Minority Cabinet deal: Billions for Defense, social media age minimum, later retirement

D66, VVD, and CDA unveiled their coalition plans on Friday, covering major defense investments, new taxes to fund security, Lelystad Airport’s opening, stricter social media rules, and wide-ranging government reforms.

A new “freedom contribution” will require payments from both citizens and businesses to boost national security. Starting in 2028, citizens are expected to contribute 3.4 billion euros, while companies will pay 1.7 billion euros, according to the coalition agreement. The levy was part of the CDA’s election program.

The coalition parties D66, VVD, and CDA plan to make the new NATO defense spending target legally binding. The goal is to allocate 3.5 percent of GDP to defense. “This provides the long-term certainty our military deserves,” they stated.

Many defense measures from earlier agreements between D66 and CDA are being incorporated. The plan calls for a scalable military force of at least 122,000 personnel, and selective conscription may be reinstated if staffing shortages persist.

Ukraine is also set to receive billions in support between 2027 and 2029, including 3 billion euros in military aid and more than 400 million euros in additional assistance.

Non-military aid will be funded by the budgets of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, while Defense will cover a portion of Ukraine’s military assistance. To finance its share, the Defense Ministry will use a “cash shift,” bringing future funds forward. The ministries are already contributing part of the costs.

The coalition expects that a more streamlined government could save 1 billion euros a year from 2029. Modernizing the civil service is seen as key, with efficiency improvements potentially reducing costs by up to 400 million euros annually.

D66, VVD, and CDA are assigning ministries and implementing agencies the task of reducing expenditures “in proportion” to their size, so larger departments will have to make bigger cuts than smaller ones. Certain organizations are exempt, such as the police, prisons, the Public Prosecution Service, several judicial institutions, and the agencies responsible for damage repair in Groningen.

The coalition plans to invest 1.5 billion euros in education and scientific research. Oversight of programs offered in languages other than Dutch will be removed.

The coalition also announced plans for Lelystad Airport to open for civil flights. Initially, they foresee around 10,000 takeoffs and landings, provided the airport complies with all legal requirements, including obtaining the necessary environmental permits.

The question of opening Lelystad Airport has been contested for years. VVD supports allowing commercial flights, while D66 opposes them. CDA’s election program specified that the airport should only open for civil aviation once requirements for quieter and cleaner operations are met and problems with low-flying routes have been addressed.

Another much-discussed topic is social media use by children. The new coalition plans stricter regulation of major online platforms and an enforceable European minimum age of 15 for social media use to ensure the internet remains “safe and healthy.” They are also calling for improved digital education and tighter rules on mobile phone use in schools.

The coalition also wants tougher laws on deepfakes, highly realistic manipulated images. Sharing content that depicts criminal acts will be criminalized, with exceptions for journalistic purposes. Parents will receive guidance, and stricter rules will be implemented to protect children from online influence and to regulate financial advice given online.

D66, VVD, and CDA plan to raise the legal age for tobacco and vaping products from 18 to 21, advancing their goal of a “smoke-free generation.” They also propose criminalizing the possession of flavored vapes, which are currently illegal. The coalition has not specified when the raised age limit would be implemented.

It had already been reported that the coalition plans to cut over 5 billion euros by keeping the healthcare deductible unchanged. The reduction proposed by the previous government will be abandoned, and starting next year, the deductible will be indexed to wages and inflation, saving the state around 4 billion euros each year. This was confirmed in the plans.

Starting in 2027, the healthcare deductible will rise by 60 euros, generating an additional 1 billion euros for the state budget.

It was also stated that the parties plan to introduce a “sugar tax” from 2030, which could raise nearly 1 billion euros for the state. Producers of sugary beverages would be responsible for paying the 850 million euro levy, though companies typically pass such costs on to consumers.

The coalition plans further investments in preventive measures, allocating 50 million euros more to sports and 35 million euros to medical prevention, including vaccinations. They also aim to expand the neighborhood-based vaccination program.

In addition, the parties plan to accelerate the rise of the state pension age from 2033. Currently, the AOW increases by eight months for each additional year of life expectancy, but the parties propose a full-year increase per extra year of life expectancy. This change is projected to save the government more than 2.5 billion euros annually.