Finance Minister Jan Kees de Jager says the cabinet has agreed the measures to be announced on Dutch Budget Day Prinjesdag in September. He told reporters that “a couple of things” still had to be worked out but that the cabinet needn’t meet again to do that.

His colleague, Social Affairs Minister Henk Kamp, however, had said shortly before that everything needed to be gone over again by the cabinet next week. He explained that only after that would the final budget decisions be taken.

Purchasing power

Prime Minister Mark Rutte finally put an end to the confusion, saying all the political decisions had been harmoniously decided upon and that next week would just be about technicalities. He went on to say that purchasing power will have to fall in 2012 because of cuts which are necessary to balance the government’s books.

Sources in The Hague say ministers want to limit the reduction in purchasing power to between 0 and 2 percent for all sections of society. Earlier it was feared that groups such as people on low incomes, families with children and pensioners would be especially hard hit by the cuts in 2012.

© Radio Netherlands Worldwide