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According to the figures from the parliamentary inquiry, Prime Minister Bart De Wever achieved significant savings on official foreign trips during the first two years of his term, with total costs of less than 45,000 euros in 2025 and just over 32,000 euros in 2026, compared to the high spending of the previous Prime Minister Alexander De Croo. #BartDeWever #Économie #VoyagesOfficiels (translated)

Forum for Democracy wrote that groceries were almost unaffordable for many Dutch people. The party stated that Biem Yati had proposed reducing the VAT rates to 6% and 19%, and suggested that this could be funded by stopping spending on climate and foreign aid. According to Forum for Democracy, the House voted against it. https://t.co/3v6RqYojqf #Boodschappen #Economie #BTW (translated)

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)

Juliana Könning, vice-chairman of the National Student Union, argued in an opinion piece that claiming that young people are being sacrificed to 'war lust' is pure deception, and advocates for a realistic approach to the discussion surrounding defense spending and the possible introduction of the Defense Readiness Act. #Oorlogskoorts #Jongeren #Defensie (translated)

Maurits Vande Reyde wrote that cities like Ghent and Mechelen, according to him, had been making excessive expenditures and accumulating debts for years, while funds from the municipal fund continued to come in from Flemish taxpayers. Now that the resources from that fund would rise slightly slower, the mayors of those cities and the VVSG had reacted strongly, according to him. He stated that they threatened to pass on the costs to residents and described reducing government spending as difficult in Flanders. #Gemeente #België #Overheid (translated)

Forum for Democracy stated that the state collects almost half a trillion in taxes, yet has a budget deficit of nearly 40 billion. According to the party, the government did not have a revenue problem, but a spending problem. They argued against spending more money on climate, war, and immigration, so that the burden on the Dutch people could decrease. https://t.co/KNKeEP95sY #belasting #begroting #uitgaven (translated)

The author stated that the government took more than half of every 100 euros that people earned, while the government failed to get the budget in order. Instead of addressing taxpayers again, the De Wever government should, according to the author, tackle its own spending. https://t.co/5Ath8LKqiO #belasting #overheid #uitgaven #Be #NL (translated)

The European Court of Auditors warns that the rapidly rising EU debt, which recently reached nearly 740 billion euros and is expected to rise to 1 trillion euros, is consuming an increasing share of the EU budget, putting pressure on other expenditures. #EUSchuld #EuropeseRekenkamer #EUbudget (translated)

"that an increase in defense spending must be structurally integrated within the budget," Minister Heinen believes "that an increase in defense spending must be structurally integrated within the budget," he wrote earlier to the Chamber. #DefensieUitgaven #Nederland #Bezuinigingen (translated)

The Netherlands is one of the few European countries that does not borrow extra to finance defense spending, with Minister Heinen adhering to the principle that interest can never be recouped, while most other countries do borrow to support their military investments. #DefensieUitgaven #Nederland #Bezuinigingen (translated)

Maurits Vande Reyde wrote that the spending problem of the Flemish government, according to him, would remain swept under the rug without Minister-President Matthias Diependaele, until the interest costs became unsustainable. He referred to Brussels and Ghent. Vande Reyde stated that Diependaele made the budget a priority, despite the lack of applause and recognition, and said this explained why few politicians dared to tackle it. #VlaamseRegering #Politiek #Begroting (translated)