The Netherlands has joined a number of other EU countries in opposing European Commission plans to give Brussels officials right of approval to individual country’s spending plans, the Financieele Dagblad reports on Tuesday.

‘From the Dutch perspective this is very difficult,’ caretaker finance minister Jan Kees de Jager is quoted as saying. ‘It would be fine if the commission’s opinion could be used by parliament in its assessment of the budget, but the commission can never interfere in the budget processes.’
The plan to allow ‘peer review’ of national budgets to strengthen the stability pact was put forward by European economic affairs commissioner Olli Rehn last week.
‘Coordination of fiscal policy has to be conducted in advance, in order to ensure that national budgets are consistent with the European dimension, that they don’t put at risk the stability of the other member states,’ the BBC quoted Rehn as saying.