong and unified Europe.
• The king also presented an increase in budget for the Dutch military.

You can watch the video with the full speech given by the king in the following link. For those of you who have recently started learning Dutch, the king’s Dutch is very understandable. He speaks at a very good pace so give it a try and see how much you can understand!

What do you think were the most important points of the speech?