Parts I and II show that the Netherlands faces an exceptional investment challenge across the four domains central to this report: digitalisation and AI, security and resilience, life sciences and biotechnology, and energy and climate technology. To strengthen earning capacity in these domains and achieve structural growth of at least 1.5% to 2.0% per year, between EUR 151 billion and EUR 187 billion in additional, largely private investment needs to be mobilised up to 2035.
The willingness is there from pension funds, banks, businesses and consortia. But investments will only be released if the government restores the preconditions and creates the financial and institutional conditions for this. This part of the report focuses on what is needed to convert this investment willingness into realisation.
This starts with the way the Netherlands deploys public resources. The Netherlands must invest significantly to restore the preconditions. Over the next 10 years, tens of billions will need to be invested in the Dutch economic foundation, investments that will in turn generate hundreds of billions in private investment. But these investments still need to be paid for. Within the existing budgetary framework, a critical assessment must be made of whether the balance between consumptive spending and investment in future earning capacity is still sustainable. In addition, a new government must be willing to responsibly increase the national debt for investments that demonstrably deliver economic and social returns. Public resources must also be deployed to maximise the mobilisation of private investment, for example through fiscal incentives, a strong national investment institution and a national agency for breakthrough innovation. These institutions must be capable of activating both Dutch institutional investors and banks, as well as attracting European funds and guarantees. This way, investment projects become scalable, affordable and competitive.
But financial resources are only one side of the coin. Equally important is the administrative organisation that must ensure the right preconditions are rapidly put in place to get projects off the ground. This requires strong national coordination and close contact with the Social and Economic Council (SER) and social partners. Future earning capacity must become a top priority, with responsibility at the highest level of government, supported by a government commissioner with a legal mandate, executive power and an expert team that can operate across departments and local authorities. Only with a more powerful governance structure can the Netherlands break through bottlenecks, retain private investment and accelerate project realisation.
The following two chapters show how the Netherlands can lay the financial, institutional and administrative foundations needed for future prosperity and strategic relevance. They show what role the government must play to activate the potential for private investment, how this course can be safeguarded across multiple governments, and how the Netherlands can remain a country that supports economic growth, technological strength and broad prosperity in the long term. Chapter 6 also shows how this and future governments can embed the necessary choices in a stable roadmap for the next ten years, so that investments, reforms and preconditions are not only formulated but also consistently implemented and anchored in policy.
Financing the investment challenge facing the Netherlands requires large-scale private and public investment. On the private side, the Dutch financial market needs scale and stability to finance the projects and companies that the Netherlands needs. On the public side, the Dutch government must reform itself. Investments must once again be prioritised, and the governance structure must be designed for the swift and decisive resolution of economic and social problems. A government that delivers is crucial for our economy and our democracy.
"Not everything is possible, and certainly not all at once."
- Former Prime Minister Willem Drees
The Netherlands faces choices that will determine whether we can secure our future prosperity. Structural growth does not happen by itself; it requires a clear direction, consistent decision-making and significant investments for the coming ten years. This chapter therefore presents a concrete timeline that brings order to what needs to happen when: choices in the first 100 days, execution in the first year, structural recovery towards 2030 and scaling up to 2035. This creates a roadmap in which policy, preconditions and investments reinforce each other.
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