The cabinet wants to allocate extra money to invest in the technology and chip sector. Sources from The Hague confirm a report from De Telegraaf that this year it concerns an amount of around 300 million euros. The details will be announced on Prinsjesdag.
A spokesperson for outgoing State Secretary Keijzer does not want to comment on the amounts, but does say that the cabinet “does not want to miss the train and does not want to be late”. The European Union has identified a number of digitization projects that may be financed by Member States without state aid. Earlier this summer, the House of Representatives called on the cabinet to make an effort to “not let the momentum pass” and Keijzer is therefore positive about this.
The national government is allowed to fund “approved” projects up to a maximum of 100 percent. Within those projects, companies, institutions, EU Member States and the European Commission work together to “address societal challenges that the market cannot solve alone”. By deviating from state aid rules, the EU wants to prevent member states in the technology and chip sector from becoming too dependent on countries such as China and the United States.