Dutch news in brief, 12 April 2006

Balkenende: I support gay marriage

Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende sent a letter to parliament on Wednesday to say as prime minister he is of course in favour of gay marriage, He was responding to criticism of his remarks in Indonesia. When asked by a student why the Netherlands allowed gay marriage and prostitution, Balkenende said he had voted against the gay marriage legislation when he was an MP.

Union rally for equal pay and conditions

Several hundred trade union members of Dutch, Turkish and Polish backgrounds held a rally in The Hague on Wednesday to pressure the government to ensure Dutch employers hire workers from the new EU states for the same pay and condition as local workers.

Anti-smoking lobby prepares citizens initiative

Anti-smoking group Clean Air Nederland (CAN) has collected the 40,000 signatures it needs to lodge a citizens’ initiative to push parliament to consider a general ban on smoking in cafés and restaurants. Normally such a legislative move would come from within parliament.

Car drives into café

A 38-year-old man drove his car into a café in the Dutch town of Ede on Tuesday night. The man, who was allegedly drunk, had earlier been kicked out of the café, a police spokesperson said. There were no injuries reported.

Subject: Dutch news