By Gilbert Kreijger
THE HAGUE, April 27 (Reuters) – The Dutch finance minister,
who pulled together last-minute support for crucial budget cuts,
said on Friday that some of those measures could be approved by
parliament before elections on Sept. 12.
The minority government collapsed at the weekend in a row
over the budget cuts, which are required if the Netherlands is
to meet strict EU limits on budget deficits.
Led by Finance Minister Jan Kees de Jager, the government
won support late on Thursday from three small opposition parties
for a revised package of spending cuts and tax rises. Unions and
other opposition parties slammed the deal, saying it would hurt
growth and warning it would be torn up after the election.
The deal meant the Netherlands, a core member of the euro
zone, would be able to meet an April 30 deadline for presenting
proposals to Brussels on its plans for meeting EU deficit
targets, averting an embarrassing crisis.
De Jager said he would send the new budget plan to Brussels
at the weekend, and that he expected a rise in value added tax
to take effect on Oct. 1.
The Netherlands still faces months of policy uncertainty
before the Sept. 12 elections, both domestic and regarding euro
zone issues such as the EU fiscal treaty, which will enshrine
balanced budget rules in national law.
De Jager said he expected the Dutch parliament to approve
the EU fiscal treaty, but did not say when.
In the past the minority government relied on the support of
the anti-euro Freedom Party for a majority in parliament, except
on European issues when it relied on the opposition Labour
party.
“Until now, the European agenda of this cabinet has been
approved by the opposition when the Freedom Party did not
support it. It seems to me that thanks to (Thursday’s)
agreement, the situation has improved instead of worsened,” de
Jager said.
