The next Dutch government needs to spend a minimum of €200 million a year to avoid being overwhelmed by a major incident such as a flood or forest fire, safety board leaders have warned.

The leaders of the 25 regional safety boards urged the two parties working on an outline coalition agreement, D66 and CDA, to reverse budget cuts of €27.7 million imposed in recent years and invest €200 million in cross-regional preparations.

Hein van der Loo, chair of the Veiligheidsberaad, the umbrella body for the regional boards, also called for a guarantee that the army would be available to help with a major disaster “even if Dutch troops are being sent to Nato’s eastern border”.

He said: “Budget cuts have left deep wounds. If Groningen asks for help with a dike breach, Twente or Limburg have to send fire engines and specialist. The result is that the fire service in Twente or Limburg can’t always keep to its legal minimum response times.

“Saving some lives comes at the expense of others. That’s unacceptable.”

Van der Loo said the extra cash was necessary to strengthen the capacity of emergency services after years of cost savings. Another €40 million was needed to maintain the 19,000 volunteer firefighters, he wrote in a letter to the negotiators reported in the Telegraaf.

Defence and security are one of the five policy areas being discussed by D66 leader Rob Jetten and CDA leader Henri Bontenbal as they draw up the framework for a coalition agreement in talks chaired by Leeuwarden’s CDA mayor, Sybrand Buma.

The two parties say their differences are “not very big”, but the talks have focused mostly on national security, with the negotiators consulting figures such as Geoffrey van Leeuwen, director of Nato chief Mark Rutte’s private office, and the national counter-terrorism co-ordinator.

Van der Loo said he had set out specific policy proposals, stressing that disaster management was an important part of domestic security.

“This isn’t a wish list, this is a task for everyone in the Netherlands,” he said. “While Buma, Jetten and Bontenbal are working out what to do about migration and purchasing power, there is a ticking time bomb on the table.”