The Dutch budget deficit will not be above the 3% EU limit this year, according to figures due to be published later on Friday by the central statistics agency CBS.

Sources within the CBS confirmed to the Nos and RTL news that the earlier government expectation of a 3.5% deficit in 2013 has been adjusted.

The difference comes from the fact the government included a large part of the cost of the nationalisation of financial services group SNS Reaal in the figures it submitted to Brussels.

Nationalising SNS Reaal cost €3.7bn with a further €6bn in loans.

Next year

However, under the rules of economic and monetary union, these costs do not have to be included in the overall budget figures.

The downward adjustment is a one-off and will have no effect on next year’s forecast deficit of above 3% or on the €6bn extra in spending cuts the government is currently trying to find.