As Volt, we want Enschede to offer support for Ukraine. This file shows relevant updates in Enschede around this topic.

2025-03-03: Questions in the council meeting on current affairs 2024-07-15: Motion titled “Enschede supports Ukraine with reconstruction”

News articles about how our region supports Ukraine

2025-03-03

URL: Vragen Erik Kemp Volt inz. steun aan Oekraïne Type: Questions in the council meeting on current affairs

Introduction Last Monday marked 3 years since Russia invaded Ukraine. On Tuesday ‘Writers for Ukraine’ organised a meeting in 'De Kleine Willem', which touched me very much. On this fierce evening, writers and soldiers shared their stories about the horrific situation in Ukraine. I would like to take you through some of the things that were said that evening.

Enschedean and initiator of the Protect Ukraine Foundation Jaap Scholten told, among other things, about how their foundation transports nappies and catheters to Ukraine. When they got the demand for those materials, they didn't know what it was needed for. On arrival in Ukraine, it turned out it was for returned war prisoners. A large proportion of the returning Ukrainian war prisoners turned out to have been so badly tortured by the Russians that they became incontinent.

Ukrainian medic Christina who told how she trained 30 other medics, none of whom are currently still alive. Former commander of land forces Mart de Kruijf shared this take home-message with the visitors: “If we just let a democratic country in Europe be wiped off the map, we are not worthy of democracy”. Tommy Wieringa shared how he takes rugby players to Ukraine and how they are lit with the fire for democracy that is strong in the hearts of Ukrainians.

We as an Enschede city council passed a motion last year to support Ukraine in reconstruction. We understood from the college that as a municipality we are now giving webinars to help Ukrainian officials with sustainable urban development and writing grant applications. Volt wonders exactly how much we are doing for Ukraine, and whether we in Enschede can't do more. Last November, for instance, we received from Hof van Twente the invitation to participate in their initiative on support for Ukraine's reconstruction.

On support to Ukraine, Volt asks the following questions:

1) What has Enschede already done in terms of support to Ukraine, and what support is already planned for next year? 2) How does the Board view the initiative of the Hof van Twente municipality? Could we join it as the municipality of Enschede? 3) Does the College agree with us that we could do more to support Ukraine, and if so, does the College have any ideas what else we could do for Ukraine?

2024-07-15

URL: Enschede steunt Oekraïne bij wederopbouw Type: Motion Factions: Volt Status: Approved Voted in favour: Volt (2), PvdA (4), CDA (3), D66 (3), CU (2), SP(2), EA (1), PvdD (1) Voted against: BBE (10), VVD (4), PVV (2) Result: Ongoing support for Konotop, a city with 80.000 inhabitants in the north of Ukraine.

Title motion: Enschede supports Ukraine in reconstruction

The City Council of Enschede, meeting on 15-07-2024, having heard the deliberation on: Summer Memorandum 2024

Noting that: – The 2023 annual accounts already showed that we were so far left with 9.5 million in contributions from the state for the reception of Ukrainian refugees [1]. – With this summer note, we are already budgeting in advance €4 million of this contribution for the reception of Ukrainian refugees to make up our own budget. – There is a terrible war going on in Ukraine, about which, by the way, our local broadcaster 1 Twente has made a has made a wonderful documentary about [2]. – A plan has been launched for a decentralised reconstruction of Ukraine .3 = European cities at the same European summit were called upon by the Ukrainian representation to find a partner city in Ukraine for decentralised post-war reconstruction support [4]. – The Dutch government signed a 10-year security agreement with Ukraine in March 2024, which includes effort for reconstruction assistance [5].

Considering: – It is questionable to use this huge financial windfall as a ‘closing item’ to make our own budget. – In doing so, it would be appropriate to take concrete steps to shape aid to Ukraine ourselves as a city from our own expertise as local authorities in the Netherlands and in the EU. Instructs the Executive Board to: – In consultation with VNG international to respond positively to the appeal to European cities made by the Ukrainian delegation made at the European Summit of Cities and Regions in Mons, offering to actively use our expertise in the field of reconstruction in Ukraine.

And moves on to the order of business.

News articles

2025-02-17 1Twente: “Thales gaat samenwerken met Oekraïens defensiebedrijf

Imagine you are renting a house, and one day the landlord comes in and tells you that from next month, you will not be able to enter your house with a key anymore. They have found something much more innovative. You will (only) be able to enter your house with your smarthone, where you must have their app installed. Oh yes, and the digital locks will also be logging when you enter and leave your house.

That's the message that all ~2400 residents on the campus of the University of Twente received on 4 December 2025. Oh yes, and because the locks didn't require electricity themselves, these new locks were not only more secure than mechanical locks, but also highly eco-friendly. Here is a quote from the first e-mail:

“Our current lock system is outdated and needs replacement to meet modern safety and management standards. We are introducing a digital lock system, integrating your house key into your phone via the Veste Wonen app. Step by step, we’ll guide you through the process, and you’ll be well-informed in advance about when you’ll switch to a digital key.

The new locks don’t require electricity or batteries, making them low-maintenance and highly eco-friendly. Thanks to the smartphone-based locking mechanism, the system is safer than a physical key. And no more need for spare keys! The rollout of the new lock system will start in February 2025, and you’ll receive more details soon about how it works.”

The students were not amused. They made a petition, got media attention, and at some point they all met at a meeting of the Central Tenants Council Drienerlo to discuss these plans of the housing corporation. Volt city councillor Erik Kemp was invited to give some background information on the pros and cons of these digital locks, based on his expertise in privacy and cyber security and his role in local politics. After the meeting, all attendees supported Erik's initiative to also start a discussion on digital locks in his role as a city councillor.

Our main arguments against these digital locks

We identify two main arguments against these digital locks: 1. It should not be compulsory for anyone renting a house that you can only enter your house with a smartphone. 2. Entering or leaving your house should not be not be turned into a data point, and you should be able to know that that is not happening.

Timeline

2024-12-04: Veste Wonen sends their first e-mail announcing digital locks.

2024-12-18: – UToday – 'Key gate on campus: residents don't want digital locks'. – Security.nl – 'De woningstichting wil de voordeursloten vervangen door een app, mag dat?'.

2025-01-14: Meeting of the Central Tenants Council Drienerlo, mainly about the digital locks. See also: – Tubantia.

2025-01-20: Erik asked questions about the digital locks in the council meeting. See also: – UToday. And the day after. – 1Twente. More elaborate but in Dutch. – Tubantia.

2025-01-27: Our resolution 'Privacy starts at your own house' is approved by the majority of the city council. The announcement of the motion, the short debate, the reply for the city's executive board and the vote can be seen in the city council video archive. See also: – UToday. – Tubantia.

2025-02-04: Member of Parliament Marieke Koekkoek asks parliamentary questions about digital locks. See also: – UToday. – Security.nl.

2025-02-13: Veste Wonen sends a new e-mail, also published online: > 1. Tenants will have the choice of a key tag, the digital key in the Veste Wonen app, or both. > 2. Due to concerns from a group of tenants regarding privacy and data, we have asked the supplier not to log information regarding the opening and closing of the lock. None of that data will be stored. > 3. We will introduce the new locking system step by step. We will start this summer with the new buildings on the Boulevard and the short-stay rooms on campus. Based on an interim evaluation, the future steps will be determined. The Central Tenants' Council will remain closely involved.

2025-03-31: Veste Wonen sends a new e-mail.

2025-..–..: Feel free to let us know about any more recent updates on this file!

More on digital locks

Where are digital locks already implemented?

For the Netherlands, our MP Marieke Koekkoek has asked our minister whether they have a full or partial overview of houses or buildings in the Netherlands where digital keys are necessary to enter houses or where entering or leaving a house is digitally registered, and if yes, whether this list can be shared with Parliament.

From our own sources, we have heard that this system might be in use in Nijmegen, Groningen, Utrecht and Amsterdam.

Things individuals can do

The most important thing you can do to make an impact is to become part of a movement. Go to the CBR meetings, join a political movement, let your voice be heard and work together with others. But of course you can also do certain things on an individual level.

In Germany, it's highly encouraged that the first thing you do when moving into a place is changing the lock to your own – and to change it back before moving out. In the Netherlands, this is not very usual, but this is something you might want to consider if for any reason you really don't want the digital lock.

If you think your privacy is still violated, you can start a legal procedure. For more information, see the next chapter.

Legal procedures and existing jurisdiction

As far as we know, there has not been a legal procedure against digital locks in the Netherlands. We did find this legal procedure from Finland (see also this article on that Finnish legal procedure on Security.nl), where the Finnish Data Protection Supervisor ruled in favour of Dutch privacy-activist Michiel Jonker that started the legal procedure. Some points from that procedure: 1. The proposed system in Finland would violate the GDPR. 2. A landlord cannot consent to the processing of personal data on behalf of a tenant. 3. A given consent to process personal data must be revocable at any time. 4. The association of owners had wrongly failed to examine alternatives that do not infringe privacy or do so to a lesser extent. 5. No single digital lock can prevent burglary if the intruder is not entering the house with a key.