Cabinet agrees 11th-hour budget deal without opposition support

The Dutch coalition parties D66, CDA and VVD have reached a budget deal after a weekend of "tough" and "intensive" negotiations, though without securing the approval of opposition parties. Finance Minister Eelco Heinen announced that the agreement covers a budget for all 11 parties, but without opposition support. The coalition partners had to resolve differences on welfare cuts, wealth tax reforms, and higher health insurance excess charges.

The VVD's Dilan Yesilgöz emphasized that the budget would lower taxes and support economic growth, while acknowledging the negotiations were "long and intensive." The CDA's Henri Bontenbal said they aimed to present a good offer to the opposition. Despite the difficulty in securing opposition support, the budget deal was agreed upon by the end of last week, with a new deadline extending into a meeting on Monday.

The centre parties D66 and CDA initially sought to reduce the €6.5 billion budget cuts to appeal to Progressief Nederland, the largest opposition party, but the VVD pushed for tax cuts instead. Now the government faces a challenge in gaining enough votes from opposition parties to pass the budget through parliament in the autumn.