Overview
- Coalition leaders from D66, VVD and CDA continued talks on Monday after more than fifteen hours of negotiations over the weekend as they tried to finalise next year’s budget.
- The main policy disputes are billions in planned cuts to social security and the taxable treatment of private wealth known as box 3, with PRO demanding the social‑security cuts be withdrawn.
- The coalition faces a strategic choice between seeking PRO’s backing or turning to right‑wing parties such as JA21 and SGP because PRO’s support would give the cabinet near‑majorities in the Senate while right‑wing partners would not.
- Procedural pressure is rising because budget documents must be sent to the Raad van State before Prinsjesdag and the scheduled begrotingsraad was pushed into the evening while Defence Minister Dilan Yeşilgöz may miss part of the meeting for a separate duty.
- Reports say negotiators are edging toward an agreement that would avert a cabinet crisis but any deal that drops social‑security cuts will require finding revenue elsewhere, most likely through changes to box 3 or other tax measures.