The outgoing cabinet’s spring financial statement includes billions of euros in additional spending to fund crisis accommodation for refugees, compensation for parents duped in the childcare benefit scandal, cash to fund the Groningen subsidence scandal, and more money for local councils. 

Much of the extra cash has been raised by claiming back money which had been allocated for specific projects this year at several different ministries, but which has not been spent.

Presenting the plans on Monday, acting finance minister Steven van Weyenberg said he expects the official budget deficit to be less than forecast when the annual figures are presented on September 17. 

“The public finances are in better shape in 2024 than expected on Budget Day last year,” he said. “This is partly because the economy has improved slightly, which is good news but also because we have under-spent. We have failed to spend all the money earmarked for 2024. This is partly due to a combination of an ambitious investment agenda and a very tight labour market.”

Van Weyenberg sent the spring statement to both parliament and the four parties involved in talks on forming a new government weeks earlier than usual, at the request of the negotiation team.

Parliament, in which the four parties in talks on a new cabinet have a majority, are not due to debate the spring statement until June and a draft coalition agreement is not due before mid-May at the earliest. 

As reported earlier, the cabinet has reserved an additional €4.4 billion for Ukraine. 

In total, €1 billion extra will go on refugee accommodation this year and in 2025 – money which will be spent on container homes and reserving empty cruise ships and hotels. 

Some €1.3 billion extra has been allocated to compensate parents wrongly accused of fraud, taking the total cost of paying for the scandal to €8 billion. So far some 33,000 people out of 68,000 have been given cash. 

Sorting out the mess in Groningen, where decades of gas extraction have left thousands of homes and other buildings sinking, will also cost an additional €500 million. Ministers will also press ahead with closing the gas taps permanently, despite concerns from several political parties. 

A further €715 million will go into the local authorities fund to help pay for all the additional tasks councils have been asked to take on and to offset earlier cuts in their spending.

EU limits

The extra spending will take the budget deficit to 2.5% of GDP this year and 2.8% in 2025, below the EU limit of 3%, Van Weyenburg said. The national debt will remain at 49.3% next year, well under the EU’s 60% threshold. 

The spring statement is an annual adjustment of the government’s finances and comes six months ahead of the budget, at which ministers outline their 2025 spending plans. The cabinet is currently in an “acting” capacity and is supposed to keep things ticking over until a new coalition has been finalised.