Netherlands

The fiscal year begins on 1^st January and runs concurrent to the calendar year.  Departmental budgets are published in the September of each year and are voted on by Parliament and passed into law in October or November.  The budget documents contain the budget for the following year and, additionally, budget estimates for the four years following the budget year in question.  Thus the budget documents contain a rolling five-year projection of future government spending.

The budget for the current year may be varied by supplementary budgets that are typically published in the spring and in November of each year.

Departments also publish annual reports on the previous financial year, typically in the May following the end of the year in question.

Principal development agency

The Netherlands Foreign Ministry (Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken) plays a central role for all Dutch development co-operation and is responsible for both development policy and delivery.  Within the ministry, the Directorate General for International Cooperation (DGIS) is the main organisational unit for The Netherlands’ development co-operation programme.   The DGIS is responsible for development cooperation policy, its coordination, implementation, and funding.  An important DGIS focus is the coherence between Dutch and EU policy on developing countries.  Thus, a large majority of The Netherlands’ ODA comes from the  budget of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Although the Netherlands Foreign Ministry is responsible for most of The Netherlands’ ODA, it relies on several aid delivery channels. Embassies in partner countries are responsible for implementation of less than a fifth of total ODA.  The Netherlands’ development co-operation has a long tradition of strong civil society involvement and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) receive almost a fifth of the development co-operation budget and private companies receive a further 5%.

Other departments / ministries

Finance Ministry

After the Foreign Ministry the Netherlands’ Finance Ministry provides the next largest contribution to ODA (in most years).  This is almost entirely comprises The Netherlands’ contributions to multilateral development banks.

Education Ministry

The Education Ministry provides over 60million Euros of ODA each year under the budget line ‘support to university education’.

Defence Ministry

The Defence Ministry provides over 10million Euros of ODA each year under.  This comprises ODA-eligible contributions to UN peacekeeping efforts.

Other ministries

A number of other ministries contribute a relatively small (less than 10million Euros per annum) to the Netherlands’ ODA budget.  These ministries are:

• Justice Ministry
• Office of the Auditor  General
• Transport Ministry
• Economics Ministry
• Agriculture Ministry
• Health Ministry

Development Aid in the budget

In addition to the standard departmental budget documentation, The Netherlands Foreign Ministry produces a separate document called the Homogene Groep Internationale Samenwerking (HGIS).  This document shows all the overseas assistance provided by the government of the Netherlands and how much of that overseas assistance is expected to be counted as ODA.  The data in this document are broken down by government department, thematic area and budget line.

Also there are some categories of expenditure, such as ODA-eligible EU budget contributions and spending on asylum seekers that are shown separately in the HGIS and not allocated to a specific ministry’s budget.

In the HGIS, the international development budget is divided into a number of policy themes. These are as follows:

Policy theme 1: Strengthening the international legal order and respect for human rights

Policy theme 2: Promoting security and stability, effective humanitarian assistance and good governance

Policy theme 3: Strengthening European cooperation

Policy theme 4: Increasing wealth and reducing poverty

Policy theme 5: Promoting human and social development

Policy theme 6: Protecting and improving the environment

Policy theme 7: Promoting the welfare and safety of Dutch nationals abroad and regulating the movement of persons

Policy theme 8: Raising the Netherlands’ cultural profile and creating a positive image in the Netherlands and abroad

Policy theme 9: Other spending (mainly administrative costs)

The most recent version of the HGIS can be found here: http://www.minbuza.nl/dsresource?objectid=buzabeheer:250615&type=org

An English-language version of the factsheet accompanying the latest HGIS can be found here: http://www.minbuza.nl/en/The_Ministry/Policy_and_Budget/Homogeneous_Budget_for_International_Cooperation

Information on the overall budget for international  development is also given in the coalition agreement produced by the government formed in October 2010.  This coalition agreement can be found here: http://www.rijksoverheid.nl/documenten-en-publicaties/rapporten/2010/09/30/regeerakkoord-vvd-cda.html

The financial supplement to the coalition agreement can be found here: http://www.rijksoverheid.nl/documenten-en-publicaties/rapporten/2010/09/30/bijlage-bij-regeerakkoord-vvd-cda.html