Reactions to the budget from industry are divided. While employers’ association VNO-NCW said the budget was ‘sensible’, union federations FNV and CNV are unimpressed.

The VNO-NCW is pleased with the continuation of measures from the crisis package, such as liquidity support and credit guarantees for companies. They also welcomed the cabinet’s decision to limit the rise in the cost of staff to employers, which will make the Netherlands more competitive in the global market.
For the FNV the budget shows a lack of vision, which should be more about people and less about money. ‘Getting the accounts in order is important,’ chairman Agnes Jongerius told the FD, ‘but we would have liked to see a vision of the country in 2025.’
The CNV is unhappy with the way the cuts are being shared. Higher health care costs mainly affect people on the lowest incomes, it said. And sacking 4,000 civil servants without reducing the role of the government and cuts to child care do not make for the ‘innovative jobs policy’ it wanted to see.