The government’s priorities for 2015 are to ensure the economy continues to recover and to create jobs, prime minister Mark Rutte said on Tuesday.

However, ministers are so far remaining quiet about how they intended to do this. ‘All will be revealed in the Budget,’ Rutte told reporters in the Twente village of Diepenheim where ministers are meeting in an informal atmosphere to finalise their spending plans.

The leaders of the D66 Liberal democrats and minor Christian parties ChristenUnie and SGP joined ministers on Monday morning to put the final touches to the budget, which will be presented to parliament in four weeks time.

Ministers need opposition support to ensure their plans pass in the upper house of parliament where there is no majority government support.

The three opposition parties, which have already helped the government with reforms to pensions, education and the care industry, are keen to see lower taxes and more money for the defence and justice ministries on the table.