A stable Europe with one currency is the backbone of the Dutch economy and the government should do everything necessary to save the euro, employers’ organisation VNO-NCW chairman Bernard Wientjes told news agency ANP on Tuesday afternoon.

Prime minister Mark Rutte should take no notice of eurosceptics or of the government’s alliance partner PVV, Wientjes said.
Geert Wilders’ PVV party is against a Dutch contribution to the bail-out of Greece, but if Greece falls there will be a domino effect in countries such as Spain and Italy, says Wientjes. ‘That’s bad for our economy because we have considerable import and export interests in south Europe.’
Pensions
Wientjes also commented on the new pension scheme, worked out between his organisation, unions and government and currently under attack by the three biggest unions.
He can see no reason for renegotiation but thinks some tweaking to the wording would alleviate concerns that young people will be disadvantaged and that linking pension funds to stock market activity will create a ‘casino pension’.
He also agreed with comments made by social affairs minister Henk Kamp at the weekend that tax breaks for people wanting to retire at the current age of 65 would be helpful. ‘But there must be a limit otherwise there’s no point in raising the pension age,’ he said.