Lower benefits, longer working hours and more expensive healthcare: this is what the Jetten cabinet wants

Anyone who becomes unemployed will soon be entitled to a maximum of one year of unemployment benefits. Those who become disabled will receive a lower benefit. And the state pension age will increase more quickly. These are some of the plans in the coalition agreement presented by D66, VVD, and CDA. Read the key points here.

The new cabinet wants to make drastic cuts to social security and healthcare. D66, VVD, and CDA want to spend more on things like the armed forces and education. But the billions required for this will certainly hit citizens in their wallets.

Benefits

– Unemployment benefits will be shortened to a maximum of one year. Currently, someone who becomes unemployed is entitled to a maximum of two years of unemployment benefits. The three incoming coalition parties do promise a slight increase in benefits, though the exact amount remains unclear. At the same time, employees must have worked longer to accrue unemployment benefits. This should generate a total of €1.3 billion.

The state pension age will increase more rapidly starting in 2033. This means working longer. For every year that people live longer on average, the state pension age will increase by one year. Currently, it’s eight months. Revenue for the treasury: €2.7 billion.

– Those who become disabled will generally receive lower benefits. The maximum benefit someone can receive will be 20 percent lower than it is now. The special, higher benefit for people who become completely disabled (IVA) will also be abolished for new cases. Savings: €2.3 billion.

Healthcare

– The age limit for purchasing tobacco and vapes should be raised from 18 to 21.

The deductible will be increased by €75 to €460. However, as a patient, you will never have to pay the entire amount at once, but a maximum of €150. Municipalities will receive €350 million to help the chronically ill and disabled who cannot pay their bills. Total savings: almost €4.8 billion by 2030.

– Nearly €2 billion will be cut from elderly care starting in 2030. In practice, this means that seniors in nursing homes will have to pay more. And there will be cuts to home help.

– There will be a personal contribution to community nursing.

The new government wants to invest in prevention and well-being. Starting in 2028, €35 million per year will be allocated for this purpose. An additional €50 million per year will also be invested in sports.

Housing shortage

Thirty large new development sites will be constructed across the country. These could be new neighborhoods or new cities. Many of these sites have already been designated by previous governments.

– The rules and taxes for landlords are being relaxed. Exactly how is still unclear. The Affordable Rent Act, which ensures that tenants don’t pay too much, is being revised.

– It is becoming more difficult to object to housing construction projects.

Municipalities will have less freedom to demand that those who buy a house also live there themselves.

– A means test will be introduced for people applying for social housing. This will allow housing corporations to refuse applicants who already own a home and rent it out.

Asylum

The Jetten cabinet will implement PVV member Faber’s asylum laws “in full” if they are passed by the Senate next month. If a sudden surge in asylum applications occurs and “the asylum system collapses under the influx,” a “temporary emergency freeze” on subsequent family members of war refugees could be imposed.

Emergency shelter for asylum seekers in hotels and cruise ships will be replaced by emergency shelter in regular asylum centers.

Municipalities can now decide for themselves whether to prioritize asylum seekers with residence permits for rental housing. The previous government prohibited such priority. Only when there is sufficient housing will the option of prioritizing status holders be eliminated.

– Troublesome refugees will be dealt with more harshly. They will, for example, be issued travel bans more quickly or sent to a special reception center with less freedom. To prevent nuisance, in addition to work and language lessons, daytime activities and therapy are also being provided to address trauma and addiction.

The Schoof cabinet’s collaboration with Uganda is being paused. The plan was to establish “return hubs” in Uganda where rejected asylum seekers from other countries could be sent.

Defense

– D66, VVD, and CDA want to charge a contribution for “our security.” This contribution is not voluntary and will be collected through income tax.

The armed forces will not grow to 100,000, but to 122,000, if the Jetten cabinet has its way. To achieve this, the service year for young people will be “significantly” extended and a mandatory survey will be introduced. The reintroduction of selective enlistment is being kept in reserve as an incentive.

To become less dependent on countries outside the NATO alliance, the government wants to purchase 50 percent of the armed forces’ equipment from Dutch and European partners. This also seems to anticipate a smaller role for the US.

Education

– Students are no longer allowed to have cell phones on their person at school.

The Jetten cabinet will invest in the “rich school day,” or before- and after-school activities such as music lessons, at schools. Broad transition classes are also planned , where students only have to choose a level at a later stage.

– A state commission will be established to investigate the reasons why children are increasingly deteriorating in reading, writing and arithmetic .

Universities and colleges will have “more opportunities to attract top international talent .” The previous government actually wanted to restrict this.

– The non-resident grant for students is increasing.

– There will be a legally required internship allowance.

– Children in primary and secondary education receive free school fruit.

Safety

The parties want to limit the right to demonstrate if it leads to ‘large-scale disruption of public order’.

Football clubs will soon be able to receive a fine if hooligans require police intervention ‘inside the stadium’.

To relieve overburdened judges, the police will soon be allowed to impose fines themselves for minor offenses and some criminal offenses, such as theft, shoplifting, and vandalism.

An additional €100 million will be allocated to overcrowded prisons. However, that’s only a quarter of what’s needed.

A variation on Clare’s Law, an English law named after British woman Clare Woord, who was killed by her boyfriend, who had a violent past, is being introduced here. Soon, women with suspicions about their partners will be able to request information from the police, who will then decide whether and what information can be shared with them, if any.

Tax

– The mortgage interest deduction will be retained.

– VAT on cut flowers will increase from 9 to 21 percent.

– A sugar tax will be introduced that producers will have to pay. The exact details are still being worked out.

Gasoline will become more expensive over time. After 2027 , gasoline excise duties will simply increase with inflation.

– There will be fewer tax credits, such as the labor tax credit and the general tax credit. It is not yet known exactly which ones will be eliminated.

– Child benefit and the child-related budget will be merged, with higher fixed amounts per child.

 Traffic

– Until now, transport ministers have been reluctant, but D66, VVD, and CDA will eventually introduce a separate vehicle category for fat bikes . This would allow the new coalition to introduce a mandatory helmet requirement and a minimum age.

There’s still not much funding for major traffic projects. However, the coalition hopes to resume seventeen suspended road, water, and rail projects.

Lelystad Airport will open to both the F-35 and civil aviation. Initially, this will involve 10,000 aircraft movements.

Schiphol must do more to address noise pollution. The new coalition is sticking to the maximum number of 478,000 aircraft movements per year. A new plan is being developed to address this, and a nighttime closure is also being considered as an option .

Climate

To address the problems on the overcrowded power grid, a special Crisis Act on Grid Congestion will be introduced. This regulation should drastically accelerate the procedures involved in the construction of power grids —including houses and new cables.

The new coalition is sticking to its plan to build “at least” four nuclear power plants in the Netherlands. No additional funding will be provided for this.

Nitrogen

The new government is allocating €20 billion to solve the nitrogen problems. This money is intended for, among other things, acquiring and adapting farms located near nature reserves and for farmers who voluntarily want to stop farming.

– In 2030, the approach will be assessed for success. If not, “additional measures” will be taken. What these measures will be has not yet been specified. The problem must be completely resolved by 2035. If not, there is a risk of forced reductions in livestock numbers. This policy is diametrically opposed to the policy of the Schoof cabinet.

– The nitrogen approach focuses primarily on areas near sensitive Natura 2000 areas, i.e., nature reserves that are in poor condition. It will begin in the Veluwe and De Peel regions.

There will also be a land-based standard, which means that as a farmer you will only be allowed to keep a maximum number of animals per square meter.

The Netherlands and the world

The Netherlands needs to cut the number of civil servants. The coalition wants to save over €1 billion from the central government. However, the government needs to employ more IT professionals to become less dependent on foreign companies.

The coalition wants to allocate more funding for development cooperation. The previous government made significant budget cuts, but the D66, VVD, and CDA coalitions are allocating over €250 million extra annually.

– The cuts to embassies will also be mitigated, with the new government allocating 35 million euros for the maintenance of embassies.

Support for Ukraine will continue unabated, as announced. Previous governments allocated at least €3 billion annually for this purpose, and D66, VVD, and CDA are reserving the same amount for the coming period.

To reduce dependence on the US, the parties want to invest heavily in European arms production and their own intelligence. The Netherlands wants to establish a European version of “Five Eyes,” “to collaborate with a leading group of European countries on intelligence.”

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