The caretaker cabinet reached an agreement on next year’s budget on Wednesday evening. That same evening, outgoing Finance Minister Sigrid Kaag (D66) spoke of a “very balanced package”, but did not yet want to disclose details about its contents. The budget is traditionally presented on Prinsjesdag, the third Tuesday in September. This Thursday was the deadline for the agreement. The plans must then be submitted to the Council of State at the latest.
This year, the outgoing cabinet had to take into account the sharp rise in interest rates, resulting in a budget setback of several hundred million euros, and the most recent poverty figures. Earlier this month, the Central Planning Bureau predicted an increase in the number of poor in the Netherlands from 825,000 to almost 1 million if government policy were not implemented. Support packages of billions of euros that were introduced last year, for example to compensate for high energy costs, are about to expire.
The Minister of Finance remained vague on Wednesday evening about whether the agreement includes plans to reduce poverty. The plans have been drawn up “with an eye for the people who are having a hard time,” said the minister. But also: “I can’t look into everyone’s wallet.”
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