Policy Updates

On April 4, 2024, the Dutch House of Representatives debated the Dutch Global Health Strategy, 18 months post-publication. Despite recent development budget cuts, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Geoffrey van Leeuwen and Minister for Medical Care Pia Dijkstra affirmed broad support for the strategy.

The strategy aims to strengthen global health systems, tackle health impacts of climate change, and prepare against future pandemics. CSOs and members of Parliament expressed concerns in relation to the previously announced development budget cuts of EUR3.5 billion (US$3.8 billion) over 2023-2026, as detrimental to effective implementation of the strategy.

van Leeuwen and Dijkstra reiterated their commitment to the strategy, emphasizing the strategy’s broader goals, including safeguarding the Netherlands’ own health and economic stability.

Emphasis during the debate centered on sexual health and SRHR and access to basic health care to uphold human rights and gender equality, urging sustained strategic partnerships. Focusing on access to medicines, Dijkstra agreed to re-examine the Socially Responsible Licensing toolkit to include how private companies can enhance accessibility and affordability of medicines for people in low-income countries.

Members of Parliament inquired about strategy implementation and monitoring. van Leeuwen committed to providing progress reports to the House of Representatives by year-end, along with policy coherence updates on the Dutch Global Health Strategy and ecological footprint reduction commitments by May 15, 2024.

On January 10, 2024, outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced changes in the Dutch cabinet.

Rutte announced that Minister for Health, Sports, and Welfare Ernst Kuipers handed in his resignation to the King of the Netherlands. Minister for Long-term Care and Sports Conny Helder will temporarily take over this role until a successor is found.

Additionally, Secretary General for Education, Culture and Science Steven van Weyenberg has been appointed the new Minister of Finance. His former role will be filled by Fleur Gräper-van Koolwijk.

Finally, Rutte announced that Minister for Climate and Energy Rob Jetten will take on the additional role of Vice Prime Minister, previously held by Sigrid Kaag.

On December 9, 2023, during COP28, the Dutch government launched an international coalition to phase out fossil fuel subsidies, comprising 13 countries: Antigua and Barbuda, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Costa Rica, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Spain.

Research by the Dutch government found that half of all Dutch fossil fuel subsidies are tied to international agreements. This international coalition was created with the intention of phasing out fossil fuel subsidies while preventing greenhouse gas emissions shifting to other parts of the world.

The coalition noted three main pillars:

• Transparency: all member countries publishing an overview of their fossil fuel subsidies by COP29 in 2024;
• International agreements: identifying and addressing international barriers to phasing out fossil fuel subsidies; and
• National action: encouraging international dialogue to share knowledge, develop national strategies, and join action to minimize carbon leakage.

In the coalition’s joint statement, various international organizations including the IMF, OECD, WTO, and World Bank were asked to develop a comprehensive methodological framework to identify the scope of international fossil fuel subsidies and to develop guidance for national phase-out strategies.

On December 6, 2023, during COP28, EU Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans, and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevičius, as well as representatives from Germany, the Netherlands, and France, launched the Team Europe Initiative on Deforestation-free Value Chains and pledged an initial EUR70 million (US$76 million) to the initiative.

The initiative aims to tackle global deforestation and reinforce the pledges set forth in the Glasgow Leader's Declaration on Forests and Land Use from COP26, with the goal of stopping and reversing forest loss and land degradation by 2030. It is also aligned with the EU's Global Gateway strategy, which aims to transition partner countries to sustainable, deforestation-free, and legal value chains.

The initiative was developed to support inclusive partnerships between the EU and partner countries, facilitate sustainable trade, and address deforestation. Through the initiative, the EU is slated to offer technical assistance and capacity-building assistance to partner countries on key issues, including traceability, geo-localization, and land-use mapping. The initiative is also planned to serve as a centralized platform to bolster coordination between public and private stakeholders in both the EU and partner countries.

A Team Europe Hub will be established under the Sustainable Agriculture for Forest Ecosystems program to host information and coordinate further actions.

On December 2, 2023, during the opening days of COP28, outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Rutte announced a commitment of EUR15 million (US$16 million) to help establish the Loss and Damage Fund.

The EUI pledged US$125 million, Germany and the UAE each pledged US$100 million, the UK pledged GBP60 million (US$78 million), the US pledged US$18 million, and Japan pledged US$10 million. The total funds surpass the US$400 million needed to initiate the establishment and operation of the Loss and Damage Fund.

Dutch NGO ActionAid Netherlands responded by commenting that while the pledge is a fair initial contribution to the fund, it is far from a "fair share" for the Netherlands when based on the country’s emissions levels.

On December 2, 2023, the EU institutions, the EIB, the EBRD, and the Member States that comprise Team Europe pledged EUR20 billion (US$21.8 billion) for clean energy partnerships with African partners.

The funding announcement listeed EUR3.4 billion (US$3.7 billion) in grants and covered the period from 2021-2027. The project, AEGEI, aims to produce over 50 Gigawatts of renewable energy by 2030.

12 EU Member States contributed to the funding. No language regarding specific partner countries was included in the announcement.

On December 1, 2023, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced a commitment of EUR150 million (US$164 million) to IFAD’s 13^th replenishment.

The funds are meant to help IFAD double its impact on smallholder productivity, income, and resilience.

Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Liesje Schreinemacher stressed that the threat that climate change poses to global food production and emphasized that small-scale farmers need international investment to effectively adapt to the impacts of climate change.

On November 22, 2023, the nationalist, right-wing PVV, led by Geert Wilders, won 37 parliamentary seats in the Dutch general election, making it the largest party represented in the Dutch parliament.

Outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s party, the conservative-liberal VVD, suffered a staggering loss and shrank from 34 to 24 seats. While polls leading up to the election indicated that the PVV would grow in size, the 20 seats gained by the PVV was not anticipated by political experts.

Wilders has been in the Dutch parliament for 25 years. He is known for his anti-Islam and anti-immigration views. The PVV's election manifesto contained the notable ambitions to ban Islamic schools, Qurans, and mosques in the Netherlands. The PVV also stated the goal to redirect resources away from climate agreements and development cooperation to Dutch citizens.

In the weeks leading up to the election, Wilders expressed a more moderate tone and asserted, that if elected, he would prioritize issues such as investments in health care and cost of living.

A suspected reason for the party’s growth has been the dissatisfaction with the VVD, which has governed the Netherlands since 2010. Research by Ipsos suggested that 15% of VVD voters switched to the PVV. Wilders may have enticed previously disenfranchised voters, as 12% of voters had not participated in the previous election.

Wilders pledged to serve as a Prime Minister for all Dutch people in a speech following the exit polls. The PVV must now form a coalition with other parties and secure at least 76 seats in the 150-seat Dutch parliament.

Experts predict that the PVV will face coalition-building difficulties. Frans Timmermans, leader of the second-largest party GroenLinks, expressed that his party would never join a coalition with the PVV and stands in opposition to the PVV's discriminatory stances.

The leader of the VVD, Dilan Yeşilgöz, expressed that her party will not join a coalition with Wilders, though it would be open to being a ‘tolerating partner’. If Wilders is unable to secure a majority coalition, the VVD would advise a minority coalition. A minority government would force the PVV's coalition to secure the VVD's approval for each proposal.

Building a coalition may take a significant amount of time. The previous coalition building period, led by outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte, lasted a record-setting 299 days.

The current outgoing cabinet will govern until a coalition is formed.

On November 2, 2023, Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Liesje Schreinemacher sent a letter to the House of Representatives announcing the allocation of the recently approved extra EUR70 million (US$76 million) for the 2023 development budget.

EUR30 million (US$33 million) will go towards humanitarian assistance by the WFP, the Dutch Red Cross, and the Dutch Relief Alliance, including the recently announced EUR15 million (US$16 million) towards water, food, and healthcare in Gaza. The other half of the humanitarian funds will go towards other undetermined humanitarian needs around the world.

EUR20 million (US$$22 million) is allocated to the reception of asylum seekers in Pakistan, and “the Horn of Africa and the MENA region,” especially the education of children. EUR12 million (US$13 million) will go towards the UNHCR and EUR8 million (US$9 million) will go towards UNICEF.

Finally, EUR20 million (US$22 million) will go towards climate adaptation, with EUR10 million (US$11 million) towards the FMO’s Access to Energy Fund and the remaining funds going towards the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program.

The extra EUR70 million (US$76 million) for ODA was a result of the Dutch House of Representatives approval on October 26, 2023, to bring forward part of the 2028 development budget buffer to reduce the previously proposed development budget cuts for 2023, known as a ‘cash move’. The additional funds will be processed in the Second Supplementary Budget 2023, which will be sent no later than December 1, 2023.

On October 26, 2023, the Dutch House of Representatives approved advancing EUR70 million (US$76 million) from 2028 development budget as a buffer against proposed development budget cuts for 2023.

On April 26, 2023, the Dutch government announced in the Spring Budget that it would reallocate EUR3.4 billion (US$3.6 billion) in ODA between 2023-2027 towards in-donor refugee costs. In response to this, on June 13, 2023, the Dutch House of Representatives accepted a motion to advance part of the 2027 and 2028 development budgets to in a treasury move to compensate for these planned cuts.

On ‘Budget Day’ on September 19, 2023, the Dutch government announced that the 2023-2027 budget cuts would be furthered by an additional EUR400 million (US$435 million). With this, 2023 development budget cuts amounted to EUR300 million (US$326 million).

The recently approved treasury move, similar to the move announced in June 2023, will add EUR70 million (US$76 million) to the remaining 2023 development budget in response to the September 2023 cuts. It is meant to support climate adaptation in vulnerable countries, support for asylum seekers, and humanitarian assistance.