Sometimes politicians surprise us, and not just in our country. This week's financial news comes from the Netherlands: capital gains—such as stock market profits—will be taxed at 36% even if they haven't been realized through closing the position. This measure represents a profound change from the traditional system, under which taxes are only paid when assets are sold. Even in Spain, for example, losses can be offset against future profits over a five-year period. The implementation of this new model could generate significant deviations in financial management and investor behavior.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy assured the Dutch Parliament on Tuesday that the ongoing talks to end the war with Russia are "the most intense and focused since the beginning of the conflict," and that "an agreement could be reached within days." However, he also warned that any peace agreement must be based on clear rules and thorough accountability. "Every detail matters," he asserted. And he emphasized that there can be "no reward for Russian aggression." At this stage, one of the most relevant aspects of the negotiations, what Zelenskyy called "details," are the security guarantees that Ukraine would obtain in exchange for some hypothetical concession to Donbas, which Russia wants to be the complete withdrawal of Kyiv's troops from 25% of the territory. But giving up on this is politically impossible for Zelenskyy. In this regard, and after the intense negotiations of the last few hours, especially the Berlin summit this MondayAccording to various British and American media outlets, the United States has warned Ukraine that it must accept Washington's offer of "platinum-level" security guarantees or risk losing them. In practice, this amounts to a new ultimatum from President Donald Trump. According to information that has been trickling out, Washington is proposing legally binding guarantees, comparable to NATO's Article 5, with key European support, to deter any future Russian aggression. This would translate into the presence of Western troops in Ukraine, but in no case US troops. The security guarantees are presented as the main incentive for reaching an agreement that Trump considers the most advanced to date. This would have motivated Zelensky's renunciation of one of his central demands: Ukraine's entry into NATOIn any case, any agreement Kyiv strikes with its European allies and Washington would subsequently need Vladimir Putin's approval. And if the guarantees involve a Western presence in Ukraine, the No The Russian president's support is guaranteed.

This week, the following events have been held national elections in the NetherlandsFor 36% of voters, immigration was the main issue in deciding their vote. This is not surprising considering that, in the last 20 years, four governments have fallen prematurely due to immigration and asylum issues, most recently in 2023 and 2025. Foreigners residing in the country represent 8.5% of the total population, and the annual number of people living in the country is a significant factor. Why, then, this obsession with immigration? I will give three reasons: one political, one socioeconomic, and one cultural.

Surprise in the Netherlands. Against all oddsThe liberal D66 party, led by Rob Jetten, has tied in Wednesday's Dutch elections with the Islamophobic Geert Wilders. The progressive liberals won 26 seats, 17 more than in the previous elections. This significant increase contrasts sharply with that of the far right, which in the elections two years ago was the most voted party by a wide margin, obtaining 37 seats. This year, despite polls predicting another comfortable victory, it lost 11 seats, falling to 26. Thus, despite the virtual tie, the most likely scenario at this point is the return of a centrist government to the Netherlands.

Princess Amalia of the Netherlands, 21, has been the victim of a series of fake pornographic videos and images created using artificial intelligence, the newspaper reported. Algemeen Dagblad. The publication details that the fake images, which had two million views, were posted on the MrDeepFakes website, created in 2018 and shut down in May.

The Netherlands will have to hold new elections less than a year after forming a government. leader of the far-right Freedom Party (PVV), Geert Wilders, announced this Tuesday that it is leaving the government coalition, formed by four right-wing and far-right parties, of which he was the majority shareholder. The reason, he explained, was differences over asylum policy, which he intended to restrict even further. Hours later, Prime Minister Dick Schoof announced that the entire government was "falling" and that the minority executive would no longer be maintained, which would require early elections.

The Dutch journalist Peter R. de Vries has been in a struggle between life-and-death since he was shot five times, including once in the head, on a street in central Amsterdam on Tuesday afternoon. Police are holding two suspects (including the perpetrator of the attack), but have not yet released their identities. In any case, all eyes are on the Mocro Maffia, a group of criminal organizations that base their business on drug trafficking (especially cocaine) and that in recent years had been the target of De Vries' journalistic investigations. These gangs, mainly made up of people of Moroccan origin, have their epicentre in the port of Rotterdam (through which they import the substances that they then distribute in Europe) and operate above all in the Netherlands and Belgium, but their tentacles reach Latin America and also the Costa del Sol, one of the traditional entry points for drugs in Europe.