Setback to costs EU and development aid

A new European algorithm will mean that The Netherlands will spend more money next year on payments to the European Union and development aid, and will make the scope of the Dutch economy a lot bigger than previously calculated. Expenditures for the EU and development cooperation makes up a percentage of the Dutch gross domestic product (GDP), which means that the expenditure in euro's will rise significantly. Sources within the budget talks between the cabinet and 'friendly' opposition parties claim that the amount in 2015 could run into the hundreds of millions, the ANP reports on Wednesday. Eurostat, the European statistics bureau, has recently published a new algorithm that calculate a big growth in the Dutch GDP. An earlier revision of the figures by the Central Bureau for Statistics (CBS) calculated the GDP over 2010 at 7.6 percent higher, €45 billion, a much bigger correction than finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem earlier expected. The algorithm will be used for this and next year, but it is clear that the payments to the EU, and development aid will rise significantly. It is still unclear if the correction to expenditures will also have to be amended retroactively as well.