Wednesday 11 November

The Netherlands' governing coalition is teetering on the brink of collapse as CDA and D66 forge legislative ties with left-wing opposition parties. Prime Minister Rob Jetten has been forced to scrap his trip to an European Union summit, as the VVD threatens a mutiny over being sidelined in key policy negotiations. Read more →

The Dutch Court of Audit has issued a stern rebuke to the Ministry of Finance for its lack of oversight regarding the national gold reserves, currently valued at over €72 billion. Auditors argue that current management protocols at De Nederlandsche Bank are dangerously opaque, leaving the state ill-prepared to leverage these assets during a national crisis. Read more →

The Dutch Data Protection Authority has leveled scathing criticism against the Belastingdienst for failing to protect citizen privacy. An audit revealed that the tax agency fell short of standards in 10 out of 12 examined areas, ranging from algorithm usage to basic data logging, signaling yet another major regulatory failure for the tax authority. Read more →

ABN AMRO has reported a significant 52% jump in quarterly profits, buoyed by the tailwinds of higher interest rates. As the bank accelerates its restructuring and continues its path toward government privatization, it remains a rare beneficiary of the current macroeconomic tightening in the Netherlands. Read more →

The European Union’s cybersecurity chief, Juhan Lepassaar, has warned of a growing threat to consumer safety from internet-connected appliances. Investigators have linked recent hacking operations against refrigeration systems in the Netherlands and across the bloc to sophisticated actors operating out of Iran. Read more →