The Dutch cabinet has never considered leaving the eurozone, prime minister Mark Rutte told MPs following claims that he threatened to pull out in a conversation with EU president Herman Van Rompuy.

The Volkskrant reported on Wednesday that Rutte made the threat during a meeting with Van Rompuy in 2012 to discuss further European integration and Van Rompuy’s plan for strict contracts between Brussels and the eurozone members on economic reforms.

In the interview, Van Rompuy says he was ‘surprised’ at Rutte’s threat to leave the euro if the ‘transfer union’ went ahead.

Strongest terms

According to the Volkskrant, others who were present were also surprised because for Dutch consumption Rutte was hammering home the message that the euro was vital to the Netherlands’ economy.

Rutte said in a written statement that the discussion with Van Rompuy centred on plans to ensure a large amount of money from rich eurozone countries was transferred to poor ones.

The Netherlands opposed this because it was not in the country’s interests and this message was shared with Van Rompuy ‘in the strongest terms’, Rutte said. The Netherlands was prepared to veto the proposal, he said.

Van Rompuy has since said in a reaction to the Volkskrant article that he was surprised at several of Rutte’s statements but that he had never heard anything official about the Netherlands leaving the eurozone.