| Cabinet Name: | Schoof cabinet |
| Cabinet Type: | Cabinet |
| Jurisdiction: | the Netherlands |
| Flag: | Flag of the Netherlands.svg |
| Flag Border: | true |
| Date Formed: | 2 July 2024 |
| Government Head: | Dick Schoof |
| Deputy Government Head Title: | Deputy Prime Ministers |
| State Head: | Willem-Alexander |
| Members Number: | 16 |
| Political Parties: | |
| Legislature Status: | Right-wing,[1] majority government (coalition government) 88/150 |
| Legislature Term: | 2023–present |
| Incoming Formation: | 2023–2024 formation |
| Previous: | Fourth Rutte cabinet |
| State Head Title: | Monarch |
| Government Head Title: | Prime Minister |
The Schoof cabinet is the cabinet of the Netherlands, sworn in on 2 July 2024. Led by independent politician and civil servant Dick Schoof as prime minister of the Netherlands, the cabinet was formed by the Party for Freedom (PVV), the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), the New Social Contract (NSC) and the Farmer–Citizen Movement (BBB) after the 2023 Dutch general election.
See main article: 2023–2024 Dutch cabinet formation.
Under informateurs Elbert Dijkgraaf and Richard van Zwol, the four parties (the right-wing populist PVV, the conservative liberal VVD, the Christian democratic NSC, and the agrarian BBB) reached the outline of a coalition agreement, titled "Hope, Courage, and Pride", on 16 May 2024.[2] They agreed to form an extra-parliamentary cabinet, which they defined as a cabinet with a greater distance to parliamentary groups in the House of Representatives. Votes in parliament of coalition parties were not bound on issues not covered in the agreement, such as pensions, as long as they would not impact the budget.[3] Van Zwol was appointed formateur on 22 May. On 11 June, the four parties agreed on the names of candidates and the distribution of ministerial posts. The cabinet consists of 29 members, the same amount as its predecessor, of which 16 are ministers. Three new ministerial posts were created, the Minister of Asylum and Migration, the Minister of Climate and Green Growth, and the Minister of Housing and Spatial Planning; and it includes one minister without portfolio, namely the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation.[4] The cabinet was sworn in on 2 July 2024.[5]
Following the formation, the cabinet was tasked with expanding the outline of the coalition agreement into a governing agreement.[6] It was finalized by the Council of Ministers on 6 September 2024 and presented on 13 September, ahead of the presentation of the 2025 Netherlands budget on Dutch; Flemish: [[Prinsjesdag]].[7] [8] The concluded in October 2024 that nine proposals, including the declaration of an asylum crisis, violated the principles of the rule of law, while another 28 were considered risks. Six proposals, such as the "right to make a mistake", could strengthen the rule of law.[9]
See main article: Schoof cabinet asylum measures.
The coalition agreement included plans to issue a "well-substantiated" statutory instrument to suspend certain provisions of the Aliens Act and to introduce an Asylum Crisis Act without delay. It was agreed that no new asylum applications would be processed and that the Dispersal Act would be revoked.[10] [11] [12] The coalition parties called their migration policy the most stringent and extensive in history.[13] In October 2024, the coalition parties agreed that the proposal to use emergency powers would be abandoned, and new legislation would be introduced to enact asylum measures, most of which were outlined in the coalition agreement, along with some additional provisions.[14] [15] [16]
In a September 2024 letter to the European Commission, Minister of Asylum and Migration Marjolein Faber requested an opt-out for the Netherlands from European asylum and migration legislation in case of a treaty amendment. Such an exception can only be granted by the European Council, and the Commission responded that no treaty amendments were pending.[17] [18] Hungary later joined the Netherlands in requesting an opt-out.[19]
In the wake of the November 2024 Amsterdam attacks, in which supporters of the Israeli football club Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C. were targeted, Schoof said that he was "ashamed" and "horrified by the antisemitic attacks on Israeli citizens."[20] [21] Following an 11 November Council of Ministers meeting, he blamed a specific group of young people with a migration background for the attacks, and he said that the events pointed to a broader integration issue. Integration state secretary Jurgen Nobel stated that a significant portion of Islamic youth did not endorse Dutch norms and values.[22] [23] On 15 November, State Secretary Nora Achahbar announced her resignation citing "polarizing interactions during the past weeks." Reports circulated of offensive, radical, and potentially racist remarks about the Amsterdam attacks during the Council of Ministers meeting. Schoof invited the leaders of the four coalition parties to join the cabinet for crisis talks to avert a cabinet collapse, and they finally agreed that other cabinet members of NSC would stay on. Schoof denied allegations of racism within the cabinet and coalition parties, and he refused to release minutes of the meeting, which opposition parties had requested.[24] [25] [26] [27] [28] Achahbar later denied that her departure was because of racism, and members of parliament Rosanne Hertzberger and Femke Zeedijk of NSC resigned in her support.[29] [30]
State Secretary for Tax Affairs and the Tax Administration Folkert Idsinga (NSC) resigned on 1 November 2024, citing a perceived lack of trust by the House. PVV leader Geert Wilders had joined opposition parties in demanding transparency about Idsinga's retirement savings, which included business interests and could create conflicts of interest. His savings, valued at over €6 million in 2023, were managed by a foundation for the duration of his term, and Idsinga refused to provide more visibility, citing his privacy.[31] [32] Idsinga was succeeded by Tjebbe van Oostenbruggen.[33]
In response the Russian invasion of Ukraine, coalition parties agreed to increase defense spending to adhere to the NATO target of 2% of GDP. Minister Ruben Brekelmans and State Secretary Gijs Tuinman announced €2.4 billion in increased yearly funding for the Netherlands Armed Forces in September 2024. This would go towards attracting more personnel and the purchase of munitions, 46 Leopard 2A8 battle tanks, six F-35 fighter jets, two Anti-Submarine Warfare Frigates, and several NH90 military helicopters. The Netherlands had been left without tanks since 2011 because of budget cuts.[34] [35] In addition, a further €2.6 billion was allocated towards the purchase of short- and medium-range air defense systems.[36]
The Schoof cabinet renamed the portfolio of "development cooperation" to "development" (or "development aid" in Dutch). It intends to cut the yearly allocated budget by €2.4 billion, over a third of its total, starting in 2027. The percentage of the budget spent on sheltering asylum seekers in the Netherlands would be contained to 10%, and aid related to water management and food security would be prioritized.[37]
The Netherlands had been mandated by the European Union to stop the deterioration of nature in Natura 2000 sites by 2030, and goals with regard to nitrogen deposition had been enshrined in national legislation.[38] The coalition agreement reduced the fund allocated towards addressing the nitrogen crisis from €25 billion to €5 billion.[6] In September 2024, Minister Femke Wiersma terminated the National Program for Rural Areas, which had been created by the fourth Rutte cabinet in response to the crisis and which tasked provinces with devising plans to improve the quality of nature and water based on a national fund.[39] [40]
Wiersma presented the outline of her alternative plans and a provisional breakdown of the €5 billion in funding in late November 2024. The cabinet aimed to increase agricultural lands designated as nature reserves from 100000ha to 280000ha by expanding subsidies for farmers. The cabinet allocated between €1.25 billion and €2.5 billion towards innovations to reduce nitrogen emissions, and it planned to set emissions targets for farms instead of prescribing certain measures. The same amount would be available for a voluntary buyout scheme for farmers considering to leave the sector. Furthermore, Wiersma plans to postpone enforcement of nitrogen emissions regulations for a group of farmers left without a permit due to a 2019 Court of State ruling for another three years. The responded that farmers would remain uncertain about their future because of the latter.[41] [42]
The cabinet decided to cut funding for higher education and science by €1 billion per year in its 2025 budget. This would be achieved through lowering the number of international students, increasing tuition for students exceeding the standard duration, reducing money allocated to the Fund for Research and Science, and scrapping research grants. The latter had been created by the previous cabinet.[43] The announcement sparked significant protests from universities, student organizations and labor unions. In November 2024, the General Education Union (AOb) and Dutch Federation of Trade Unions (FNV) organized demonstrations against the cuts in Utrecht, and after these were cancelled due to security concerns, in The Hague on November 25th.[44] University administrators argued the cuts would damage the Netherlands' position as a knowledge economy and research hub.[45] A particular point of contention was the policy to reduce international student numbers through stricter language requirements and higher tuition fees. Critics, including the Province of Limburg, argued this would disproportionately affect universities in border regions that rely heavily on international cooperation.[46] The PVV party advocated for even deeper cuts, particularly targeting university support staff and English-language programs.[47]
The coalition parties agreed to form an extra-parliamentary cabinet. In particular, Pieter Omtzigt, the leader of NSC, had insisted on an alternative to the typical majority cabinet after having campaigned on a "new governance culture" in the election. An extra-parliamentary cabinet would be defined by greater distance between the cabinet and the parliamentary groups of coalition parties in the House of Representatives. Informateur Kim Putters recommended the formation of an "extra-parliamentary program cabinet", meaning the coalition parties would draft a shorter coalition agreement, which the cabinet would later expand into a governing agreement.[48]
A few months after its creation, newspaper NRC concluded the Schoof cabinet no longer resembled an extra-parliamentary cabinet. It noted that frequent talks occurred between parliamentary leaders and cabinet members and that coalition parties negotiated with the cabinet about the 2025 budget. Political scientist Arco Timmermans agreed the cabinet could not be considered extra-parliamentary, saying that more effort from parliamentary leaders would be required to keep distance.[48] Wim Voermans, another political scientists, argued that a cabinet could only be extra-parliamentary if there would have been no involvement from the parliament in its formation and the drafting of its agreement.[49]
The party affiliations shown below indicate the party by which a cabinet member was given. Some cabinet members are a member of a different party or of no party.