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11/1 Jurists want to stay in Oudemanhuispoort

8/2 Mayor’s portrait

8/2 Websites for social cohesion

7/2 Spreading tourism proceeds with difficulty

7/2 GroenLinks on districts: Be a man

6/2 Zuideramstel opens new office on Sabbath

5/2 The truth about integration

4/2 Wilders has little support on Amsterdam

3/2 Elite involved in neighbourhood

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31/1 Wooden rowing boats to disappear from Amstel

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27/1 A few were still coughing, but that was an act

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24/1 Action groups call for Carmel and Jaffa boycott

24/1 PvdA members dismiss plan for districts

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21/1 Merge districts

20/1 Closing squat bar Vrankrijk not necessary

20/1 Cleaners welcome new Schiphol director

18/1 Palestine at the Jewish Historical Museum

18/1 What is the right size for a district?

17/1 PvdA Oost against fewer districts

16/1 Committee: 7 districts by 2010

15/1 Soldiers may attend Afghanistan debate after all

15/1 Bait bike leads to arrest

14/1 Youth for Christ to republish vacancies

13/1 Paintings of the Zuidas

13/1 New Youth for Christ contoversy

11/1 Social cohesion initiative raises eyebrows

10/1 Fewer districts in 2010

10/1 Zuidas: People feel that we are losers

9/1 Fun on the ice - but not for all

9/1 Supermarket coupon fraud thwarted

9/1 I Amsterdam must remain exclusive

8/1 Use term Apartheid in every discussion

8/1 No city kiosk in Amsterdam yet

7/1 Snow

7/1 Fatima Elatik to run Zeeburg

7/1 Municipal managers to return to shop floor

4/1 Police: take photo of strange people

3/1 Gaza protest criticises politicians

1/1 Thousands to protest against attacks on Gaza

1/1 Mustapha Laboui leaves district council

 

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VVD caught in its own trap

19 August 2006 – Before the summer, the conservative VVD reproached the city government for publicizing its plans to prevent the privatisation of Schiphol Airport, before consulting the city council. Now the government is using the same argument against the VVD.

The national government wants to sell its shares in Schiphol, but the Amsterdam Municipality thinks this is a bad idea. The municipality, which itself owns 22% of the shares, can block the national government’s plans with a veto.

At the end of May, social-democrat alderman Lodewijk Asscher proposed a compromise. The national government should sell some of its shares for a reasonable price to Amsterdam, in order to provide the municipality with a majority interest.

Local VVD party leader Eric van der Burg immediately reprimanded the alderman: he should never have made this plan public without first consulting the city council. In his time as council member, Asscher himself would never have accepted such behaviour, Van der Berg argued.

Meanwhile, VVD-minister Gerrit Zalm has tried to force a decision on privatising Schiphol by calling a shareholders’ meeting. Amsterdam responded by saying that a decision can only be made after consulting the city council on 27 September.

The local VVD was not amused. “The city council has many times discussed Schiphol. Therefore, there is no need to wait until 27 September to discuss privatisation”, council member Huub Verweij said in a press release.

TERRORISM
Verweij wants the city council to make a decision on 6 September. However, Zalm seems to have little faith in this attempt by his fellow party members in Amsterdam: he has agreed with a shareholders’ meeting after 27 September. Verweij was not available for comment.

Asscher proposal to buy some of the shares at a bargain was initially laughed off by Zalm, but an alert editor at NRC Handelsblad observed that it becomes increasingly realistic due to the increased threat of terrorism.

Because of stricter rules regarding hand luggage, the profits of shops at Schiphol are dropping. As a result, the value of the Schiphol shares is going down as well. “By how much, that is the question. One thing is certain though: troublemakers from Amsterdam need less money to acquire Schiphol”.

 

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