The National Growth Fund makes an emergency stop. The fund, set up to support innovative companies in the Netherlands with a total of €20 billion from 2021 to 2025, is “unfortunately on pause,” says outgoing Minister Mieke Adriaenssen (Economic Affairs and Climate, VVD). Its spokesman confirms that the fourth round of support requests, which was scheduled to begin on June 1, will not take place yet Norwegian Refugee Council. This round included 3.4 billion euros.
Adriaansens’ announcement on Tuesday came after a large majority of the House of Representatives rejected two proposals put forward by Rep. Joost Sneller D66. Both proposals actually called for support for the Growth Fund. After being rejected, Adriaansens decided to pull the handbrake completely on the growth box.
The establishment parties PVV, NSC, VVD and BBB were known to have reservations about the Growth Fund and would prefer to spend the remaining €7.4 billion differently. In public considerations last fall, some parties appeared to view the billions in the fund, which were meant to stimulate creative projects, as too much money for other purposes. For example, the House of Representatives, led by the VVD faction, withdrew hundreds of millions from the fund to undo a tax increase through the gasoline excise duty. Supporters of the Growth Fund jeered that the VVD used the fund as a takeover fund.
However, Adriaansens’ announcement came on Tuesday evening for the entire fund I’m waiting To be a surprise to many. And also because of the way it happened: her ministry did not, as usual, announce in a letter to the House of Representatives that the fund would be temporarily suspended for the time being, but it shared a statement about this with some media outlets. “To all the companies and organizations that invested a lot of time and effort in developing the proposal [voor subsidie uit het fonds] “This is a disappointment,” Adriansen wrote. He added: “In the near future, I will look at how to enhance the business climate, taking this decision issued by the House of Representatives into account.”
Quick scan
To enable new applications to be submitted as of June 1, Economic Affairs must publish so-called opening regulations on April 1. Businesses can then submit initial registration. A ministry spokesman confirms that this will no longer happen. To date, 65 companies have had one Quick scan They applied to see if they were eligible for subsidy from the fund. So this work was for nothing.
The extent of the surprise of Adriaansens’ decision is evident from official government websites It was still standing Wednesday afternoon Companies can submit pre-registration starting April 1. The Council of Ministers itself announced this last Friday More than 770 million euros For ten companies that applied in the previous round of support.
René Corbijn of NLDigital, a group of companies in the digital sector, calls Adriaansens’ move “incredibly surprising.” Corbijn: “Also because we have not yet seen any official communication from the ministry. “The ball is in the ministry’s court to quickly clarify the matter for all concerned parties.”
Employers’ organizations VNO-NCW and MKB-Nederland are upset. A company spokesperson said: “This is a huge blow to all those parties who have been working hard on their innovation plans and submitting an application to the Growth Fund for the next round in June.” “The Netherlands and Europe are increasingly falling behind in technology. Maintaining the resources of the Growth Fund is crucial to fostering innovation in the Netherlands.
The fund’s cessation comes at a notable time. This month, a group of more than thirty companies and knowledge institutions was sent Fiery speech They approached the House of Representatives, where they called for the Growth Fund to be left intact, and for the fourth tranche to be clarified quickly. The twelve regional Economic councils – Networks of companies, governments and knowledge institutions – also sent an urgent message. In it, these networks of companies, governments and knowledge institutions mentioned billions from the Growth Fund “Critical for the business climate” in the Netherlands.
Business climate
Companies such as ASML and Boskalis have announced in recent weeks that they may leave the Netherlands (partly) due to the deteriorating business climate here. Not only tightened rules but also political uncertainty about the future played a role. The fund’s sudden halt may confirm businesses’ perception that the government is not always reliable.
Closing the Growth Fund could have serious consequences for ongoing projects. The D66 faction of the Limburg Provincial Council immediately sent a list of questions to the provincial government on Wednesday about possible consequences for the €870 million reserved for… The prestigious Einstein telescope And other projects. According to the regional Democrats, postponing or canceling the Growth Fund “poses a serious and significant risk to our (knowledge) economy and our business climate.” In addition, D66 believes that the central government is far from being a reliable partner for both the business community and the provinces that consider themselves secure in co-financing from the Fund.
Adriaansens has officially taken a break and there is potential for the box to be reopened – post-formation or not. There is a difference of opinion on this matter between the formed parties. The National Security Council bloc on Tuesday proposed reopening the fund on June 1, regardless of whether the formation was successful or not. In this case, companies will certainly still need money to innovate, although the motivation to make another request to the government is now much less, and can be heard.
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