Also in injury time, opposition cannot thwart cuts

One last time, the opposition in the Senate attempted to torpedo the cuts to scientific research. However, the Christian parties and JA21 deem the ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW) budget satisfactory enough and are helping the government secure a majority.

Can the minister dissolve a governance agreement with the universities and cut more than 200 million euros in funding simply because he wishes to save money? This question was addressed by the Senate one final time on Tuesday before senators will vote next week on the OCW budget for 2025.

For ten years, universities were promised additional funding, as stipulated in a governance agreement signed by the previous government in 2022. However, the current coalition has discarded this agreement.

Even Robbert Dijkgraaf, the former Minister of Education representing D66, weighed in on the matter. It is highly unusual for a former minister to intervene in the affairs of their successor, but he told de Volkskant this week that the arrangements were intended ‘in letter and spirit’ for the long term.

Legitimate

Not all senators were keen on continuing the budget debate that took place last week. “We have doubts about the usefulness of this third round, as it won’t be resolved anyway”, said SGP senator Marc de Vries beforehand in the Senate’s education committee. “There are conflicting legal opinions, and I think we won’t solve it this afternoon, even with longer speaking times.” The VVD, BBB, PVV, and JA21 were also not interested in speaking time.

Nonetheless, the debate commenced that afternoon, and it quickly became clear that the Christian opposition parties and JA21 would indeed assist the government in securing a majority, as expected. These parties struck a deal in the House of Representatives: cuts to education and research were reduced from over two billion euros to approximately 1.2 billion.

And what about that governance agreement? The CDA has been convinced and sees no legal issue with dissolving it. The ChristenUnie is also not obstructing this. The argument is that this particular cut to scientific research represents only a small part of the budget.

Breach

Some opposition parties are doing everything in their power to persuade their colleagues to adopt a different viewpoint. GroenLinks-PvdA pointed out all the agreements the cabinet still wishes to conclude, such as a healthcare agreement, a welfare agreement, and a new education agreement. What is an agreement with this cabinet worth if it can simply be breached as soon as savings are needed?

Universities will likely initiate legal action, and according to some experts, they may win. However, D66 senator Paul van Meenen believed the Senate should not push such issues to the courts: “If that were to happen, our right to exist is lost. We are here for this.”

Since the rejection of the entire budget is not going to happen, D66, GL-PvdA, Volt, OPNL, SP, and PvdD collectively submitted a motion concerning the breach of the governance agreement: the government should only reverse this part of the cuts, is the essence.

Amendments possible

Minister Bruins advised against this opposition motion. He reiterated his stance that a new cabinet can change policy and adjust funding.

Indeed, additional funding has been promised to the universities, he acknowledged, but this was not through targeted subsidies. It was part of overall funding, which institutions receive as a lump sum, meaning they can spend it at their discretion. This alone makes the agreements non-binding, he argued. A subsidy can be reclaimed if not properly spent, but with funding, this is not possible: institutions have spending freedom.

And what about trust? Binding agreements have been made, the minister acknowledged, and his predecessor Robbert Dijkgraaf did indeed intend for these additional resources to be sustained long-term. “However, that does not mean they are legally enforceable.”

Trust

Opposition parties gathered at the interruption microphone and fired questions at the minister, but it seemed to have little effect on him. He acknowledged that trust with the institutions had been broken, ‘both at a personal and institutional level’, but did not draw conclusions from this.

The SP has requested a roll-call vote on the budget, meaning all senators must personally say ‘for’ or ‘against’. This is scheduled to occur on Tuesday, 8 April.