Brexit may cost Dutch taxpayers €750m in extra EU contributions

Britain’s departure from the European Union may cost the Netherlands hundreds of millions of euros in extra EU contributions, according to broadcaster NOS.

The Netherlands is currently one of the biggest contributors to Brussels’ coffers, accounting for some 5% of the total budget.

The loss of Britain’s contribution will cause a net shortfall of some €13bn, once agricultural subsidies and other payments are taken into account.

‘If the Netherlands is to make up some 5% of that, it means an extra payment of €750m,’ Ghent professor Herman Matthijs told the broadcaster. These figures have also been confirmed by the French senate’s own calculations, NOS said.

Without extra payments from the remaining members, Brussels will need to make substantial spending cuts, the broadcaster points out.

This has proved difficult in the past, but is the preferred option of almost all Dutch MPs, NOS said.