Ascension Day is do-or-die moment for Dutch cabinet negotiations

DutchNews.nl— The talks to form a new Dutch government are entering a make-or-break week after the four right-wing parties submitted their financial plans to the budget analysis bureau CPB. The CPB is due to report back on Wednesday, ahead of the Ascension Day holiday, so the parties can discuss the results ahead of next week’s deadline to conclude the third phase of negotiations. All four parties – the far-right PVV, right-wing liberal VVD, centre-right NSC and the farmers’ party BBB –

NL Times—Still no new Cabinet after another long day of negotiations. After another long day of negotiations, a Cabinet of PVV, VVD, NSC, and BBB is still not in sight. Whether the four parties will reach an agreement may remain uncertain until May 15, formation leaders Elbert Dijkgraaf and Richard van Zwol said after the discussions between the party leaders and their seconds. The formation leaders’ final report must then be sent to parliament. “Time is running out,” said Van Zwol. Dijkgraaf also said that “time is starting to run out a bit.”

DutchNews.nl—Parties edge closer to finish line in Dutch cabinet negotiations. The parties trying to form a right-wing government in the Netherlands are said to have settled their differences on migration, days before the talks reach a crucial deadline. The two negotiators leading the third round of negotiations, Richard van Zwol and Elbert Dijkgraaf, are due deliver their conclusions to parliament by 11.55pm on Wednesday and have said there will be no extension. Last week there were signs of progress as the four parties sat around the negotiating table for up

NL Times—Dutch coalition deal: The long road to a new right-wing Cabinet has taken 175 days. It took a negotiation of 175 days before the announcement on Wednesday that the far-right PVV had reached a deal to form a new Cabinet with the right-wing parties, VVD, NSC and BBB. The leader of the PVV, Geert Wilders, told reporters that they came to an agreement when talks ended three hours later than expected. The two people moderating the talks, Elbert Dijkgraaf and Richard van Zwol, had a firm May 15 deadline to bring this negotiating round to a close.