A massive financial setback means that the Nethrelands is now facing a 1 billion euros budget deficit, instead of the previously declared 3.5 billion euros surplus, sources in The Hague told NOS.
According to NOS, healthcare and education did less well financiallly than expected. There were also financial setbacks in other areas.
The spring budget report will be discussed in the Council of Ministers today. More details are expected to be announced after the debate.
Dutch central bank DNB expects the Dutch economy to grow by 2.3 percent this year, according to an estimate the bank published on Monday. This is a much higher growth than the 1.9 percent growth expected in the bank's previous estimate published in June last year, ANP reports.
For next year DNB expects economic growth of 1.7 percent, lower than the 2 percent growth expected in the previous estimate. In 2015 and 2016 the Dutch economy grew by 2 and 2.1 percent respectively.
The Dutch economy is expected to grow by 1.7 percent next year, according to the leaked budget memorandum RTL Nieuws and Telegraaf managed to get hold of. That is slightly more than the 1.6 percent initially estimated.
In 2015 the Netherlands' national debt decreased for the first time since 2006. Last year the national debt was 10 billion euros lower than in 2014. And the country's budget deficit is at its lowest rate since 2009, according to the accountability documents sent to parliament on Wednesday
The Dutch economy will grow an average of 1.8 percent per year in the period 2018 to 2021, according to the medium-term expectations of the Central Planning Bureau. Despite the economic growth, the CPB warns that Dutch households' purchasing power will not increase
More government budget cuts may be inevitable, according to Klaas Knot, president of De Nederlandsche Bank. "If the structural deficit increases, politicians will again have to take a critical look at government spending", he said
An exploratory analysis by the Dutch central bank (DNB) predicts that the influx of refugees will have a small positive effect on the Dutch economic growth in the short term, especially on the spending effect due to higher government expenses. The organization predicts the Netherlands will take in a total of 160,000 people seeking asylum from 2015 through 2017, with roughly 80 percent gaining legal refugee status, the DNB said in its December report, "Economic Outlook and Prospects."
ProRail may be getting 175 million euros less subsidy next year because the company has been pushing money for maintenance and repairs forward for years, instead of using it to repair train tracks.
The Dutch economy has entered a stable growth path that can continue in the future. After seven years the Netherlands has finally returned to the economic level before the crisis in 2008 and 2009. Though unemployment is still a concern and the gross domestic product per capita is still 2.8 percent lower than in 2008.
The Netherlands is emerging from the crisis stronger. Things are going better than expected, but still not good enough, according to Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem while presenting the Budget Memorandum to the Tweede Kamer, lower house of parliament. As per tradition, Dijsselbloem presented the Budget in the same briefcase his predecessor Lieftinck used to present the budget in 1946 after World War II. Dijsselbloem called the briefcase "a small symbol of recovery".
The Netherlands is back among the economic leaders in Europe, but we must stay sober. The better figures does not mean that everyone in the Netherlands is profiting. Unrest abroad also has consequences for the Netherlands. The Netherlands has to prepare for the arrival of more refugees. Keep track. The plan for next year is that employment, purchasing power and growth reach more people.
The 2015 budget deficit is 0.1 percent lower than expected in the Budget Memorandum 2015 and amounts to a deficit of 2.1 percent of the gross domestic product. This is due to the influence of favorable economic developments, lower expenditure on social security and healthcare, lower interest expenses and a higher revenue.
Alkmaar Alderman Peter de Baat resigned on Wednesday night due to a 14.3 million euros deficit in the budget.
According to the Central Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (CPB), the Dutch economy is recovering again, which will give rise to growth in the labour market next year.
The budget deficit and national debt have gone down once more from previous estimates, according to the Spring memorandum, the interim overview detailing the implementation of the budget from this year, Het Parool reports.
The European Commission is more optimistic about the Dutch economy than it was earlier this year. The budget deficit for this year is coming out at 2.8 percent, under the European norm of 3 percent.
Although the Netherlands is lagging behind other European countries when it comes to economic growth, the European Committee expects the Dutch economy to finally rise above the 3 percent allowed budget deficit in 2015. The budget deficit for 2014 is still 3.2 percent, but is anticipated to be down to 2.9 percent in 2015.
