Prime Minister Mark Rutte had a meeting in London with his British counterpart David Cameron on Monday.

Mr Rutte said that, as far as European politics were concerned, the Netherlands was precisely where it wanted to be: in the centre of the triangle made by the larger nations of Germany, France and Great Britain.

He said the Netherlands was moving with Germany in the field of financial discipline and with France as far as migration politics were concerned.

He believes the Dutch are working well with the British to stimulate European economic growth. The issue was high on the agenda of his discussions with Mr Cameron and is one which Mr Rutte wants to push during the European Union summit later this month.

The Dutch leader last visited Britain just two months ago. This time, he was anxious to stress that the use of the British veto against a new treaty at the last EU summit had not affected relations with the Netherlands. He said the friendship between the two countries was still very warm.