Netherlands country brief - Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Netherlands country brief
Netherlands country brief
Introduction
The  Netherlands is a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarchy. King  Willem-Alexander is the head of state, and has reigned since 30 April 2013.  Long renowned for its internationalist outlook, the Netherlands was a founding  member of the European Union (EU), the United Nations (UN), the North Atlantic  Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and  Development (OECD). With Belgium and Luxembourg, it is also a member of the  Benelux Economic Union. While the capital city of the Netherlands is Amsterdam,  the Dutch Government and Parliament are located in The Hague.
The  Netherlands is host to seven international legal organisations: the Permanent  Court of Arbitration, the International Court of Justice, The Hague Conference  on Private International Law, the Iran-US Claims Tribunal, the International  Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the International Criminal Court,  and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. The first six are situated in The Hague,  as is the EU’s criminal intelligence agency, Europol, and the EU’s judicial  cooperation agency, Eurojust. It is also host to the Organisation for the  Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
Political overview
In the  Netherlands, the political powers of the monarch are largely ceremonial.  Effective executive authority in Government is exercised through the Prime  Minister, who presides over the Council of Ministers. The Prime Minister is  usually the leader of the largest party in the Second Chamber of Parliament  (equivalent to the House of Representatives in Australia). The Council of  Ministers comprises 13 to 16 ministers and a number of state secretaries, who  traditionally support ministers.
There are  three levels of government in the Netherlands: national, provincial and  municipal. The Netherlands is divided into 12 provinces, each administered by a  directly-elected Provincial Council, a Provincial Executive and a Sovereign  Commissioner, who is appointed by royal decree.
General  elections for the national Government are normally held every four years, using  a system of strict proportional representation. A broad centrist coalition  comprising the conservative-liberal People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy  (VVD) and the Labour Party (PvdA) was sworn into office on 5 November 2012,  following elections in September of that year. Mark Rutte, leader of the VVD,  is the Prime Minister of the Netherlands. Lodewijk Asscher (PvdA) is Deputy  Prime Minister and Minister of Social Affairs and Employment. Bert Koenders  (PvdA) is the Foreign Minister, while Lilianne Ploumen (PvdA) serves as  Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, reflecting the strong  correlation the Netherlands sees between international trade and development.  The next general election is due in March 2017.
Foreign policy overview
Key  objectives of the Netherlands’ foreign policy are promoting and defending Dutch  prosperity and national security. The Netherlands is highly dependent on  foreign trade and therefore has a direct interest in, and seeks to promote, a  stable international rules-based order.
The  Netherlands has a long history of promoting human rights. Other foreign policy  priorities include addressing global poverty and inequality, climate change and  other environmental threats, energy security, international terrorism,  proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and human trafficking.  Strengthening regional and global institutions, including the UN, has long been  a focus of Dutch foreign policy. Despite growing Euroscepticism in recent  years, the Netherlands remains essentially committed to the EU.
The  Netherlands is a significant aid donor, committing approximately 0.76 per cent  of gross national income to Official Development Assistance in 2015. The  majority of this is contributed through multilateral organisations, including  the EU, the UN, Human Rights Fund and Stability Fund. The Netherlands targets  its aid to 15 countries concentrated in the Middle East and Africa but also  including Bangladesh and Indonesia (the Government recently announced that aid  to Indonesia would cease in 2020). It views development cooperation as a  vehicle for economic growth with the ultimate aim of countries becoming  self-reliant.
The  Netherlands has long seen climate change as one of the major global challenges  and continues to be a strong advocate of international action to address it.  The Dutch Government aims to achieve a sustainable energy supply system by  2050.
Economic overview
The  Netherlands is a small, wealthy trading nation with a population of 17 million  (2015). Its economy is open and highly-developed, with activity focused on food  processing, chemicals, petroleum refining, electrical machinery and financial  services. The Netherlands serves an important role as a European transportation  hub, with Rotterdam the largest port in Europe.
Trade is  an important aspect of the Dutch economy. In 2015, the Netherlands was the  world’s second largest agricultural exporter and fifth largest exporter of  goods generally. Most of the Netherlands’ trade is with EU countries,  especially Germany and Belgium. The country’s principal merchandise exports are  machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels and foodstuffs.
The  Netherlands is an attractive destination for foreign investment, given its open  economy, outward focus, sound public sector, good social services, modern and  effective infrastructure and a dynamic private sector. The Netherlands is an  important international investor, and is home to a number of large companies  with multinational operations, including Royal Dutch Shell, Unilever, ING Group  and Rabobank. The Netherlands has one of the world’s most highly-developed  pension fund industries, with significant levels of private assets under  management. The Dutch venture-capital market is among the best developed in  Europe.
Bilateral relationship
Australia  enjoys warm and friendly relations with the Netherlands, founded on strong  trade and investment ties, people-to-people links and cooperation on  international issues. Australia and the Netherlands are closely aligned in  foreign and trade policy, cooperating productively on non-proliferation and  disarmament, human rights, World Trade Organization issues and UN reform. We  continue to cooperate closely in seeking accountability for the July 2014  downing of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 in which both countries suffered  significant loss of life.
To  further cement the bilateral relationship, Foreign Minister Bishop and Dutch  Foreign Minister Koenders signed a Declaration of Intent on a Strategic  Dialogue between Australia and the Netherlands in November 2016. The  declaration commits Australia and the Netherlands to enhanced cooperation on  international security, trade and investment, human rights and development  issues. Recognising the importance of the economic relationship, the  declaration also underscores the commitment to negotiating an Australia-EU free  trade agreement.
Australia  and the Netherlands have a bilateral social security agreement for people who  have lived and/or worked in both Australia and the Netherlands. This agreement  also exempts Australian employers from the need to provide Netherlands social  security support for temporary work in the Netherlands, if the employee is  covered in Australia by compulsory superannuation arrangements. Further  information is available from the Australian Taxation  Office .
People-to-people links
During  the 1950s, Australia was the destination of 30 per cent of Dutch emigrants and  the Netherlands-born became numerically the second largest non-British group in  Australia. The 2011 census recorded more than 76,000 residents of Australia  born in the Netherlands and around 335,000 Australians claim Dutch ancestry. According  to the Dutch Central Bureau for Statistics, approximately 15,000 first or  second generation Australians live in the Netherlands.
High-level visits
In  November 2016, Their Majesties the King and Queen of the Netherlands visited  Australia following an invitation by the Governor-General. The State visit  commemorated the 400th anniversary of the landing of Dirk Hartog off  the coast of Western Australia and incorporated Perth, Canberra, Sydney and  Brisbane.
In  November 2016, the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bert Koenders, visited  Australia to support the State visit by Their Majesties the King and Queen of  the Netherlands and to meet with ministerial counterparts.
In  November 2016, the Dutch Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation,  Lilianne Ploumen, and Minister of Economic Affairs, Henk Kamp, visited  Australia with a high-level trade delegation.
In  October 2016, Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, the Hon Steven Ciobo MP, visited the Netherlands for meetings with industry groups  and Minister Henk Kamp.
In  September 2016, Australian Minister for Urban Infrastructure, the Hon Paul  Fletcher MP, visited the Netherlands for meetings with government officials and  companies active in airport infrastructure.
ANCODS Collection
In  February 2011, the Dutch Government repatriated to Australia over 1000  artefacts that were recovered from Dutch East India Company ships that sank off  the Western Australian coast in the 17th and 18th centuries. The artefacts were  returned under the Agreement between Australia and the Netherlands Concerning  Old Dutch Shipwrecks (ANCODS). A Mutual Declaration was signed in 2010, to  acknowledge that Australia would hold the ANCODS Collection but that the  Netherlands could borrow it for exhibitions. The Collection is on display at  the Western Australian Museum in Fremantle.
Bilateral economic and trade relationship
The  Netherlands is a significant investment and trading partner for Australia. It  is Australia’s third largest export market within the EU, with $2.6 billion in  goods and services in 2015-16. Significant Australian merchandise exports to  the Netherlands that year included coal, other ores and concentrates, medical  instruments, beef, and oil seeds and oleaginous fruits (such as olives).  Significant imports from the Netherlands included medicaments (including  veterinary), pharmaceutical products and coffee.
Australian  services exports to the Netherlands in 2015-16 totalled $408 million (mostly  personal travel (excl. education) and professional, technical and other  business services). Services imports from the Netherlands totalled $1.3 billion  in 2015-16.
The  Netherlands is home to a number of financial institutions and other companies  that operate in Australia, including ING Group, Fortis, Rabobank, AEGON, Shell,  Unilever, Delta Lloyd, Philips, and Akzo Nobel. In 2015, the Netherlands was  Australia’s fourth largest source of foreign direct investment (valued at $44.4  billion).