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CNBC
4 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
Government collapse plunges Netherlands in turmoil ahead of key NATO summit
The collapse of the Dutch government sets a tricky political backdrop for the Netherlands as it prepares to host the NATO summit in just three weeks. Right-wing leader Geert Wilders' exit from government ended the already fragile Dutch coalition after a mere 11 months in power. On Tuesday, Wilders announced that his Party for Freedom (PVV) would leave the government because the three other parties in the coalition had failed to respond to his 10-point plan to implement stricter immigration policy. Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof resigned shortly after Wilders' announcement, setting the stage for snap elections. Like other major economies in the European Union, the Netherlands has grown increasingly fragmented as parties struggle to reach consensus over topics such as immigration and housing. Immigration in particular has now led to the collapse of two successive administrations, also bringing about the end of Mark Rutte's coalition government in 2023. "[Wilders] ultimatum highlighted the lack of genuine cooperation between the PVV and its coalition partners, a tension that has plagued the government since its formation," Jess Middleton, senior Europe analyst at Verisk Maplecroft told CNBC by email, adding that political instability is likely to persist. But the upcoming NATO summit and expectations for the Dutch government to boost defense spending played a larger role in prompting Wilders' exit, experts say. NATO wants its 32 members to commit to spending 5% of GDP on defense and security-related infrastructure by 2032 and is set to push for that target when it next meets on June 24-25. No NATO member has so far reached the 5% spending objective suggested by Trump or by the Netherlands' own Rutte, who is now NATO's secretary-general. In the short term, Rutte has proposed members of the alliance increase defense spending to 3.5% of GDP, a goal that the Dutch have estimated will cost them an additional 16 billion to 19 billion euros ($18.2 billion to $21.6 billion) a year. That would require "either raising taxes or cutting spending," Jan Patternote, member of the centrist Democrats 66 (D66) party, told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe" on Wednesday. "It was pretty obvious that Mr. Wilders wanted to do neither. So he wanted to have none of it, and that's why he probably got out of the coalition before those tough decisions would have to be made." The D66 politician added, "I think Mr. Wilders wants everyone to believe that it was over differences in immigration policies. But, actually, what I think happened here is that Wilders found the kitchen too hot, so he found a way to get out of that kitchen, because the Netherlands was now facing the prospect of having to massively ramp up defense spending." CNBC has reached out to the PVV for comment. As he exited the coalition, Wilders claimed he "had no choice," adding in Google-translated comments on X that he had promised supporters the "strictest asylum policy ever," but had been unable to deliver on the pledge. The firebrand leader said voters were on his side and that "millions" of Dutch people wanted the PVV's 10-point plan to halt asylum to go ahead. "Almost all points of the PVV asylum plan are supported by a large majority of voters of all coalition parties. And almost three-quarters of PVV voters say that we should leave the cabinet if our plans are not largely adopted," he said in Google-translated comments. Voters' confidence in the PVV party has more than halved from 37% last year to 13% now, according to a poll from EenVandaag that polled over 16,000 people. The data shows that just 1 in 10 voters look back positively on cabinet's performance. Wilders wanted the coalition to fall part, as support for his PVV party was dropping in the polls, according to Armida van Rij, head of the Europe program at Chatham House. "The Netherlands is hosting the NATO Summit in exactly 3 weeks. Wilders knew this and tried to use this as leverage to force his coalition partners back to negotiating table, knowing that having a caretaker government would not be a good look nor useful to advance key policy positions," Van Rij said in emailed comments. She added that, while current polls show only the center-right VVD party is expected to gain from new elections, the PVV is likely to remain the largest party in the government. According to D66's Patternote, a new coalition with the PVV is "highly unlikely" even if Wilders wins the vote because so many center-left and center parties — including his own — have said they will not work with the right-wing leader. After tendering his resignation, Schoof said he and the remaining three coalition parties will continue in a caretaker role, meaning the smaller cabinet will likely only be able to make decisions on policy that is deemed critical. This essentially puts Dutch politics at a standstill at a time of rising geopolitical and trade tensions. Paternotte conceded that a new government will have a lot of work on its plate as the ongoing infighting has led to "massive cuts in education which the business community is very concerned about." "Personally, I think it's actually good news that a government has been brought down yesterday, because this opens up new opportunities to get some, well, very important topics being discussed in with other parties... And that's what's really needed to make sure that the country gets to a position in the European Union which is stronger than we have today," Paternotte said.
Business Mayor
20-05-2025
- Business
- Business Mayor
Trump to press Putin to end 'bloodbath' in Ukraine
Global Economy May 20, 2025 Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump. Mikhail Metzel | Evelyn Hockstein | Via Reuters U.S. President Donald Trump will speak separately with Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday in hopes of ending the 'bloodbath' in Ukraine, amid concerns over Washington's ongoing push to broker peace-making. 'HOPEFULLY IT WILL BE A PRODUCTIVE DAY, A CEASEFIRE WILL TAKE PLACE, AND THIS VERY VIOLENT WAR, A WAR THAT SHOULD HAVE NEVER HAPPENED, WILL END,' Trump wrote on his Truth social media platform Saturday in his customary all-capitalized comments. The subject of the call will be trade and stopping the 'bloodbath' of Russian and Ukrainian deaths, he said. His call with Putin will take place at 5 p.m. Moscow time (10:00 a.m. E.T.) and will take into account the outcome of negotiations carried out last week in Istanbul, Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Monday, according to Google-translated comments carried by Russian state news agency Tass. The U.S. mediation is set to happen after representatives from Russia and Ukraine held their first face-to-face talks since 2022 in Istanbul last week, as part of downgraded discussions that had originally been hoped to bring together Moscow and Kyiv's heads of state. Putin and Trump ultimately spurned the meeting, which culminated in an agreement to exchange prisoners of war, but failed to progress the peace process. Talks to end the three-year war in Ukraine have languished in recent months, despite a U.S. drive to materialize Trump's pledge to achieve peace urgently. Threats from Trump that Washington could withdraw from the diplomatic process in the absence of an imminent resolution have raised concerns that the White House might diminish its critical military and humanitarian support for Ukraine. Trump, whose revived dormant relations with the Kremlin after years of frigidity under his predecessor Joe Biden's administration, has recently turned tack on his reluctance to directly criticize Putin, increasingly levying the possibility of further sanctions on Moscow and backing a Ukraine and Europe-endorsed call for a 30-day ceasefire. The contours of a temporary truce or permanent peace proposal have remained elusive, amid maximalist Russian demands and Zelenskyy's unwillingness to entertain potential territorial concessions. 'The U.S. has presented a strong peace plan and we welcome the Prisoner of War exchange agreement reached in Istanbul. Let's not miss this huge opportunity. The time for ending this war is now,' U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on social media Saturday, following a call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. 'He explained to me that they are going to be preparing a document outlining their requirements for a ceasefire that will then lead to broader negotiations,' Rubio said in a later TV interview with CBS. 'Obviously, the Ukrainian side is going to be working on their own proposal. And hopefully that will be forthcoming soon.' Yet the signs of Washington's dwindling patience with the stalled process linger. 'We don't want to be involved in this process of just endless talks. There has to be some progress, some movement forward,' Rubio stressed. On Sunday, Zelenskyy also met with Rubio and U.S. Vice President JD Vance, decrying on social media the 'low level delegation of non-decision-makers' deployed by Russia to Istanbul last week, adding that he reaffirmed that 'Ukraine is ready to be engaged in real diplomacy and underscored the importance of a full and unconditional ceasefire as soon as possible.' Sidelined throughout much of the recent peace brokering, European officials have raced to engage with the White House, with British, U.S., Italian, French and German leaders discussing Trump's upcoming engagement with Putin during a call on Sunday. 'Looking ahead to President Trump's call with President Putin tomorrow, the leaders discussed the need for an unconditional ceasefire and for President Putin to take peace talks seriously,' a British government readout said. 'They also discussed the use of sanctions if Russia failed to engage seriously in a ceasefire and peace talks.' READ SOURCE
CNBC
19-05-2025
- Politics
- CNBC
Trump to press Putin to end 'bloodbath' in Ukraine
U.S. President Donald Trump will speak separately with Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday in hopes of ending the "bloodbath" in Ukraine, amid concerns over Washington's ongoing push to broker peace-making. "HOPEFULLY IT WILL BE A PRODUCTIVE DAY, A CEASEFIRE WILL TAKE PLACE, AND THIS VERY VIOLENT WAR, A WAR THAT SHOULD HAVE NEVER HAPPENED, WILL END," Trump wrote on his Truth social media platform Saturday in his customary all-capitalized comments. The subject of the call will be trade and stopping the "bloodbath" of Russian and Ukrainian deaths, he said. His call with Putin will take place at 5 p.m. Moscow time (10:00 a.m. E.T.) and will take into account the outcome of negotiations carried out last week in Istanbul, Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Monday, according to Google-translated comments carried by Russian state news agency Tass. The U.S. mediation is set to happen after representatives from Russia and Ukraine held their first face-to-face talks since 2022 in Istanbul last week, as part of downgraded discussions that had originally been hoped to bring together Moscow and Kyiv's heads of state. Putin and Trump ultimately spurned the meeting, which culminated in an agreement to exchange prisoners of war, but failed to progress the peace process. Talks to end the three-year war in Ukraine have languished in recent months, despite a U.S. drive to materialize Trump's pledge to achieve peace urgently. Threats from Trump that Washington could withdraw from the diplomatic process in the absence of an imminent resolution have raised concerns that the White House might diminish its critical military and humanitarian support for Ukraine. Trump, whose revived dormant relations with the Kremlin after years of frigidity under his predecessor Joe Biden's administration, has recently turned tack on his reluctance to directly criticize Putin, increasingly levying the possibility of further sanctions on Moscow and backing a Ukraine and Europe-endorsed call for a 30-day ceasefire. The contours of a temporary truce or permanent peace proposal have remained elusive, amid maximalist Russian demands and Zelenskyy's unwillingness to entertain potential territorial concessions. "The U.S. has presented a strong peace plan and we welcome the Prisoner of War exchange agreement reached in Istanbul. Let's not miss this huge opportunity. The time for ending this war is now," U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on social media Saturday, following a call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. "He explained to me that they are going to be preparing a document outlining their requirements for a ceasefire that will then lead to broader negotiations," Rubio said in a later TV interview with CBS. "Obviously, the Ukrainian side is going to be working on their own proposal. And hopefully that will be forthcoming soon." Yet the signs of Washington's dwindling patience with the stalled process linger. "We don't want to be involved in this process of just endless talks. There has to be some progress, some movement forward," Rubio stressed. On Sunday, Zelenskyy also met with Rubio and U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance, decrying on social media the "low level delegation of non-decision-makers" deployed by Russia to Istanbul last week, adding that he reaffirmed that "Ukraine is ready to be engaged in real diplomacy and underscored the importance of a full and unconditional ceasefire as soon as possible." Sidelined throughout much of the recent peace brokering, European officials have raced to engage with the White House, with British, U.S., Italian, French and German leaders discussing Trump's upcoming engagement with Putin during a call on Sunday. "Looking ahead to President Trump's call with President Putin tomorrow, the leaders discussed the need for an unconditional ceasefire and for President Putin to take peace talks seriously," a British government readout said. "They also discussed the use of sanctions if Russia failed to engage seriously in a ceasefire and peace talks."
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Yahoo
Santorini in state of emergency after thousands of earthquakes shake Greek island for days, sending majority of residents fleeing
A state of emergency was declared on Santorini last week after a magnitude 5.2 earthquake shook the Greek island late Wednesday. The tremor is the latest — and strongest — of several thousand earthquakes that have struck the island since last week, prompting more than 13,000 out of the island's 15,000 residents to evacuate and rescue teams to deploy. The island is under a state of emergency until March 3 to "address the emergency needs and manage the consequences," BBC News reported. No major damage was immediately reported on the island, which is one of Greece's most popular tourist destinations, with millions of foreign visitors every year. Since last week, the thousands of residents who have left traveled by plane and ferry as tremors continued to shake the region. While no formal emergency evacuation order has been issued, many residents have already evacuated. A coast guard vessel and military landing craft have arrived in the area in case an emergency evacuation is called, Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias said at an emergency meeting in Athens on Wednesday. Kikilias told Santorini residents to remain calm and follow any official instructions. 'All elements of seismic activity are being examined. The measures that have been taken so far are preventive,' Kikilias said after the meeting, according to a Google-translated X post. 'I very much ask, as always, our fellow citizens to listen to the measures of the experts and comply with them so that we can deal with the current situation.' Rémy Bossu, the secretary-general of the European-Mediterranean Seismological Center, which analyzes earthquakes in the region, explained to CNN the recent tremors — known as an "earthquake swarm" — are "very unusual," even for Santorini, which often experiences seismic activity. Normally, in situations like this in Santorini, 'What you observe is a large earthquake followed by aftershocks which decrease with time in magnitude and frequency," Bossu said. But in this case, "We see that the magnitude has been increasing with time and the rate has been increasing, so this is not typical behavior," he added. Greece's Earthquake Planning and Protection Organization has estimated that this activity may continue for many more days if not weeks, CNN noted. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis also visited the island Friday morning to check on the emergency preparation setup and urged the public to remain calm during this time. "We hope this phenomenon ends quickly and the island fully returns to its normal pace," Mitsotakis said. Thousands of earthquakes, ranging from magnitude 3 to magnitude 5.2, have hit Santorini. The U.S. Geological Survey defines a 5-magnitude earthquake as 'moderate,' which means it is strong enough to be felt by most people and could potentially cause some damage to already weak structures. While experts cannot predict future earthquakes, Efthymis Lekkas, the head of the Hellenic Earthquake Planning and Protection Organization, told a Greece broadcaster that a larger earthquake isn't ruled out. While authorities have closed schools and shut down access to certain areas, no major damage has been reported on the island so far. No scientists have ever accurately predicted an earthquake before it struck, and experts have not determined whether this activity suggests that a significantly large earthquake could hit Santorini or not. Santorini, which is one of Greece's most popular tourist destinations, sits on top of an active volcano, although it has not erupted since 1950. Scientists don't expect the earthquakes to trigger a volcano eruption. "In our country, we have not seen anything similar with so many earthquakes of this magnitude,' Vasilis Karastathis, the director of the Geodynamic Institute of Athens, told the BBC. 'On the contrary, we see an increase in frequency and magnitude.' In response to the uncertainty, thousands have left the island already. "For three days now, there have been earthquakes all the time, every five minutes. It is continuous, they don't stop at all, the entire island is traumatized," Tzanis Lignos, 35, told Reuters earlier this week. Lignos left the island with his wife and son. "No one could sleep last night, not my wife. There was a lot of noise. We went running outside, that is why we cannot stay here any longer." Rescue crews have been deployed to Santorini since Sunday. Authorities have banned public events and access to certain coastal and clifftop areas, and have asked schools to shut down for the week. According to officials, more than 11,000 people have left Santorini since Friday, BBC News reported, with around 7,000 leaving via ferry and 4,000 by plane. Ferries and airlines have added more ships and flights to their schedules this week to accommodate the increased demand. However, ferry services were temporarily shut down on Wednesday because of rough weather. Santorini, which sits on top of an active volcano, lies along what's known as the Hellenic Volcanic Arc — a chain of islands created by volcanoes that stretches from Greece to Turkey. Lekkas told reporters that the epicenter of the earthquakes in the Aegean Sea was moving northward away from Santorini. While these earthquakes 'may last several days or several weeks' there is no connection to the area's volcanoes, Lekkas added. While experts do not believe Santorini's current earthquake activity will cause a volcanic eruption, the Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Ministry noted on Jan. 30 that it was monitoring sensors that had picked up 'mild, seismic-volcanic activity' near Santorini. Similar volcanic activity had been recorded in the area in 2011 and did not cause any issues despite lasting for 14 months. The group added that, 'according to scientists, based on the currently available data there is no cause for particular concern.' While the Santorini volcano has not erupted since 1950, it was the site of one of the largest volcano eruptions in history in 1620 B.C., which destroyed part of the island, caused a tsunami and gave Santorini its current crescent-like shape. 'What we must realize is that the Santorini volcano produces very large explosions every 20,000 years,' Lekkas said on Greece's ERT television channel on Jan. 30. 'It's been 3,000 years since the last explosion, so we have a very long time ahead of us before we face a big explosion."
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Yahoo
Santorini in state of emergency after thousands of earthquakes shake Greek island for days, sending majority of residents fleeing
A state of emergency was declared on Santorini last week after a magnitude 5.2 earthquake shook the Greek island late Wednesday. The tremor is the latest — and strongest — of several thousand earthquakes that have struck the island since last week, prompting more than 13,000 out of the island's 15,000 residents to evacuate and rescue teams to deploy. The island is under a state of emergency until March 3 to "address the emergency needs and manage the consequences," BBC News reported. No major damage was immediately reported on the island, which is one of Greece's most popular tourist destinations, with millions of foreign visitors every year. Since last week, the thousands of residents who have left traveled by plane and ferry as tremors continued to shake the region. While no formal emergency evacuation order has been issued, many residents have already evacuated. A coast guard vessel and military landing craft have arrived in the area in case an emergency evacuation is called, Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias said at an emergency meeting in Athens on Wednesday. Kikilias told Santorini residents to remain calm and follow any official instructions. 'All elements of seismic activity are being examined. The measures that have been taken so far are preventive,' Kikilias said after the meeting, according to a Google-translated X post. 'I very much ask, as always, our fellow citizens to listen to the measures of the experts and comply with them so that we can deal with the current situation.' Rémy Bossu, the secretary-general of the European-Mediterranean Seismological Center, which analyzes earthquakes in the region, explained to CNN the recent tremors — known as an "earthquake swarm" — are "very unusual," even for Santorini, which often experiences seismic activity. Normally, in situations like this in Santorini, 'What you observe is a large earthquake followed by aftershocks which decrease with time in magnitude and frequency," Bossu said. But in this case, "We see that the magnitude has been increasing with time and the rate has been increasing, so this is not typical behavior," he added. Greece's Earthquake Planning and Protection Organization has estimated that this activity may continue for many more days if not weeks, CNN noted. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis also visited the island Friday morning to check on the emergency preparation setup and urged the public to remain calm during this time. "We hope this phenomenon ends quickly and the island fully returns to its normal pace," Mitsotakis said. Thousands of earthquakes, ranging from magnitude 3 to magnitude 5.2, have hit Santorini. The U.S. Geological Survey defines a 5-magnitude earthquake as 'moderate,' which means it is strong enough to be felt by most people and could potentially cause some damage to already weak structures. While experts cannot predict future earthquakes, Efthymis Lekkas, the head of the Hellenic Earthquake Planning and Protection Organization, told a Greece broadcaster that a larger earthquake isn't ruled out. While authorities have closed schools and shut down access to certain areas, no major damage has been reported on the island so far. No scientists have ever accurately predicted an earthquake before it struck, and experts have not determined whether this activity suggests that a significantly large earthquake could hit Santorini or not. Santorini, which is one of Greece's most popular tourist destinations, sits on top of an active volcano, although it has not erupted since 1950. Scientists don't expect the earthquakes to trigger a volcano eruption. "In our country, we have not seen anything similar with so many earthquakes of this magnitude,' Vasilis Karastathis, the director of the Geodynamic Institute of Athens, told the BBC. 'On the contrary, we see an increase in frequency and magnitude.' In response to the uncertainty, thousands have left the island already. "For three days now, there have been earthquakes all the time, every five minutes. It is continuous, they don't stop at all, the entire island is traumatized," Tzanis Lignos, 35, told Reuters earlier this week. Lignos left the island with his wife and son. "No one could sleep last night, not my wife. There was a lot of noise. We went running outside, that is why we cannot stay here any longer." Rescue crews have been deployed to Santorini since Sunday. Authorities have banned public events and access to certain coastal and clifftop areas, and have asked schools to shut down for the week. According to officials, more than 11,000 people have left Santorini since Friday, BBC News reported, with around 7,000 leaving via ferry and 4,000 by plane. Ferries and airlines have added more ships and flights to their schedules this week to accommodate the increased demand. However, ferry services were temporarily shut down on Wednesday because of rough weather. Santorini, which sits on top of an active volcano, lies along what's known as the Hellenic Volcanic Arc — a chain of islands created by volcanoes that stretches from Greece to Turkey. Lekkas told reporters that the epicenter of the earthquakes in the Aegean Sea was moving northward away from Santorini. While these earthquakes 'may last several days or several weeks' there is no connection to the area's volcanoes, Lekkas added. While experts do not believe Santorini's current earthquake activity will cause a volcanic eruption, the Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Ministry noted on Jan. 30 that it was monitoring sensors that had picked up 'mild, seismic-volcanic activity' near Santorini. Similar volcanic activity had been recorded in the area in 2011 and did not cause any issues despite lasting for 14 months. The group added that, 'according to scientists, based on the currently available data there is no cause for particular concern.' While the Santorini volcano has not erupted since 1950, it was the site of one of the largest volcano eruptions in history in 1620 B.C., which destroyed part of the island, caused a tsunami and gave Santorini its current crescent-like shape. 'What we must realize is that the Santorini volcano produces very large explosions every 20,000 years,' Lekkas said on Greece's ERT television channel on Jan. 30. 'It's been 3,000 years since the last explosion, so we have a very long time ahead of us before we face a big explosion."
