The European Commission has confidence that the Netherlands will meet EU budget rules, a spokesman for the Commission told Dutch newspapers on Thursday, following the publication of new Dutch economic forecasts.

The forecasts from the government’s macro-economic forecasting agency CPB say the Dutch budget deficit will reach 4.5% next year, well above the 3% level in monetary union rules.
The Netherlands is one of the main supporters of strict budgetary discipline, the spokesman pointed out. This means the Netherlands will be sure to apply the rules to itself, the spokesman for European commissioner Olli Rehn is quoted as saying.