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Max von Kreyfelt stated in his column that the government should first cut its own spending before asking citizens to be frugal. He cited the renovation of the Binnenhof as an example: it was estimated in 2015 to cost 475 million euros, but according to him, the costs had risen to at least 2.7 billion euros by 2026. He wrote that the Court of Audit had called the original estimate unrealistically low. Von Kreyfelt urged ministries to demonstrate what their expenditures yielded. He mentioned European contributions, nitrogen policy, climate programs, migration, and development aid, and asked what problem was being solved, at what cost, and when funding would stop. He also suggested that it should first be demonstrated at 2.5 percent of GDP what Defense could purchase, organize, and staff. According to him, the NATO agreement for 2035 required 5 percent: at least 3.5 percent for defense and a maximum of 1.5 percent for broader security. He wrote that Donald Trump had requested 5 percent. The columnist also criticized the use of consultants and administrative layers. According to him, budget deficits could arise from overly ambitious promises, poor estimates, and too few cuts, and these did not prove that citizens were paying too little. He concluded that the government needed to shrink first. https://t.co/V2P6pFuNy1 #Overheid #Financiën #Soberheid (translated)

Political reporter Tim Wagemakers discusses the urgent infrastructure problems in the Netherlands and the priority list of Minister Vincent Karremans, which will be revealed this afternoon and will determine which projects will be prioritized with limited resources. #Infrastructuur #Financiering #Politiek (translated)

"The US and we clearly have a different approach. We are trying to put pressure on the aggressor to stop the war, rather than putting the victim in trouble and pushing them to surrender." The European position was most clearly articulated by Kaja Kallas, the High Representative for Foreign Affairs. "The majority of the Russian war chest is filled with oil revenues. Ukraine wants the war to stop, and cutting off access to financing is the way to do it." And Kallas: "The majority of the Russian war chest is filled with oil revenues. Ukraine wants the war to stop, and cutting off access to financing is the way to do it." #Oekraïne #Trump #EU (translated)

The writer reported that the European budget for 2028-2034 would be presented later that week. According to him, the debate was often reduced to the question of whether Europe should spend more or less, while he believed it should mainly focus on what was expected from Europe and how those ambitions should be financed. He added that something strange was emerging, but did not elaborate further on that in the post. https://t.co/5sbhgYo5XO #EuropeseUnie #Begroting #Financiering #EU (translated)

The Flemish government has suspended an investment of 317.5 million euros for the ecological transition of ArcelorMittal Belgium, with financing now dependent on concrete investment steps and the progress of the project, without a fixed timeline. #ArcelorMittal #Décarbonation #Flandre (translated)

Sander Sassen stated that entrepreneurs with debts to their own BV had not secretly funneled the borrowed money away, but had built it up from liquid assets that, according to him, had already been taxed. He wrote that for such loans, the same market-conform rules applied as for regular lenders and that they did not constitute free money, as repayment was mandatory. According to Sassen, the BV and the managing director-major shareholder had already paid taxes, and above the existing threshold of five hundred thousand, direct taxation in box 2 applied. Therefore, he believed that the loans did not provide an unfair advantage for entrepreneurs compared to those without their own business. Sassen warned that a reduction of the threshold to one hundred thousand retroactively would affect entrepreneurs who had already sold assets, sometimes their homes, to pay off debts after reductions in 2023 and 2024. According to him, they were often tied to long-term plans and could not repay more quickly. He stated that bankruptcies and job losses could be the consequence of this. Sassen also referred to the Dutch Association of Tax Advisors (NOB), which, according to him, anticipated a massacre among entrepreneurs who had reached their repayment threshold after the reductions in 2023 and 2024. He said that the proposal undermined existing agreements and urged politics not to further disadvantage entrepreneurs. #ondernemen #belasting #financiering (translated)

The author wrote to Piet Hoebeke, Jan Nolf, P. Van Gompel, and Remy Bonny that it was concerning according to them if even people like Rik Van de Walle remained silent out of fear. The author rightly pointed out elements in the report and said that everyone should read it. The author also referred to previous reports on extreme religious and ideological hate networks and the funding of hate. (translated)

Fleur Agema wrote that Minister Mirjam Sterk started talking about reforms herself in Café Kockelmann, but according to Agema, she did not receive any questions about the extent of the cuts to elderly care. She referred to these as not being reforms and stated that the plans included, among other things, an increase in the personal deductible to 400 euros, a personal contribution for home care, and the elimination of household help with a safety net. She also mentioned the cessation of funding for 6,000 nursing home places and the cancellation of the return of care homes, while according to her it had been shown that these were the most suitable for 20,000 vulnerable elderly people. Agema criticized the broadcast and addressed Mats Akkerman at the end. #ouderenzorg #bezuinigingen #hervormingen (translated)

The cabinet has made an additional 2.8 million euros available for research into post-COVID and wants to set up a registration for seriously ill patients, amid criticism of the earlier reduction of funding for this important area of research. #Postcovid #Gezondheidszorg #Onderzoek (translated)