Gov't confirms extra billions for Ukraine support & benefits scandal, Groningen victims

Minister Steven van Weyenberg of Defense released the Spring Memorandum, the spring update to the national budget, on Monday, largely confirming plans that had already leaked to the press in recent days. The outgoing government is pushing billions extra into military support for Ukraine, compensation for victims of the benefits scandal and Groningen gas extraction, and asylum shelter, among other things.

The government allocated an extra 4.4 billion euros for military and humanitarian support to Ukraine in the period 2024-2026. It is also increasing defense spending. The Ministry of Defense will receive a once-off extra 500 million euros in 2028 for strengthening air defense and buying more ammunition, among other things.

The government allocated an additional 500 million euros in 2025 “to do justice to the suffering” of Groningen residents affected by the gas extraction earthquakes in the area. It also made an additional 1.3 billion euros available for the victims of the benefits scandal, 400 million euros this year and 900 million euros in 2025.

The Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) will get an additional 375 million euros this year and 700 million euros next year to create more emergency shelters for asylum seekers and keep existing ones open for longer. The COA is struggling with a structural shortage in reception places for asylum seekers.

Municipalities will structurally get 715 million euros extra from 2026 to help fund the many tasks they took over from the government. Dutch municipalities have been struggling to make ends meet since the government decentralized youth care, among other things, in 2015. A planned cut to the municipal and provincial fund was set to aggravate their financial woes. This extra amount should cancel that effect out, the Minister hopes.

The extra billions come from windfalls in various other budgets, so the government finances will not deteriorate as a result. The Finance Minister spoke of a “neat budget” because, with the extra investments in areas that desperately need it, the budget deficit will still be below the EU requirement of no more than 3 percent of GDP. He said the deficit will amount to 2.5 percent this year and 2.8 percent next year. That leaves the parties in the Cabinet formation talks in a good position, he said.

“Government finances are in better shape in 2024 than expected on Budget Day last year,” Van Weyenberg said. On the one hand, this is because the economy has improved slightly, and that is good news. And on the other hand, because there is more under-exhaustion: we are not managing to spend all the money that was reserved for 2024.” Due to widespread staff shortages in the tight labor market, many of the government’s plans for this year have been put on hold.