Prinsjesdag is one of the most important events in Dutch politics. On the third Tuesday of September, the head of state delivers a speech to the Dutch parliament, the ‘Troonrede’, outlining the government’s plans for the parliamentary year. While it may appear largely ceremonial in nature, this is a significant day for both the private and public sectors.
The relevance of Prinsjesdag is particularly acute this year from our practice’s perspective for two reasons:
- There are signs that the Dutch M&A market is regaining momentum and
- Law firms across the Netherlands and Europe continue to consolidate. Consequentially, the firms advising on both sides of these deals will need to read Prinsjesdag’s signals earlier and more precisely than ever.
These signals move markets and reshape deal terms. How firms and their clients communicate around them, to investors, regulators and the public, can shape how those deals are perceived and received.
Ahead of Prinsjesdag, the cabinet is tasked with providing information on three things:
- The state of the Dutch economy and the government’s financial plans, set out in the ‘Miljoenennota’;
- The national budget, outlined per department; and
- The national tax scheme. In short, Prinsjesdag reveals what the government plans to do, how it will spend money, and who will pay for it.
These documents are presented to parliament by the Minister of Finance in a wooden briefcase (the prime image that resonates with citizens), although parts of their contents are leaked to media ahead of the third Tuesday.
The presentation is followed by two days of deliberations, in which parliament responds to the government’s intentions. This gives the cabinet an early sense of how much support there is for their plans. This year marks the first Prinsjesdag for the Jetten cabinet, a minority government made up of three parties. It will be the first indication of how the new government intends to deliver on its promises and execute its agenda.
Out of all the documents and proceedings, the ‘Miljoenennota’ is the most significant. It is essentially the government’s financial and economic blueprint. For both individual citizens and businesses, it reveals shifting policy priorities and signals where momentum is heading. It offers early visibility into potential regulatory and legislative changes, and for those advising on cross-border transactions specifically, it is often the first indication of how the government plans to tax international profits, cross-border investments, and the debt used to finance them, well before those signals filter into how deals get structured and taxed. The Miljoenennota also provides a broad overview of the state of the Dutch economy, and for many banks and institutional investors it is an important factor used when basing or adjusting their financial models and projections.
Prinsjesdag marks the formal opening of the government’s agenda for the year ahead. The deliberations that follow stress-test the relationship between the cabinet and parliament, both of which need to find common ground to turn these plans into legislation or legal amendments. That gap between what is proposed and what is ultimately enacted is precisely why dealmakers build in contract protections to guard against the tax rules changing between signing and closing a transaction. For larger businesses (and arguably for SME’s as well), Prinsjesdag is a valuable moment to start shaping and developing strategies for the year ahead.