Australia

China

Luxembourg

Germany

Denmark

France

Sweden

Belgium

Portugal

Austria

Netherlands

Spain

Italy

Economics

Politics

Free trade talks between the European Union and Australia hit a roadblock as the two sides' trade representatives failed to resolve a dispute over quotas for access to Australian farm products such as lamb, sugar, dairy and especially beer into the EU market, the Financial Times reported July 11.

EU, Australia: Trade Talks Hit Another Roadblock Over Meat Quotas

Lithuania

Latvia

Czech Republic

Greece

Estonia

Poland

Slovakia

Slovenia

Hungary

Environment, Science & Technology

Science & Technology

The European Parliament voted in favor of the EU Nature Restoration Law, the European Commission's proposal to restore degraded land and biodiversity within the bloc, with supporters of the law narrowly defeating an attempt by conservative groups to sink it, Euractiv reported on July 12.

EU: European Parliament Backs EU Nature Restoration Law by Narrow Margin

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced that he will not run for a fifth term in the November early elections following his sudden resignation on July 7, Reuters reported on July 10.

Netherlands: Prime Minister Resigns, Populist Agrarian Party to Make Large Gains in Fresh Elections

European Union (EU) member states clashed over how to reform the bloc’s fiscal framework, known as the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP), during a meeting of EU finance ministers in Luxembourg, Reuters reported on June 16.

EU: Member States Divided Over Bloc's Fiscal and Debt Rules Reform

The Dutch government is writing legislation that would be used to block Chinese students from joining university programs that focus on sensitive technologies, including semiconductors, Bloomberg reported on June 12.

Netherlands: Government to Restrict Chinese Students Studying Sensitive Technologies 

Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Liesje Schreinemacher sent a letter to the Dutch parliament saying that the government will restrict exports of semiconductor technology (including deep ultraviolet lithography machines) through the creation of a national control list before the summer, Reuters reported on March 8.

Netherlands, China: Dutch Government to Introduce Export Controls on Semiconductors by Summer

United States

Japan

U.S.-China Relations

Japan and the Netherlands agreed to join the United States in placing restrictions on China's semiconductor sector, including by blocking some exports of immersion lithography machines to China, Bloomberg reported Jan. 27.

U.S., Japan, Netherlands: Countries Strike Deal on China Semiconductor Restrictions

Egypt

Egypt's top Sunni institution, Al-Azhar, called on Muslims to boycott Swedish and Dutch products after Danish anti-Islam activist Rasmus Paludan burned copies of the Koran holy book on Jan. 21 in Stockholm, Sweden, and Dutch far-right leader Edwin Wagensveld ripped pages out of a Koran a day later, AP reported Jan. 25.

Egypt: Sunni Institution Calls for Boycott of Swedish and Dutch Products Over Koran Desecrations

Snapshots

Geert Wilders (C), leader of the far-right Party for Freedom, sits next to Frans Timmermans (R), leader of the Green Left-Labor Party alliance, and Henri Bontenbal (L), leader of the Christian Democratic Appeal party, during a meeting in the Dutch parliament on Nov. 24, 2023, in The Hague, Netherlands. The party leaders are discussing the formation of a coalition government following Wilders' victory in the Nov. 22 general election.

Social Issues

The Netherlands' far-right Party for Freedom will moderate its platform as it struggles to attract coalition partners and win a parliamentary majority.

Despite a Far-Right Victory, Constraints Will Moderate the Netherlands' Next Government 

Assessments

Posters for different political parties are displayed near the Dutch parliament building on November 19, 2023, ahead of the country's general election.

The Nov. 22 vote will result in long coalition talks that will likely eventually yield a moderate, fiscally conservative government that's less environmentally ambitious than its predecessor.

Previewing the Netherlands' General Election

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Argentina

Taiwan

The presidential candidate for the Union por la Patria party, Sergio Massa (R), speaks next to the presidential candidate for the La Libertad Avanza party, Javier Milei, on Nov. 12, 2023, during a presidential debate in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Argentina will hold the second round of its presidential election Nov. 19.

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: Argentina's Presidential Runoff, the Registration Deadline for the Taiwanese Presidential Race

Bulgaria

Romania

An EU sign is seen at a Romanian border crossing.

Bulgaria and Romania have set out to join the EU's passport-free zone by the year's end, but Austrian and Dutch skepticism will likely keep delaying their membership and the associated economic benefits.

The Challenges Facing Bulgaria and Romania's Schengen Bids

Europe

Malta

Finland

Cyprus

Rail cars loaded with steel sit at the ThyssenKrupp Schwelgern steel plant on May 30, 2018 in Duisburg, Germany. 

The European Union and the United States will increase efforts to deconflict their trade and climate policies ahead of the upcoming U.S. presidential and EU parliamentary elections, but lingering disagreements will not allow for a complete respite of Trump-era tariffs on EU steel and aluminum.

EU-U.S. Steel and Aluminum Negotiations Make Limited Headway

Columns

On Security

Ecuador

Mexico

Venezuela

Syria

North Korea

Seized marijuana bricks are incinerated in Guadalajara, Mexico.

While narco-states exist on a spectrum of severity, they can all have dramatic geopolitical, operational and tactical impacts that raise a wide variety of risks.

What Is a Narco-State, and Why Does It Matter?

Workers at an ASML factory move parts of a chipmaking machine before shipment in Veldhoven, the Netherlands, in 2018.

The latest potential export controls indicate the U.S. and its allies’ intent to wage an increasingly disruptive assault against China’s semiconductor industry.

The U.S., Japan and the Netherlands Mull New Restrictions on China's Tech Sector

An employee makes a chip at a factory owned by the Jiejie Semiconductor Company in Nantong, China, on March 17, 2021. 

Given the potentially devastating blow to its tech ambitions, Beijing will likely retaliate against the U.S.’s push to further curb sales of Western-made chipmaking tools to China.

To Slow China’s Semiconductor Sector, the U.S. Eyes More Export Bans

Guidance

Turkey

United Arab Emirates

Argentine President Alberto Fernandez speaks during a rally in Merlo, Argentina, on Nov. 11, 2021, ahead of the country’s upcoming midterm elections. 

COVID-19

Military & Security

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended Stratfor articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: Midterm Elections in Argentina, a Virtual Biden-Xi Summit

Environmental activists covered in black paint take part in a demonstration at a Shell gas station in The Hague, Netherlands, on May 18, 2021. 

Energy

Environmental Issues

A Crude Recovery

ExxonMobil, Chevron and Shell all lost legal cases or shareholder votes last week that will force them to more aggressively cut emissions. 

Big Oil Gets a Wake-Up Call on Climate Change

Ireland

EU Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni speaks during a press conference after a virtual meeting at the European Council in Brussels, Belgium, on Feb. 15, 2021. 

EU: Regional Blocs

The Fate of the Eurozone

The measure will likely expose the special deals some EU countries offer corporations, and may also increase support for digital service taxes.

The EU Moves Ahead With a Corporate Tax Transparency Plan

South Africa

United Kingdom

A transmission electron microscopic image of an isolate from a COVID-19 case in March 2020. The development highlights the broader question of the impact of mutations on COVID-19 transmission and the efficacy of new vaccines.

The development highlights the broader question of the impact of mutations on COVID-19 transmission and the efficacy of new vaccines.

What a SARS-CoV-2 Mutation in the United Kingdom Means for the World

The Netherlands

SITUATION REPORTS

EU, Australia: Trade Talks Hit Another Roadblock Over Meat Quotas

EU: European Parliament Backs EU Nature Restoration Law by Narrow Margin

Netherlands: Prime Minister Resigns, Populist Agrarian Party to Make Large Gains in Fresh Elections

EU: Member States Divided Over Bloc's Fiscal and Debt Rules Reform

Netherlands: Government to Restrict Chinese Students Studying Sensitive Technologies

Netherlands, China: Dutch Government to Introduce Export Controls on Semiconductors by Summer

U.S., Japan, Netherlands: Countries Strike Deal on China Semiconductor Restrictions

Egypt: Sunni Institution Calls for Boycott of Swedish and Dutch Products Over Koran Desecrations

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