Dutch entrepreneurs are unlikely to be able to use money from the EU corona fund. In The Hague, there are doubts as to whether agreements can be made with Brussels for next year’s elections.
From the pot of 750 billion euros, about six billion euros is available for the Netherlands, but every country that wants to have money from the fund receives compelling recommendations from Brussels: they must be followed.
For the Netherlands, this would mean, among other things, that the mortgage interest deduction would have to be further limited, that more people would have to work in healthcare and that there would be different tax rules for large companies. The European Union also wants self-employed workers to be better protected.
Bringing down debt
Each Member State must submit plans to the European Commission. Italy and France have already done so. Brussels will then consult with the applicants to see whether the conditions have been met.
Proposals must be digital, green and innovative and boost a country’s economy. But they must also be in line with the ‘country-specific recommendations’ from the reports that the European Commission prepares every year on the finances and economies of the member states.
When discussing budgets, the Netherlands throws these recommendations, for example, that countries like Italy should reduce their debt, over and over again.
Chase the facts
The plans must be submitted in Brussels before April 30, 2021, just over a month after the Dutch parliamentary elections. Chances are that there will not be a new cabinet by then. The Netherlands is therefore cautious and will not submit new proposals before then. “They are afraid of the political ramifications of the discussion,” said a source in Brussels.
The result is that various sectors ignore subsidies, while peers in other countries do receive money. The car industry has already sounded the alarm and shipbuilders are also angry.
Because in Italy, the maritime industry is allowed to build modern ships for six billion euros, while Dutch builders have to do without a subsidy for the time being.
Employers’ organization VNO-NCW is also concerned. “The money must be spent before 2024. There will be a second round, but it will not be until 2022. So then Dutch companies will be a year behind the facts, although the money will not disappear,” said a spokesman.
They do not yet know exactly what they are going to do. “We are in the process of forming our thoughts about this. And we are in talks with the government.”
Playing field further disrupted
This week the issue will be discussed in the House of Representatives. Questions have been asked in preparation for the Economic Affairs budget, to which the cabinet replies that negotiations are still underway. The money does not disappear, according to the answers. But as can be heard in employer circles: “Every euro counts, every extra impulse is more than welcome in this second wave that affects all sectors.”
“It is 5 minutes past 12 for the Dutch maritime manufacturing industry”, says Harriët Slager of Netherlands Maritime Technology. “We have been severely affected by the corona crisis and expect the government to support our sustainability plans financially from the special corona fund.”
She is concerned because other countries have already made financial commitments to their maritime industry. “If the cabinet does not take action quickly, the playing field will only be further disrupted.”
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