The Netherlands is the biggest net payer into EU coffers

The Netherlands has been the biggest net payer into the EU’s coffers over the past five years, according to research by national statistics office CBS.

The CBS calculates the EU cost each person in the Netherlands just under €150 last year – or 0.4% of gross national income. In total, the Netherlands paid €6bn into the EU and got back €3.5bn in the form of grants, subsidies and discounts.

The CBS also calculates that if Britain had not been a member, the annual bill for the Netherlands would have been €442m higher.

However, the likely impact of Britain’s withdrawal on the Dutch bill for EU membership will ‘depend on what form Brexit takes and what agreements are made between the European Union and Britain,’ the CBS said.

The agency also calculates that trade between Britain and the Netherlands has been boosted since the referendum in June.

Between July and October, Dutch exports to Britain totalled €13bn, a rise of 5% on the year-earlier period. British exports to the Netherlands were up almost 3% to €7.5bn