Sharp cuts in asylum and aid to meet the NATO standard requested by Trump
The interim Minister of Finance, "Ilko Heinen" from the VVD party, announced that the Dutch government is considering reducing spending on development cooperation and receiving asylum seekers, with the aim of gradually increasing defense spending to meet the new standard set by NATO. During the NATO summit held in the city of Den Haag, member countries agreed to raise defense spending to 3.5% of the GDP of each country, in addition to 1.5% for defense-related activities. Meanwhile, the Netherlands barely meets the previous standard of 2%.
Member states have until 2035 to achieve this goal, and Heinen believes that the Netherlands can gradually reach it by reallocating the annual budget expenditures of 450 billion euros. He explained: "We need to look for areas that can be reduced every year. It is unreasonable to say that we cannot cut a billion or two annually." He pointed out that the upcoming budget will include a review of the possibility of reducing spending on development cooperation and asylum, emphasizing that the government has already reduced spending on development cooperation, but still sees room for further cuts.
Regarding asylum, Heinen pointed out that the number of asylum seekers in emergency centers remains high, which poses a significant financial burden. He explained that reducing the flow of asylum seekers and speeding up the departure of those who do not have the right to stay could save billions of euros. The Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) confirmed that emergency centers are costly and called on the government for permanent funding to establish more cost-efficient long-term reception centers.
Heinen pointed out that the interim government has not yet made final decisions on how to finance additional defense spending, but he emphasized his complete rejection of increasing public debt, considering that "borrowing is a temporary solution similar to empty promises."
He concluded that defense spending will be one of the main issues on the table for negotiations to form the next government after the October elections, saying: "Everyone recognizes the importance of investing in security, and we will find the money one way or another."