Dutch King to present policy plans on "Budget Day"

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Dutch King to present policy plans on "Budget Day"

(Xinhua) 19:31, September 17, 2013

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On the "Budget Day," the new Dutch King Willem-Alexander will address to Parliament on the nation's future policy for the first time after he sworn in.

"Budget Day" or "Prinsjesdag," as the Dutch call it, held on the third Tuesday of September, is a day of many traditions, such as the King's procession in the Golden Coach from Noordeinde Palace to the house of Parliament, female politicians' wearing extravagant hats, speech from the throne and finance minister offering a budget plan to the parliament.

This year's Prinsjesdag is special because it is the first time for Willem-Alexander, who succeeded his mother Queen Beatrix on April 30 this year, to read the speech written jointly by the ministers and secretaries of the state.

And this is also the first time since 2002, when late Prince Claus, Beatrix's husband, was too ill to attend, two thrones, for the king and his wife Queen Maxima, will be set on the platform in the "Ridderzaal," the Hall of Knights.

In this speech, the cabinet usually looks back to past events and gives a broad outline of cabinet policy for the coming year.

After the speech, the Minister of Finance Jeroen Dijsselbloem will move to the House of Commons with a traditional briefcase filled with the "Miljoenennota," the budget plan of the government.

According to the leaked content of the budget, it outlined additional austerity measures of 6 billion euros (8 billion U.S dollars). The budget deficit is expected to be 3.3 percent of GDP next year, which is above the European standard of 3 percent, but the Dutch have permission to exceed the limit in 2014.

Based on the figures, the Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (CPB) calculated an economic growth of 0.5 percent next year.

（Editor：YanMeng、Gao Yinan）