As a Dutchman, Spain occupies a strange and wonderful place in our history.
We fought an Eighty Years' War against the Spanish Crown, built part of our national identity around that struggle, and still teach names like William of Orange, Philip II and the Duke of Alba in school. You would think that might make Spain the historical villain in the Dutch family story.
Instead, I feel an enormous affection for the country.
Spain is one of Europe's great civilisations. Romans and Visigoths, centuries of Islamic rule, the Christian kingdoms and the Reconquista all left their marks there. Then came the Spain of Columbus, Magellan's expedition, conquistadors and an empire that connected Europe with the Americas and Asia on an extraordinary scale.
Spanish influence is still visible across much of the world. Hundreds of millions speak the language. Cities thousands of kilometres from Madrid carry Spanish names. Spanish architecture, religion, law, food and customs crossed oceans and became woven into entirely new cultures.
And then there is Spain itself.
Old plazas that come alive in the evening. Churches and cathedrals standing where generations before us worshipped. Families taking their time over food. Tiny bars where several plates somehow become dinner. Football treated with the seriousness of a minor religion, local festivals that can involve anything from solemn processions to people being chased through streets, and villages that still seem intensely proud of being that particular village.
I admire that.
The Dutch and Spanish have a particularly interesting relationship because our histories are tied together through both conflict and exchange. The Habsburg Netherlands were ruled by the same monarchy that ruled Spain, and our revolt against Philip II eventually became the long struggle from which the independent Dutch Republic emerged.
There was terrible violence on both sides. Spanish troops sacked cities in the Netherlands, while the Dutch revolt produced its own brutality. Our ancestors weren't especially talented at conducting polite disagreements.
Yet the story didn't end in 1648 when Spain finally recognised Dutch independence.
Over the centuries that followed, Dutch and Spanish merchants continued doing business, diplomats maintained relations and our countries gradually went from old enemies to European neighbours, partners and friends. Today thousands of Dutch people travel south every year, while Spaniards live, work and study here. What was once a relationship shaped by armies and dynasties is now so ordinary that most of us barely think about how remarkable that transformation is.
I also think our differences make the relationship more enjoyable.
The Dutch schedule dinner. The Spanish appear to regard our dinner time as a late lunch.
We like directness, planning and knowing approximately when something will end. Spain has taught generations of Dutch holidaymakers that an evening can simply continue until everybody decides it has finished.
But underneath those differences I recognise something familiar: attachment to family, region, local traditions and a strong sense that culture belongs to the people who inherited it.
That is why I want Spain to remain unmistakably Spanish.
I want Andalucía to feel different from Galicia, Catalonia different from Castilla, and a Spanish town to offer something that could never be recreated perfectly in Amsterdam. Europe becomes poorer when those differences disappear.
Our ancestors spent eighty years fighting over who would rule the Netherlands.
More than four centuries later, I can look south and feel no need to diminish Spain to celebrate Dutch independence. In fact, understanding what a formidable civilisation our ancestors were fighting makes our own history more interesting.
Spain helped shape us partly through friendship, partly through exchange and, admittedly, for quite a long time by trying to prevent us from leaving.
Families can be complicated like that.
But after centuries of shared European history, Spain doesn't feel distant to me.
It feels like one of those relatives with whom we once had an absolutely spectacular argument, eventually made peace, and somehow never stopped being connected.
@petrogustavo Cuantos niños han salido de la pobreza desde que Milei llego al poder segun Unicef señor presidente? Uno supondria que es un KPI mas relevante para un gobierno “progresista”
Los sistemas de soporte a accionistas de @BAVARIA_OFICIAL no funcionan. Ni la linea telefónica ni el email general... Estoy a punto de incumplir una obligación tributaria por no recibir la información por parte de la empresa en el plazo habitual.
🚀 BIG NEWS FROM AUDIENSE! 🚀
We’re beyond excited to announce that ����𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗰𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 @Buxtonco, a leader in customer analytics! 🎉
This milestone marks the start of a powerful new chapter where our combined expertise unlocks even deeper, more actionable insights across the entire purchase funnel. Whether it’s 𝗶𝗻-𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗲, 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲, 𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮, we’re connecting the dots between 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆, 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆𝘀 like never before.
🔍 What does this mean for you?
✅ More opportunities 𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀
✅ A continued 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
✅ The same 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽���𝗿𝘁 you expect from us
Full details in the blog 👉 https://t.co/zo3krwBmNV.
And that’s not all. 2025 is shaping up to be a transformative year! We’ve just launched our 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗜𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁, with even more 𝗔𝗜 𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀 coming soon. Stay tuned!
Last but not least, we want to thank you for being part of this journey. Your support and trust mean the world to us, and we can’t wait to help you power 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲-𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 in this exciting new chapter! 💙
We are releasing our Audiense Insights MCP Server (Model Context Protocol) today so AI systems, LLM's and agents can interact with our analytics.
This is our first step into the IPaaS ecosystem (Integration platform as a Service) where we believe Audiense will play an important role in the future
Check the video below and please send your comments and feedback! 🙏
@wallstwolverine Probablemente era uno de los primeros objetivos a neutralizar desde el principio. No eran pocos los que ya conocian lo que habia detras de USaid. @MikeBenzCyber lo explico bastante bien hace unos meses en @joeroganhq
@A3Noticias@FidiasCyprus clearly our government is not guaranteeing our rights as Europeans. Is there any mechanisms to bypass them, so the people can directly request the support of Europe?