NL may miss out on EU billions already allocated: ministers

The Dutch government could lose out on billions of euros of EU money because it will not meet conditions attached to the cash within the deadline, causing a hole in the budget for the next government, ministers have warned.

In a briefing to MPs, economic affairs minister Micky Adriaansens and social affairs minister Karien van Gennip said that it is unlikely the Netherlands will be able to achieve all 49 changes to the law required to qualify for the €5.4 billion from the European Covid Recovery Fund.

The changes, which include measures to make the Dutch economy more sustainable, labour market reforms and more stringent action against money laundering, must be law by March 31 2025.

The delay has been caused by the fall of the cabinet and the subsequent drawn-out formation talks. For example,  a new anti-money laundering measure which limits payment in cash was deemed “controversial” and may now not be processed until a new cabinet has been formed.

Other measures, such as labour reform and the abolition of the energy tax exemption for the steel industry were voted down by the senate.

If the worst comes to the worst, the Netherlands will get nothing but a partial cut will be more likely, the ministers said. Every measure that has not become law by March 31 2025 will cost the Dutch treasury up to €600 million.

The current cabinet is partly responsible for the predicament, the Volkskrant commented, because it proposed the conditions it may now not meet.

If the money is not forthcoming, the next cabinet will have to find other ways of repairing the budget. This would be a double whammy since the Dutch contribution to the Covid Recovery Fund ran into tens of billions of euros, much less than it would now be entitled to, the paper said.