Tag: The Hague

Office EU promises to protect European companies from US data sovereignty threat

Stuart Mitchell

In 2025, the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague decided to move its internal software system away from US tech giant Microsoft and onto an independent European open-source alternative provider.  This was in response to ongoing data sovereignty threats from the United States government, which uses its powerful Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data (CLOUD) Act to compel US tech companies to share data to aid criminal investigations – even if that data is held by foreign organisations. The US has also recently imposed sanctions on high-profile ICC judges,…

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How a community project in The Hague is helping youngsters ‘Find their Fire’

Stuart Mitchell

Hart Beach is a popular surf and skate hangout in the Scheveningen area of The Hague, but it is also the home of Firestarters, a unique programme to help disadvantaged young people reignite their passion for life and ‘Find their Fire’. Hope on Hart Beach It is, perhaps, a hidden crisis. In the City of The Hague alone, there are more than 14,000 teenagers who have dropped out of school and are not yet in employment. Firestarters takes a small cohort of these kids and offers structure and new potential…

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The Hague will open lending desks to promote sharing and renting to reduce waste

Stuart Mitchell

The City of The Hague is investing €100,000 in the European project AccessHubs, an initiative designed to make borrowing and renting everyday items more accessible. The project encourages residents to share and rent products rather than own them, helping to reduce waste and support a more circular economy. The investment aligns with the city’s broader circular economy goals, which focus on extending the lifespan of products, preventing waste, and reducing the need for new raw materials. Funding for the project comes from the municipality’s Co-financing Fund, which helps attract additional European funding for innovative initiatives. In total, The Hague will receive more than €270,000 in EU support to strengthen local sharing and rental…

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New research: how The Hague could heat twenty thousand homes with wastewater

Stuart Mitchell

Delfland Water Board and the City of The Hague agreed to initiate research on how purified wastewater can be used as a sustainable heat source. By extracting heat from this water before it reaches the sea, the warmth can be reused . The research will explore how this heat could eventually supply up to twenty thousand homes with renewable heating.   Arjen Kapteijns, Alderman for Energy Transition: “I’m proud of this collaboration with Hoogheemraadschap Delfland. The energy transition in The Hague requires all local sustainable sources. The potential for using treated…

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The Hague becomes first Dutch city to ban steel slag

Stuart Mitchell

The Hague has become the first city in the Netherlands to ban the use of steel slag in public space. The material, a by-product of steel production, has long been sold under the name Duomix and widely used in roadbuilding and other construction projects across the country. From now on, The Hague no longer allows these products to be applied in any top layer, and the city will phase them out entirely, even in deeper ground layers where there is no direct contact. Like many municipalities, The Hague used Duomix…

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