The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has decided to stop funding the Institut Néerlandais. The Dutch cultural institute at the Rue de Lille in Paris will close at the end of this year.

The institute’s position has been under pressure for a while. Last summer, the Ministry already announced to stop funding. This announcement was met with resistance and a petition. With the arrival of the new government, the situation for the institute seemed to improve, but the Ministry now desires to put the methods of the cultural representation in Paris in line with the more flexible methods applied in other important cultural centres, such as Berlin, London and New York.

The Council for Culture prepares advice
This spring, the Council for Culture will issue an advice about the set-up of the cultural exchange between the Netherlands and France, at the request of Minister Timmermans. A smaller cultural department will lead to less fixed costs, with more resources available for cultural activities.

For more information, see the news item 'New set-up for cultural programme in France' from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

http://www.sica.nl/en/content/en-us-institut-n%C3%A9erlandais-closes-end-2013