Ministers will decide in March if the government needs to make extra cuts to keep the state finances on track, finance minister Jan Kees de Jager has told reporters.

The government’s macro-economic planning bureau CPB will publish new figures on the economy in six months time.
De Jager did not say how much might have to be cut, but the CPB said earlier an extra €5bn could be on the cards. The government is already committed to reducing spending by €18bn by 2015.
While the budget deficit is now expected to be higher than forecast, it is still within the agreed margins, making extra cuts now unncecessary, De Jager said.

For a summary of the finance minister’s budget statement in English, click here