The Netherlands paid €133m extra to EU in 2014

European Union flags fly in front of the European Commission headquarters in BrusselsThe Netherlands paid an extra levy of €133m to the European Union in 2014 which is far higher than originally thought, the Telegraaf reports on Tuesday.

The top-up amount, over and above the €1.1bn Dutch contribution to the EU budget, was paid to Brussels by finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem last December.

Last autumn the Netherlands was faced with an extra payment of €642m because the economy had grown more strongly than forecast.

The Telegraaf says the extra levy came to light in a government financial statement sent to parliament last week. Dijsselbloem and prime minister Mark Rutte are due to debate the final statement in parliament on Tuesday and the Christian Democrats are asking for an explanation of the payment.

Every member country of the EU pays into the EU budget on the basis of the size of its economy and the figure is adjusted every few years.

Thank you for donating to DutchNews.nl.

We could not provide the Dutch News service, and keep it free of charge, without the generous support of our readers. Your donations allow us to report on issues you tell us matter, and provide you with a summary of the most important Dutch news each day.

Make a donation