As many people already know, politicians are now considering amending the Dutch nationality law. But how, and how seriously, is still the question. How can the reader influence this? Of course, support organizations such as Nederlanders in den Vreemde, the Stichting GOED and the SNBN. But also by giving clear signals to politicians themselves. Your email or message to the political parties will of course disappear in the volume of other messages they receive. We know not to expect too much. And they already hear of concernsalready through the organizations mentioned. Then it counts whether you have registered with the organization, are a member, etc. And then sign up with all three, because they/we all work slightly differently. However, the most old-fashioned and yet most effective way is to vote in elections. You may already vote for general elections from abroad. But this year you can vote for the first time for the Non-resident Electoral College for the Senate. Here is some explanation about that and why we propose Eelco Fiole (and others).
To clarify, the Electoral College chooses who will be in the Senate. These people elected by us will therefore not themselves discuss policy directly in the Senate, but will determine who will be in the Senate to do so. Whom they cast their vote for is their job, which means that they do indirectly influence what happens in the Senate. It is therefore important that the elected person asks clear questions and conditions to the party/person elected by the Electoral College. Dr Eelco Fiole, is an independent candidate and clear in this. This was also apparent from an interview we had with him and from which we decided that our choice goes to Eelco Fiole.
In the interview, Eelco Fiole let us know what he thinks is important. He immediately mentioned that he thinks that the interests of the Dutch abroad are often forgotten and ignored. That is understandable because politicians are mainly concerned with what is happening in the Netherlands. But many laws and policies do affect you, the readers. For example, Eelco Fiole thinks that dual nationality, or as he puts it, multiple nationalities, should be more widely possible. He looks at his own experiences. He is a widower and has a Dutch-Swiss son. He would also like to take on the nationality of his second home country, but that is not possible without automatically losing the Dutch one. “Why are we making such a fuss about this?” was the rhetorical remark of Eelco Fiole. “Only the Netherlands and Austria are still difficult about multiple nationalities. In the rest of Europe it is allowed and perhaps even celebrated.” We had a discussion about the history of Dutch nationality law and the single nationality principle that the Netherlands has rigidly adhered to since the creation of nationality law in 1893 and how this can be improved and modernized today. It was clear that Eelco Fiole’s visions are completely in line with those of Nederlandse in den Vreemde.
Eelco Fiole also wanted equal rights for Dutch people abroad. Better Consular representation and services. He also shares many people’s frustrations about the breakdown and difficulties with Dutch education abroad. And he mentioned that he would also like to test politicians on their practical knowledge on these matters. He thinks that many politicians have good intentions but often do not know how legislation and policy work in practice. Below more about what Eelco Fiole stands for. We copied his intro from his LinkedIn with permission.
Why does Nederlanders in den Vreemde support Eelco Fiole?
Eelco Fiole has the advantage that he is not affiliated with just one political party. He is party independent. This is very much in line with the ethos of us. In addition, there are many Dutch people who show politically apathy, or are disappointed in the political parties, and would actually like to see something new. This is exactly what Eelco Fiole also wants and what he stands for, so this is a strong point for him. It is not about party politics and only winning the majority of votes, it is about the matters at hand and the right solutions. This became clear from the interview and we as an organization can agree with that.
However, because Eelco Fiole does not have a (major) political party behind him that supports him, and he also has his own work just like other candidates, it is of course a challenge to win the votes. This is where we as an organization see the weakness of Eelco Fiole. For example, he does not have his own website or web page. He is also not on most Social Media. You can find him on LinkedIn and Twitter, where he welcomes everyone. Unfortunately, we see the risk that Eelco Fiole will reach fewer voters. But the reader can do something about that. Share this page. Refer to Eelco Fiole’s LinkedIn profile. And know that Eelco Fiole is list number 9 in the elections.
(More about the other candidates below Eelco Fiole)
Eelco Fiole
Why I have nominated myself as an independent candidate for the Electoral College of Non-residents of the Dutch Senate.
Because I am a Dutch citizen outside the Netherlands since 1997. In Switzerland, Singapore, and a lot of travel). I know all too well the problems we face. Out of sight out of mind? It sometimes feel a bit like that… Conversely, we are extremely consciously connected to the Netherlands (I also occasionally listen to Radio Rijnmond when they report on Feyenoord Rotterdam N.V.
So that needs to change… Think of multiple nationalities, Dutch education abroad, student finance, DigiD, informal care, bank account in NL, consular help, etc.etc.
And that is my exclusive focus in the KiesCollege! The European Championship candidates that I want to vote for as a KC member must:
✅ have an eye for our interests
✅ be able to demonstrate competence and integrity and
✅ can show that they understand the impact of policy through real experience in practice.
Unlike existing political parties, the independent focus is important to me, so:
⛔ no party politics
⛔ no political career considerations,
and also😉 no logo (I was just too late with the logo submission…)
✅ just subject matters…
This is how I want to choose as a KC member… If you care about that too, consider the independent list 9 🙏
If you haven’t given your voice yet, spread the word (I only have LinkedIn and Twitter).
Thank you for your interest and many greetings from 🇨🇭
Eelco
Other candidatesThere are of course other candidates who have many of the same ideas. For example, namesake Eelco Keij (D66) is a well-known proponent of dual nationality. Be careful not to confuse the names. For Dutch people living in foreign countries, the disadvantage here is that voters who do not want to vote for D66 will not vote for Eelco Keij. They can therefore turn to the independent candidate, Eelco Fiole. We will also approach other candidates about how they want to represent the Dutch abroad and what they stand for,.. that will follow.
p.s. Nederlanders in den Vreemde could use your help. We are looking for volunteers helping to maintain the website and new(letter). Get in touch.