News item | 15-12-2025 | 15:38
The Netherlands is a regulated country. Many rules are well-intentioned: they protect people, ensure safety and enable fair competition. But in practice, the amount of rules, paperwork and conflicting obligations make doing business unnecessarily difficult. That is why the cabinet has taken action, at the suggestion of Minister Karremans of Economic Affairs. The goal: to tackle the regulatory burden of 500 rules before the summer of 2026. The first 218 rules have now been identified that will be deleted or simplified, or have already been addressed. Karremans announced this today at the Entrepreneurs Summit in Amersfoort.
Minister Karremans: “The government’s reflex is to manage risks with rules, often far behind the decimal point. For many entrepreneurs, this makes the desire to do business disappear. This suffocates our business climate and therefore our earning capacity. That is why cutting back on the regulatory burden is urgently needed.”
Since September, ministries have identified rules that unnecessarily burden entrepreneurs. Input from entrepreneurs and trade organizations and studies were used SME indicator companies in 9 sectors, signals from the Advisory Board on Regulatory Burden (ATR) and evaluations of existing legislation and regulations. This approach has led to a list of 218 rules that are now actually being addressed by the responsible ministries.
Examples include:
- No more annual mobility reporting for companies up to 250 employees (IenW)
Smaller and medium-sized companies no longer need to track and report how employees travel. This eliminates an annual reporting obligation and associated administration.
- Exemption from the tachograph obligation for light electric commercial vehicles (IenW)
Entrepreneurs who drive electric vans and small trucks no longer have to install separate equipment and manually keep track of working and rest times. This saves costs, control obligations and time.
- Fewer mandatory CBS questionnaires for companies (EZ)
Entrepreneurs have to fill out statistical forms less often and less extensively. This saves time, paperwork and administrative costs.
- First a warning in case of late reports of illness or recovery to the UWV (SZW)
Employers will not immediately receive a fine if they accidentally report sick to the UWV too late. This reduces the risk of high costs and saves on objection procedures and legal work.
- Company doctor advice becomes leading in UWV test for reintegration (SZW)
From now on, employers can rely on the judgment of the company doctor, without fear that the UWV will deviate from it later. This reduces the risk of additional obligations and lengthy, costly procedures.
European rules are actively addressed
Part of the regulatory burden arises from European regulations. The Netherlands has joined the European Commission’s simplification approach and in that context is also making proposals to make existing regulations simpler and more workable.
The government also works closely with business and implementation organizations to make rules more workable. An example of this is the joint approach to anti-money laundering rules, in which government, regulators and the business community work together to reduce administrative burdens.