The free newspaper De Pers reports on the advance of the do-it-yourself spy. It writes that several thousand 'spy phones' will be sold this year. "Women use them to keep an eye on their husbands, and bosses to keep an eye on their employees. Usually illegally." An estimated 1,500 sets of espionage software for mobile phones will be sold this year, which does not include sales via international websites.

A employee at the Spy Web Shop in Utrecht says: "You can hand in the phone of the person you want to spy on and the shop will install the software for you, but in most cases the aspiring spy buys a phone at the Spy Web Shop, usually a Nokia. … Your boss will tell you: ‘Here you go, a company phone, for you’. One text message from your own phone to the phone of your employer and the two phones will be linked. The activation text message is invisible to the person who is being spied upon."

Spy City in Amsterdam sells spy software at prices between 500 and 1,500 euros. De Pers writes that owner Koos Neijens knows spying is usually illegal. "On principle, it is not allowed to eavesdrop on somebody. We tell our customers so".

However, this knowledge does not seem to keep anybody from spying on their employer or loved ones. Dick Offringa of the PSS Spy Shop puts it: “The products we offer are good for sales; ethics is for the customer to worry about.” Does this sound familiar to anyone?

Neelie Kroes to stay on as European commissioner
The main story of today is the nomination of Neelie Kroes as the Dutch commissioner on the European Commission. Many had feared that the cabinet would choose a different candidate because of party political considerations. So the good news is that one of the EU’s most effective commissioners will stay on, but the bad news is that she will probably be appointed European Commissioner for Information and Computer technology, a much lighter post than her current job as competition commissioner. She may also be appointed deputy chair, at present an honorary title, but this may change.

Be that as it may, the Dutch papers are generally enthusiastic about the news, with de Volkskrant talking about "Enthusiasm about second term Neelie Kroes". Trouw writes "Kroes gets Telecom in Brussels", De Telegraaf says "Kroes happy she can stay" and AD, rather matter-of-factly: "Neelie Kroes stays in European Commission." 

De Telegraaf writes that her own party, the conservative VVD was – obviously - happy about her nomination: "Balkenende has made the best possible choice", but parliament as a whole reacted positively. Labour called it "A good choice", the Democrat party D66 said it was "Fantastic" and even declared Euro sceptic Geert Wilders approved, calling Neelie Kroes "a really good one".

According to De Telegraaf, her nomination ended an extended tug-of-war between Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende and European Commission Chair José Manuel Barroso. The prime minister reportedly wanted Mr Barroso to name a portfolio, hoping he would be able to nominate a candidate from his own Christian Democratic party without running the risk of being fobbed off with a minor portfolio, but the commission chair insisted Mr Balkenende first name his candidate and reportedly hinted that a renewed nomination of Ms Kroes would the best guarantee for a major portfolio.

In an editorial, de Volkskrant writes that Neelie Kroes' nomination is "good news for the Netherlands, but also for the European Union. Like no other, she symbolises the primacy of politics over economics. Even before the financial crisis, she had established her reputation as a watchdog against cartel formation. She imposed a total of more than 10 billion euros in fines and stood firm against economic giants like Microsoft".
    
However, de Volkskrant adds that, given the fact she is unlikely to be re-appointed competition commissioner: "Success is not assured for Ms Kroes. 'Nickel-plated Neelie' felt completely at home in her role as the strict cop of the cartel police. In her new job she will be much more of a travelling salesperson having to hawk her wares to 27 member states. This will make a serious demand on her diplomatic flexibility".

Pay-as-you-drive-scheme "hanging by a thread"
The pay-as-you-drive scheme is still front-page news, at least for De Telegraaf which has a reputation to uphold as the paper that champions the cause of the motorist.

According to De Telegraaf, the whole scheme is now "hanging by a thread" and "Support for pay-as-you-drive-scheme wavering" because the ANWB (the Dutch Automobile Association) is threatening to withdraw its support if Traffic Minister Camiel Eurlings does not provide clarity about the price motorists will have to pay for driving during the rush hour.
 
The minister has said that most motorists will be better off as a result of the scheme, but the ANWB says this is not the case as long as the rush hour rates are not known. The organisation’s Director Guido van Woerkom says: “We demand clarity, if not, we will be unable to support the minister’s plans”.

Conservative VVD MP Charlie Aptroot, also known as pro-motorist, says: "Support for the scheme is now a subject for discussion" and, slightly menacingly: "I think a whole lot more is about to happen".

However, on its inside pages de Volkskrant quotes ANWB Director Van Woerkom as saying: "As long as we don’t know the rush hour rates, we cannot judge the possible consequences for motorists", and "There are many questions among our members about how the rush hour rates will affect them". Which makes him sound much more reasonable and makes one wonder whether the two papers are actually quoting the same person.

De Volkskrant only adds to that impression when it quotes an ANWB spokesperson who says: “There has been a ten-year warming-up period before the bill was submitted. We will take our time to properly review it”. Amen to that.

Wilders not welcome in Turkey
Turkey has announced that a Dutch parliamentary delegation will not be welcome if it includes Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders.

In a front-page article, de Volkskrant reports that Turkish ministers and MPs will refuse to meet the entire delegation if Mr Wilders is among them. A spokesperson for the Turkish foreign ministry says: "This man has racist ideas. We fear his presence would overshadow the visit". The popular Turkish daily Aksam was the first to report the news on Tuesday: "Tension over Mozart", the paper’s headline read, apparently referring to the Freedom Party leader’s exotic hairdo. Aksam added that Mr Wilders has compared the Qur’an to Adolf Hitler’s book Mein Kampf and that he wants to introduce a headscarf tax.

De Volkskrant writes that the Turkish government is embarrassed by the situation. They realise that refusing to meet Mr Wilders will allow the controversial politician to accuse Turkey of being undemocratic and unable to take criticism. However, the government fears a media hype would stir up the emotions of its Islamist supporters.

Trouw reports that parliament is looking for a way out of the threatening dispute with Turkey. The parliamentary European Affairs Commission says it will cancel the visit - scheduled for the Christmas recess – if not all members of the delegation can be received by the Turkish authorities. Delegation leader and Labour Party MP Harm Evert Waalkens says he will refuse to make cuts to the agreed programme but as of last night has not yet had official confirmation of the Turkish warning.

De Pers says Mr Wilders is "back in his favourite role again". The paper writes that after his announcement that he would join a parliamentary delegation on a visit to Turkey, it was only a matter of time before a row broke out.

According to De Pers, Turkey is unlikely to change its mind. "Mr Wilders’ refusal (to cancel his intended visit, ed.) is a choice opportunity for the ruling AK Party, which has roots in political Islam, to show it cannot be trifled with. Wilders in turn will see his ideas confirmed. The country is showing its true face, and it’s a dirty face. Turkey is an autocratic country which cannot even spell the word democracy".

The paper says that Mr Wilders' fellow MPs are supporting his right to free speech – for now. It would not be the first time MPs had had enough of a Freedom party MP's provocative statements. During a parliamentary trip to the Netherlands Antilles last year, MPs initially expressed solidarity with Hero Brinkman who accused local politicians of being "Corrupt as hell" but eventually decided they had enough of his "insults" to the Antilleans.

Interior ministry files report over tattoo leaflet
The interior ministry has filed a report against the people responsible for the distribution of a “misleading and nauseating” leaflet in which citizens are offered the opportunity to have their social security numbers tattooed on their arms for free. The leaflet included a photograph of a social security number tattooed on the underside of someone’s wrist.

According to AD, sleepy-eyed people who found the leaflet on their doormats yesterday morning had to look real hard to see the difference with the real leaflet distributed a few weeks ago in which the government informed people about the new passport for which applicants have to submit four fingerprints. 

The glossy leaflet was distributed by Het Nieuwe Rijk (The New Kingdom), which says it's aware of the sensitive nature of its action because of the clear references to the Third Reich and World War II, but argues it was necessary to initiate public debate on "The increasing collector's mania of the Dutch government" regarding fingerprints and other sensitive information.