Speech from the Throne 2024
Members of the States General,
At the start of this new parliamentary year we can look back on a summer of sporting excellence that has demonstrated once again what our country is capable of achieving. For the millions of sports fans in the Netherlands – including my own family – there was a lot to enjoy. And a lot to be proud of.
In terms of its population size, the Netherlands is around the 70th-largest country in the world. Yet in the Olympic and Paralympic medal tables, we placed sixth and fourth respectively. That speaks volumes. The incredible performances by TeamNL’s athletes showed what can be achieved with talent, hard work and determination, even in the face of occasional setbacks. Our society can draw inspiration from their example. When we set our minds to a goal, we can achieve great things, preserving the high quality of life in our country.
With that in mind, the government wants to work with you in the years ahead to address the concerns that resounded so clearly in last November’s election result, and which are impacting people’s socioeconomic security. There are acute concerns about migration, the tight housing market, and household incomes. There are concerns about the future: about the economy, about the quality and accessibility of healthcare and education, about climate change and our energy supply, and about our national and international security in a world full of turmoil and threats. What is more, there are underlying concerns as well, which are eroding the ties that bind people together and undermining public trust in the government.
Many of the acute problems we face, in areas such as migration, housing, agriculture and the natural environment, can be traced back to the overwhelming complexity of the rules and procedures, and the excessive control mechanisms that have developed over the years. In many cases, the plans drawn up by our policymakers do not fit the practical realities of our day-to-day world. Too often, people are told that what they want is not possible or permissible because it infringes formal rules, and this undermines their sense of personal autonomy. Increasingly, moreover, things we should be able to take for granted are drifting out of reach. A home of your own, a decent income, a safe and familiar neighbourhood. This sense of insecurity is eroding people’s independence. What is more, it is causing resentments in our communities, and a loss of unity.
It is this trend that the government wants to reverse in the coming period. Working step by step with energy and dedication, but with pragmatism and realism too. The government wants to face up to long-standing problems and break the logjams. The policy it pursues to this end will be logical, explicable and above all feasible. Naturally the government will stay within the bounds of the rule of law and convey an honest message: the possibilities of what can be achieved will always be limited, whether by spatial, environmental or financial constraints, or by personnel shortages. But the basic principle of government policy must be: what can we achieve? How can we make things simpler, and get the fundamentals in order? And how can the government offer people more opportunities and certainty instead of less, giving them a stronger basis on which to shape their own futures in a confident manner?
This is a different way of looking at things. And it requires a different, more service-minded government. A government that gives more freedom to, and puts more faith in, the people of the Netherlands – but also all the civil servants and other public employees who work to keep our country safe, clean, accessible, smart and vital. The government programme that was presented to you last week contains an extensive agenda on good governance and the rule of law. Not coincidentally, it begins with the urgent need to give people better protection and ensure that, in the future, they do not get into difficulties due to the actions of the authorities. It must no longer be possible for one small mistake to land someone in trouble. When formulating policy, it is essential to involve the people who provide public services, the municipalities and provinces, the public and the advisory councils at an early stage. And this must result in greater consideration and scope for regional differences and characteristics. ‘Every region counts’ is a key principle of the government programme. Other proposals are aimed at increasing transparency, reforming the electoral system, improving legislation and enhancing protection of fundamental rights. This agenda of good governance and legal certainty naturally extends to the Caribbean part of the Kingdom, providing a basis for our joint efforts to promote future prosperity and wellbeing.
In terms of specific policy, the government programme includes a range of topics and proposals that will be submitted to you in the next year and beyond. This is a work in progress, and some plans are more advanced than others. But in every section of the programme, a balanced approach has been taken between what needs to be done now, and what action, more generally, will be required in the future.
This is very clear, to begin with, in the programme’s financial proposals on income, expenditure and purchasing power. The clear long-term agreement is that the government’s finances must be kept in order by pursuing a strict fiscal policy. Not only will this foster clarity, but it will also force choices to be made, since we face a number of immediate setbacks. In the short term the government’s priority is to ensure, as swiftly as possible, that people have more money to spend. Everyone can expect to see their purchasing power improve next year, including people on middle incomes, those on lower incomes, and pensioners. Together with municipalities and other partners, the government will continue working to reduce poverty and tackle problematic debt, for example by slowing the accumulation of debt collection charges. The government aims to boost income security by thoroughly reforming and simplifying the entire income support system, including benefits. This should also prevent people falling through gaps in the system. The measures to provide redress for the failings in the childcare benefit system and the earthquake damage in Groningen will be continued as matters of utmost priority.
One of the most important topics in the government programme is bringing migration under control. As a result of asylum migration, family reunification, labour migration and student migration, the Dutch population has grown – much faster than expected – to 18 million. This is placing severe pressure on our public services and the way we live as a society. Particularly in the asylum system, the problems are acute. The government will do everything in its power to reduce the number of asylum applications and tackle the desperate situation in places like Ter Apel and Budel as rapidly as possible. The watchwords in this regard are faster, stricter and more basic. Faster asylum procedures and more basic facilities for those with little chance of obtaining a residence permit. Immediate sanctions for people from safe countries who engage in antisocial behaviour. The government is developing a temporary Asylum Crisis Act which will give this approach a greater chance of succeeding. Making agreements with countries of origin and transit is a key priority, so we can stop human trafficking and people smuggling, and shut down irregular migration routes. The Netherlands is pressing hard for progress on these issues in Europe too. In the run-up to the introduction of the European Pact on Migration and Asylum in 2026, the Netherlands will apply a far stricter admissions regime. Failure to cooperate with return will be made a criminal offence, and the conditions for obtaining a Dutch passport will be made stricter.
A serious and growing problem in our society is the tight labour market. From technology to public transport, from education to healthcare and from hospitality to horticulture: severe staff shortages can be felt everywhere. It is therefore important that we encourage people currently on the sidelines to join the labour force. Another idea, and a relatively quick win, is for part-time employees to start working longer hours. The government is working to achieve this, for example by means of measures to increase the number of people on permanent contracts and ensure that those who decide to work more hours really do have more money in their pockets at the end of the month. With a view to the future, we will need to think more fundamentally about what sort of work we do and don’t want to do in the Netherlands, and how that in turn relates to the issue of labour migration. Above all, we must always fight to prevent abuse and exploitation of labour migrants. In the spring the government will present the House with an initial inventory of proposed improvements for the labour market of the future.
Of course, staff shortages are also a big issue for people who run businesses. The government is well aware that the money that pays for our public services is generated by businesses. For that reason alone, our businesses deserve appreciation, and should be given the freedom to spread their wings. We must keep working to foster an attractive business climate. The government is working to achieve this by, for instance, imposing fewer rules, lowering the tax burden and providing extra funding for innovation via Invest-NL. Business policy in general needs to be far more predictable. This autumn, a major summit on the business climate will be held so that the government and the business community can jointly determine what is necessary and feasible. Good accessibility is obviously important for businesses, not least via Schiphol Airport and the Port of Rotterdam. And in order to maintain the high quality of the Netherlands’ roads, waterways and railways, in the coming years we will be embarking on the largest programme of maintenance works ever undertaken. In addition to the Randstad conurbation where our biggest cities are, longer term plans for new infrastructure will include other parts of the Netherlands too, such as the Lower Saxony rail link between Groningen and Enschede.
A major problem encountered by companies wishing to expand is the lack of capacity in our electricity grid. The government plans to tackle this as a matter of priority. The Netherlands is aware of its obligations under the Paris Climate Agreement and will continue its efforts to make homes and buildings more sustainable, develop nuclear energy plants and wind farms as sources of energy for the future, and improve security of supply. It is important to ensure that the energy transition is achievable and affordable for everyone. Greening Dutch industry and embracing innovation will create new opportunities for the future. Green growth starts with asking what we can do today in order to reap the benefits tomorrow.
The problem of endlessly accumulating regulations is perhaps biggest in the agricultural and fishery sectors. The government wants to end the polarised perception that food production and biodiversity are diametrically opposed. It is precisely the combination of agriculture and nature that has always given the Dutch landscape its unique charm. The change we need in our thinking and actions begins with recognising the importance of food security in an uncertain world, and the fact that Dutch farmers are among the most efficient on the planet. That is something we should be proud of and take pains to preserve. The most urgent short-term issue we face is the manure crisis, and you will shortly receive a plan for how it will be tackled. Realistic and feasible policy is needed across the board to provide farmers and fishers with long-term certainty and opportunities for enterprise, without new national requirements on top of international agreements. No one will be forced to close their farm, and the government’s policy will be determined by the true state of the natural environment and by actual emission measurements. Focusing on the goal rather than the measures will be a core principle in this regard. It will therefore be up to the farmers themselves to decide how they wish to achieve the goals that are set. An incentive budget of €5 billion will be available to help achieve the transition that is needed. In addition, there will be a separate annual budget of €500 million for agricultural stewardship.
When it comes to traditional public tasks such as security, housing, education and healthcare, the government’s thinking is also informed by the broad concept of socioeconomic security. The fundamentals must be in order. And if one thing can be considered fundamental, it is a basic sense of security. It is clear that national and international security are becoming increasingly intertwined. In a world of conflicts, cyberattacks, disinformation and rising threats, the Netherlands cannot guarantee its security by acting in isolation. Our country has always had an open outlook on the world, and that will not change. After all, cooperation within the European Union and NATO is our main guarantee of prosperity, stability and security. The decision to continue supporting Ukraine serves direct national interests, both military and economic. The same goes for the decision to enshrine the Netherlands’ defence expenditure in law. The rule of law in the Netherlands and the international legal order must be protected and strengthened in every possible way. In the coming period the government will therefore invest in the police, in the ongoing fight against organised crime, and in the armed forces, among other areas. The fact that next year’s NATO Summit will be held in The Hague further underlines the Netherlands’ international engagement and commitment.
One key question for the future is how the Netherlands can maintain its resilience in the face of increasing threats. We need to be prepared, for example, for attacks targeting our digital connectivity, roads, energy grid, ports and flood defences. But even at home, people need to be prepared for temporary outages, such as power cuts and disruptions to the water supply. Resilience is a crucial theme for the government, both here and at European level, where we are working with our partners to safeguard the security of our energy and raw material supplies.
Just as fundamental to people’s socioeconomic security is having a decent roof over one’s head. The housing crisis is one of the most complex challenges facing the government. After all, the issue is not simply how many homes should be built, but how to divide up the scarce space available in the Netherlands. Countless justifiable interests are competing for precedence: the construction of new homes, schools and business premises. Infrastructure, energy supplies and flood safety. Agriculture, nature conservation, the armed forces. Space is needed for them all. And when you add them all together, they don’t all fit inside our small country. The National Spatial Strategy, which the government will present before next summer, will address the question of how our scarce space can be divided as fairly as possible. It goes without saying that more housing needs to be built, and urgently. The goal is 100,000 new homes per year. The government is making an extra €5 billion available over the next few years for that purpose, as well as a further €2.5 billion aimed at enhancing access to new residential areas. At a national housing conference to be held before the end of the year, the government will conclude binding agreements with subnational authorities, investors such as pension funds, and housing associations. It is crucial in this connection to shorten procedures and ensure that the same rules apply everywhere at local level.
With regard to education, getting the fundamentals in order means a strong focus on the core skills of reading, writing and arithmetic. You will shortly receive the main points of the government’s plan to restore the quality of education, which ties in with existing initiatives to improve those core skills. Education benefits from stability and continuity, not large-scale experimentation. In further and higher education, from senior secondary vocational education to university, the government will focus more on teaching and research geared to what the Netherlands needs. Clear choices need to be made, in terms of both the substance and the funding of education. Those choices include reducing the number of foreign students in the Netherlands and reinstating Dutch as the standard language of instruction throughout higher education.
Our health is the most precious thing we have, and therefore our healthcare is of incalculable value. In order to make access to healthcare more equal, the health insurance excess will be frozen, and from 2027 it will be more than halved to a maximum of €165 per year. Healthcare decisions should be determined not by the size of one’s wallet but by the urgency of the treatment that is needed. The planned cuts to elderly care have been scrapped for the coming year. To prevent staff shortages in the health and care sector becoming unmanageable, time spent on administration must be halved as a matter of urgency, leaving more time for patient care. This will require innovations in areas like digitalisation and the smart use of artificial intelligence. In addition, the use of technological aids will save a great deal of time which can then be spent on providing personal attention, both at home and in hospitals. In the coming period the existing Healthcare Agreement will take concrete form, including with regard to issues such as keeping regional hospitals open. Since prevention is always better than cure, disease prevention will remain high on the agenda.
Members of the States General,
In our complex society, it is not always easy to give a simple answer to the question of what one can do. And yet that is the task of any political office holder or public administrator. Because, if large groups of people can no longer cope with a country’s rules, then government policy has missed its mark. With that in mind, the government will work step by step towards concrete solutions that foster certainty, trust and cohesion. They can only succeed in that task by collaborating closely with you. In discharging your duties, you may feel supported in the knowledge that many are wishing you wisdom and join me in praying for strength and God’s blessing upon you.