The government has published the Spring Memorandum. The new budget includes plans for cuts, the first in a long time. Finance Minister Kaag sent the Spring Memorandum to the House of Representatives today. The cabinet speaks of ‘major challenges’ and an ‘expansive fiscal policy’. Government debt will increase in the coming years, but will remain below EMU standards for the time being.
Most important points
- There will be 22 billion euros for residents in the earthquake area in Groningen
- 1.3 billion euros will be earmarked for the settlement of the Supplementary Affair
- Municipalities and provinces will receive 1.3 billion euros from 2027 for ‘a stable, solid and sustainable financial basis’
In the Spring Memorandum, the government writes that there are major budget setbacks due to the ‘drastic events of the past year’. Here it refers to the measures it has taken to mitigate the effect of high energy prices. The support that the government gives to Ukraine in the fight against Russia is also precious. ‘The increased influx of asylum seekers also leads to higher costs and the increased interest rate leads to higher expenditure on the national debt.’
The extra costs have been covered, among other things, through windfalls, such as a smaller influx of students than estimated and lower expenditure on social security. There is also money available that was budgeted, but not yet spent; the so-called ‘depletion’. ‘In addition, the cabinet has had to take a number of structural measures to arrive at a balanced package, such as ending the STAP budget and tailoring the personal budget.’
This message will be supplemented later.
