First Balkenende Cabinet - Cabinet Actions

Cabinet Actions

  • Revoked a planned ban on mink farming initiated by the previous cabinet
  • Approved an expansion of the European Union.
  • Support for the United States in its plan to invade Iraq.
  • Cuts to a subsidised jobs scheme of Ad Melkert, the Melkertbanen.
  • Removed price controls on some popular medical interventions (knee and hip operations, cataract operations), so that painful waiting lists begun to disappear
  • Reorganisation of defence (and budget cuts?) involving 4800 job losses
  • Reduction of spending on public transport of 39 million euros in 2003 (originally to be 60 million)
  • Cuts to the budgets of most government departments, but with increased spending on health and some other areas.

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