Theโค Hague – โค The Netherlands‘ budget projections for 2026 and beyondโข contain unrealistic โคcuts and postponed investments, possiblyโ burdening future governments, according to a critical assessment released by the Court of Audit following Prince’s Day.โฃ The Court of audit has sent letters to each ministry โoutlining these concerns.
Key โฃissues highlighted include overly optimistic savings projections on asylum โcosts. While theโค former asylum minister, Faber, anticipated a decrease in โขspending linked โto fewer asylum seekers, current submissionโ numbers do not support this โฃassumption. The budget currently estimates โฌ4 billion for asylum reception in 2026,dropping to just โฌ1 billion in 2027.
The Court of โAuditโข also flagged calculated cutbacks โคon EU payments.The current cabinet aimed for a โฌ1.6 billion discount on โcontributions to the EU, a negotiation โฃthat has yet to yield results, but the anticipated savings are โalready factored into the โbudget. Conversely, the Netherlands expectsโข to receiveโ โฌ2.9 billion fromโข the European repair and resilience fund โคfor sustainability and digitization projects, requiring detailed accountability for previously received funds – an area whereโค the Court โขof Audit previously warned the โNetherlandsโ isโค “not in order” this โspring.
Furthermore,the outgoing cabinet’s practice of postponing โขscheduled investments,referred to as “cash,” creates a moreโ favorableโ short-term budget โฃoutlookโ but shifts costs onto the next administration.
Regarding defense โคspending, the budget lacks provisions for increased expenditures committed to under a NATO agreement, potentiallyโ totaling โฌ19 billion annually in theโ longโค term. The allocation of funds for โthis increase remainsโ a contentious point among political parties, with the CDA proposing a taxโ increase (“liberty contribution”), GroenLinks-PvdA advocatingโฃ for increased defense spending without cuts to social security, and the โคVVD favoring budget cuts overโข tax hikes.
The Courtโค of Audit’s assessment underscoresโฃ a policy-light budget presented by the outgoing cabinet, deferring major decisionsโ to the newly elected Lower House.