In the Netherlands, debt is at a historic low and the debate on austerity is relaunched

If the scale of deficits and public debts worries many European leaders, their Dutch colleagues have reason to rejoice. The kingdom’s economy has experienced a spectacular recovery since the Covid-19 pandemic, which cost the country 80 billion in various aid. Result: public debt was reduced to 42.2%, its lowest level in fifty years, confirms the Central Bureau of Statistics. As a reminder, the so-called Maastricht criteria theoretically impose on euro zone member states a maximum debt of 60% of gross domestic product (GDP). At the end of the second quarter of 2024, it reached on average 81.5% in the 20 member countries of the zone, and 112% in France – or 3,228 billion.

The government “frugal” Netherlands, headed by Prime Minister Dick Schoof, should, in principle, be delighted with the situation of the kingdom’s public finances: they have never been in such good shape since the 1970s. it’s nothing, as noted on Tuesday January 7 in the daily NRC : “Such a low debt seems positive but it creates tensions in the coalition”analyzed this reference journal.

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