The Netherlands faces a crucial choice: invest in digitization or risk not keeping up with global technological and geopolitical developments. To protect and strengthen the digital basis of the Netherlands, according to an initial estimate, at least €1 billion extra is needed annually until 2030. State Secretary Eddie van Marum writes this in a letter to the House of Representatives.
Digital systems form the invisible backbone of our society and are a prerequisite for a strong government, a resilient Netherlands and a future-proof economy. To seize opportunities, the Dutch Digitalization Strategy was launched in July 2025. This is the first government-wide strategy to break through fragmentation in IT policy and accelerate our digital tasks. Without structural investments, we run the risk that services will stagnate, vulnerability to cyber attacks will grow and the Netherlands will lose its competitive position.
Eddie van Marum, State Secretary of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, responsible for digitization: "We don't talk about it much, but if critical computer systems fail, everything comes to a standstill. Digitalization is not a choice, but a necessity. If a next cabinet really wants to take steps, at least €1 billion extra is needed annually for digitization. These additional investments are necessary in the coming years not only to provide good services to citizens and entrepreneurs and to increase our resilience and security, but also to ensure that the Netherlands keeps running and our data are protected. If we do not act now, we will pay the price later - in money, time and trust."
In the letter to the House, Van Marum provides an initial insight into the size of the investments needed with a state of affairs document. The document was created in cooperation with the other departments, co-governments and the network public service providers (NPD).
A detailed investment agenda will follow in the 2nd quarter of 2026, detailing how much money is needed for what to accelerate.
The government launched the Dutch Digitalization Strategy (NDS) last July. This strategy is a joint plan of municipalities, provinces, water boards, public service providers and the state to strengthen the digital foundation of our country. The NDS highlights 6 priorities on which all government organizations are accelerating together as 1 government, including cloud, artificial intelligence and digital resilience and digital autonomy.
