On the third Tuesday of September, the Netherlands marks Prinsjesdag, when the Dutch government traditionally presents its budget for the year ahead.
On Tuesday 15 September, the first budget of the Netherlands’ unusual minority government, led by Prime Minister Rob Jetten of the social-liberal D66 party, was presented.
As this arrangement means the government does not have a parliamentary majority for its budget plans, the coming days – and potentially weeks – will focus on securing support from opposition parties for key reforms. As a result, the budget is likely to dominate the Dutch news agenda for longer than usual.
The government can seek majority support from parties on either the left or the right, but parties on both sides are demanding a clearer political direction and have little appetite for supporting individual measures, as BNR reported.
Much of the current Prinsjesdag coverage therefore centres on the political battle, rather than the substance of the budget itself. Dutch public broadcaster NOS, for example, focuses on whether the minority government and opposition parties will be able to find common ground.
The government can seek majority support from parties on either the left or the right, but parties on both sides are demanding a clearer political direction and have little appetite for supporting individual measures, as BNR reported.
Much of the current Prinsjesdag coverage therefore centres on the political battle, rather than the substance of the budget itself. Dutch public broadcaster NOS, for example, focuses on whether the minority government and opposition parties will be able to find common ground.
While technology receives less attention than areas such as defence and housing, the budget does contain several noteworthy measures. Financial support and more room for experimentation are at the heart of the government’s efforts to stimulate breakthrough innovation and strengthen the Dutch economy for the future.
Het Financieele Dagblad highlights the government’s proposals on innovation, with more than €3 billion allocated to a new National Investment Institution (NII), designed to help innovative companies develop and remain in the Netherlands. A further €500 million has been allocated to the National Agency for Disruptive Innovation (NADI), modelled on the US innovation agency DARPA and Germany’s SPRIND. NADI will be headed by Jelle Prins, founder of Dutch AI company Cradle.
Dutch tech industry association NLdigital, has responded in outlets including AG Connect by welcoming the investments, but also stressing that further investment is needed to make a meaningful difference.
The government is also allocating €120 million for participation in the European IPCEI-AI programme. In addition, it wants AI to take over more tasks currently performed by civil servants, with the aim of making government more effective. However, NRC reports that it is not yet clear what role AI will play or how many jobs it could make redundant. In the same article, Bart Custers, Professor of Law and Data Science at Leiden University, also cautions that the costs of introducing AI will come before the benefits, as investment in civil servants with AI expertise will first be needed.
This also feeds into a wider debate in the Netherlands about digital sovereignty and dependence on Big Tech. The issue has gained prominence in recent months after the infrastructure behind DigiD, the login service for Dutch government services, risked falling into American hands. Although the government has been urged to make this a genuine priority, iBestuur mentions that digital sovereignty did not make it into the final budget, and considerable uncertainty remains over how the government intends to approach the issue.
It’s important to take into account the uncertainty surrounding the final shape of the budget and the debate over the political agreement needed to pass it, both of which are likely to dominate the news agenda in the coming weeks.
Many of the government’s technology plans are also still light on detail. As the debate shifts towards how they will work in practice, organisations and experts with relevant experience have an opportunity to help shape the conversation. In particular, debates around the use of AI to make government more efficient, the importance of digital sovereignty, and the Netherlands’ attractiveness as a location for technology companies provide potential hooks for expert commentary, proprietary data or real-world examples.
Communications leaders should also be prepared for potentially reduced media attention for corporate news that does not directly relate to the main Prinsjesdag themes and, where possible, adjust the timing of announcements accordingly.
Justus Meuzelaar is a Senior Consultant at Tyto, based in the Netherlands. He specialises in turning complex and technical topics into compelling stories that support clients’ wider communications and marketing objectives.