Dutch voters head to the polls on Wednesday (29 October), with far-right anti-Muslim leader Geert Wilders topping the polls, as he aims to repeat his surprise win from the parliamentary elections two years ago.
The election itself only came after Wilders pulled his hard-right Freedom Party (PVV) out of a fragile four-party coalition, prompting prime minister Dick Schoof to call for fresh elections after 11 months.
According to the latest polls, the PVV would currently win 34 of the 150 seats in parliament, becoming the leading force, though it is deemed unlikely they will form a new coalition, given Wilder’s style.
The party of former EU commissioner Frans Timmermans, GroenLinks–PvdA (Green Left–Labour), is polling second with 16 percent of the vote.
“The PVV is a party that sidelines a part of the Dutch population. We cannot work with them. You cannot tell more than a million Dutch people: you get fewer rights because you are Muslim,” Timmermans said last week on social media.
Also this week, European trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič is expected to meet his Chinese counterpart Wang Wentao in Brussels amid escalating concerns over China’s new export controls and broader trade tensions.
China recently introduced tighter export controls on rare earth elements and related technologies, which are crucial for high-tech supply chains — a move the EU has described as “unjustified and harmful” to industry, prompting calls from France to use all options available against China, including the EU's so-called anti-coercion instrument.
The meeting is likely also to cover broader issues, such as the Dutch government’s seizure of Chinese-owned chipmaker Nexperia over “national security".
But most eyes will be this week in Asia, as US president Donald Trump travels to Malaysia, Japan and South Korea for the Apec and Asean summits. US tariffs and China's dominance over rare earth resources are complicating relations, leaving Europe exposed to the consequences.
Meanwhile, von der Leyen will join the Nordic Council meeting on Monday and Tuesday (27 and 28 October), engaging with leaders from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden on competitiveness, defence, and Arctic issues.
Also on Monday and Tuesday, EU ministers will meet in Brussels on fishing opportunities in the Baltic Sea, the green conditions under the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP), and the food market situation in Ukraine.
Saturday (1 November) also marks the anniversary of the Novi Sad tragedy, when 16 lives were lost, exposing widespread corruption in Serbia.
The European Central Bank is set to hold rates steady on Thursday (30 October).
This article was updated
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Elena is EUobserver's editor-in-chief. She is from Spain and has studied journalism and new media in Spanish and Belgian universities. Previously she worked on European affairs at VoteWatch Europe and the Spanish news agency EFE.
Elena is EUobserver's editor-in-chief. She is from Spain and has studied journalism and new media in Spanish and Belgian universities. Previously she worked on European affairs at VoteWatch Europe and the Spanish news agency EFE.