A new US ambassador to the Netherlands is unlikely to be appointed before May 2013, a fact which could pressure the relationship between the two countries, the NRC reports, quoting diplomatic and civil service sources.

This would mean the US will have been without an ambassador in the Netherlands for 18 months. Fay Hartog Levin pulled out in September last year to spend more time with her family.
One source told the paper the delay is ‘of great symbolic significance’ for the relationship and could give rise to the feeling that ‘America does not care’ about the Netherlands.
Joint strike fighter
Another source ‘close to the nomination process’ told the NRC the relationship between the US and the Netherlands is already precarious because of the Dutch position on the euro crisis – the Netherlands is considered too pro-Germany – and the JSF fighter jet project.
The Dutch parliament wants to drop out of the JSF development programme, which is responsible for generating thousands of US jobs.
Nevertheless, the paper says the Dutch job is a popular posting in US diplomatic circles. The Netherlands is the third biggest foreign investor in the US.
Lawyer Timothy Broas, who had been nominated for the job, pulled out last week at the last moment after being arrested for driving under the influence.