This is following a massively popular demand, with 70% approval in the Netherlands, that has not been addressed by politicians until now. The motion ends nearly 4 weeks of protest, as Friday would have been the 28th day. The strategy was simple: return to the same highway in The Hague, every day, until the demands are met. The protests started with 25,000 supporters in the street on the first day, where 2500 people were arrested. From there, they came back every day, until the arrests amounted to about 8,800. The pressure passed a tipping point somewhere along the line, and a bill was drafted for the House of Representatives, the “Kröger and Boucke motion.” Pending the vote, the Rebellion will respond.

   It is important to mention that a motion in Dutch politics is more of an intention and a direction than an actual concrete plan. The motion itself is less than a page long and meant to start the process of phasing out fossil fuel subsidies. It's a start, but even if this motion is accepted by the House there will still be a long political process before we will start seeing results, and they will likely not be all that the motion asked for.

   If the vote passes, XR Netherlands will examine the terms, critically, and decide on next steps. If the vote does not pass, XR Netherlands is prepared to come back. They promise a much bigger protest this time. It’s very hard to imagine what this would look like as the protests have already been quite historical.
   Lucas Winnips, spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion who has been sentenced to 60 hours of community service for 'incitement', said: “Over the past four weeks we have blocked the A12 every day to demand an end to fossil subsidies. More than 8,800 peaceful demonstrators have been arrested. We are happy that politicians are finally taking action and see this as a sign that civil disobedience is a powerful tool to get politicians to do what is necessary. There is no doubt that fossil subsidies must be abolished. We are closely monitoring the vote on the motion and we are ready to continue taking action if the vote turns out badly.”

   All this news comes as NL Rebellion has also been voted the most influential climate organization in the Netherlands by Trouw, one of the major newspapers in the country. Scientists Rebellion took second place.

Co-Authorship, Rosemarjin van de Lint