The European parliamentary elections take place on Thursday, May 23 and 16 parties are competing for the 25 Dutch seats. Here’s a round-up, with the main points of their manifestos.

PvdA (Labour)
Campaign leader: Frans Timmermans
Motto: Voor een zeker Europa (for an assured/confident Europe)
Member of EU parliament’s Party of European Socialists (S&D)
Number of MEPs: 3
Website (Dutch only)
Main manifesto points:

• Create safe, legal immigration routes for refugees and prevent human trafficking
• Introduce a European profit tax for major tech companies
• Introduce a CO2 tax for companies, and a flight tax to encourage train travel
• Equalise labour rights across Europe to stop unfair competition

CDA (Christian Democrats)
Campaign leader: Esther de Lange
Motto: Een sterk Europa (A strong Europe)
Member of EU parliament’s European People’s Party (EPP)
Number of MEPs: 5
Website (Dutch only)
Main manifesto points:

• Reduce the number of subsidies, replacing these with loans to increase budget efficiency
• Unify European immigration policy to prevent ‘asylum shopping’ Limit migration and
• Allow for more regional decisionmaking
• Stricter consequences for not meeting financial goals, such as temporary expulsion from the eurozone

D66 (Liberal Democrats)
Campaign leader: Sophie in ‘t Veld
Motto: In Europa maken we de toekomst (Our future is in Europe)
Member of EU parliament’s Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE)
Number of MEPs: 4
Website (English)
Main manifesto points:

• Increase European cooperation and representation
• A permanent European seat on the UN security council and other international organisations
• Create a European military force and a European intelligence service
• Europe should run on clean, CO2 free energy by 2050

VVD (right-wing Liberals)
Campaign leader: Malik AzmaniMotto: Voor een sterk Nederland in een veilig Europa (For a strong Netherlands in a safe Europe
Member of EU parliament’s Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE)
Number of MEPs: 3
Website (Dutch only)
Main manifesto points:

• Reduce the EU to its core tasks, reducing costs in the process
• Cut farming subsidies and invest in innovation
• Increase the CO2 reduction goal for 2030 and allow countries to decide how to meet this goal

PVV (pro-Nexit, anti-immigration)
Campaign leader: Marcel de Graaff
Motto: Nederland op 1 (The Netherlands first)
Member of EU parliament’s Europe of Nations and Freedom (ENF)
Number of MEPs: 4
Website (Dutch only)
Main manifesto points:

• Leave the EU, Schengen Area and eurozone
• Close borders to all migrants from Islamic countries, and deislamise the Netherlands
• Reinstate border controls and limit immigration

Groenlinks (left-wing, green)
Campaign leader: Bas Eickhout
Motto: Voor verandering (For change)
Member of EU parliament’s European Green Party
Number of MEPs: 2
Website (Dutch only)
Main manifesto points:

• Close all coal power plants by 2030
• Introduce taxes to discourage air travel, and encourage train travel by introducing highspeed trains across Europe
• Limit the power of tech giants, and make European agreements to ensure that major companies pay their fair share of taxes

Forum voor Democracy (nationalist, pro-Nexit)
Campaign leader: Derk Jan Eppink
Motto: Een Europa van natiestaten (A Europe of nation states)
Number of MEPs: 0, forecast to win four to five
Website (Dutch only)
Main manifesto points:

• Leave the Paris Climate Agreement
• Leave the Schengen Area
• Hold a referendum on whether to get rid of the euro

ChristenUnie/SGP (Conservative Christian parties)
Campaign leader: Peter van Dalen
Motto: Samenwerking ja, superstaat nee (Cooperation yes, super state no)
Member of EU parliament’s European Reformists and Conservatives group
Number of MEPs: 2
Website (Dutch only)
Main manifesto points:

• Limit the powers of the European parliament and the European Commission
• Create exit strategies for the Schengen Area and the eurozone, and disconnect EU membership from the obligation to enter the eurozone
• Remove ‘creating an ever closer union among the peoples of Europe’ sentence from the Treaty of Maastricht

SP (Socialist Party)
Campaign leader: Arnout Hoekstra
Motto: Breek de macht van Brussel (Break the power of Brussels)
Member of EU parliament’s European United Left–Nordic Green Left alliance
Number of MEPs: 2
Website (English)
Main manifesto points:

• Provide aid for vulnerable refugees and divide them across the whole EU while limiting economic migration
• Drastically reduce financial aid to struggling countries and banks
• Increase national control over social security questions such as pensions
• Create EU-wide agreements on minimum wages

DENK (pro Turkey, left leaning)
Campaign leader: Ayhan Tonça
otto: Denkend aan Europa (Thinking of Europe)
Number of MEPs: 0
Website (Dutch only)
Main manifesto points:

• Expand the European Union, adding Turkey and the Balkan countries
• Institute a racism tax for countries that don’t do enough to combat discrimination, and give the European Court of Human Rights more manpower and tools to take on discrimination cases
• Establish a European army, leaving control with the member states

Partij voor de Dieren (animal rights party)
Campaign leader: Anja Hazekamp
Motto: Plan B voor Europa (Plan B for Europe)
Member of EU Parliament’s Animal Politics EU
Number of MEPs: 1
Website (Dutch only)
Main manifesto points:

• Establish stricter animal rights laws and stop overfishing
• Cut farming subsidies
• Stricter climate legislation, especially for companies

50PLUS (populist pensioners party)
Campaign leader: Toine Manders
Motto: De menselijke maat moet terug in Europa (Bring back the human dimension in Europe)
Number of MEPs: 0
Website (Dutch only)

• Improve the position of seniors and prohibit any form of age discrimination
• Appoint a commissioner for the issues related to the ageing of the population
• Limit European legislation, give more power to member states
• Increase European cooperation on the sustainability front

Jezus Leeft (Jesus Lives)
Campaign leader: Florens van der Spek
Motto: Volg Jezus (Follow Jesus)
Number of MEPs: 0
Website (Dutch only)
Main manifesto points:

• Leave the EU It costs too much. Just listen to Jesus
• Ban abortion and euthanasia
• Ban smoking and drugs because too many people are depressed
• Stimulate the use of renewable energy and electric cars

De Groenen (green)
Campaign leader: Paul Berendsen
Number of MEPs: 0
Motto: Basisinkomen: brandstof van de economie (Basic income: fuel of the economy)
Website (Dutch only)
Main manifesto points:

• Institute a basic income to stimulate the economy
• Limit the usage of fossil fuels and transition to climateneutral energy
• Allow the European parliament to propose legislation, a power that is currently held by the European Commission

Piratenpartij (pro-privacy)
Campaign leader: Sent Wierda
Member of EU parliament’s GreensEuropean Free Alliance
Number of MEPs: 0
Website (Dutch only)
Main manifesto points:

• Give more power to EU citizens, including the right to vote on legislation and propose legislation via an eparticipation tool
• Strengthen European privacy legislation
• Make ‘digital participation’ a fundamental European right

Volt Nederland (pan-European)
Campaign leader: Reinier van Lanschot
Member of EU parliament’s Volt Europa
Number of MEPs: 0
Website (in English)
Main manifesto points:

• Establish a federal Europe with a European government
• Increase transparency in the European Union
• Adopt a minimum income above poverty level in all member states