The Netherlands: Dutch Minister Of Finance Dijselbloem Optimistic About Dutch Economic Recovery

Next year there will absolutely be economic growth said Dutch Treasury Secretary Jeroen Dijsselbloem (PvdA) Monday during a party meeting in Amsterdam. '

"But the annual explosive growth rate we had in the 1990s will  not return anymore, and  I don't want this either, because it was not sustainable growth" said Dijselbloem '

The Dutch Office For Economic Policy Analysis (CPB)  reported last week that the Dutch economy will grow by 0.75 percent in 2014, but in that estimate the new austerity package of EUR 6 billion was not included.

It is generally assumed that the new austerity measures and tax increases will slow down the economic recovery said  Dijselbloem , but he reckoned that  the Netherlands will still show some growth next year.

Dijselbloem  also said one of the major difficulties at the moment for the Dutch economy was the depressed housing market.  He said it was not his intention to give any advice or make an appeal for people to spend money, but said he considered this to be an excellent time to buy a home with interest rates at rock bottom before interest rates go up again.

Almere-Digest

The Netherlands: Heavily indebted stodgy Netherlands is nation that’ll blow up euro ? - by Matthew Lynn

The Netherlands - economic decline?

The Netherlands has turned into one of the most heavily indebted countries in the world. It has slumped into recession, and shows very little sign of coming out of it. The euro crisis has been dragging on for three years now, but so far has only infected the peripheral nations within the single currency. But the Netherlands is a core member of both the euro and the European Union.

If it can’t survive in the euro zone, then the game really will be up. 

Holland has always been one of the most prosperous and stable nations with Europe — and one of the most pro-EU. It was a founding member of the union, and one of the most enthusiastic supporters of the launch of the single currency. With a rich, export-oriented economy, and plenty of successful multinational companies, you might suppose it had much to gain from the creation of the single economy that was meant to come into being once the euro was successfully launched. 

But instead it has started to play out a depressingly familiar script. It is blowing up in exactly the same way that Ireland, Greece and Portugal did — except on a slightly longer fuse. 

Low interest rates, set mainly to benefit the German economy, and lots of cheap capital, lead to a property boom, and an explosion of debt. From the launch of the single currency to the peak of the market, Dutch house prices doubled, making it one of the most over-heated markets in the world.

Note EU-Digest: Is this reality or more disgruntled Anglo-Saxon Eurosceptism ?

Read more: Stodgy Netherlands is nation that’ll blow up euro - Matthew Lynn's London Eye - MarketWatch

European Housing Market: Dutch house price drop third biggest in EU since crisis began

Spain and Ireland are the only two countries in Europe where house prices have fallen more sharply than in the Netherlands over the past four years, according to Dutch national statistics agency CBS.

After reaching a peak in 2008, Dutch and Spanish house prices have been going down every year, but in Europe as a whole, prices have stabilised, the CBS told news agency ANP. The drop in Spain is around 7% a year, in the Netherlands 4%.

New figures from European statistics office Eurostat on Thursday show house prices across the EU went down an average 2.5% in the third quarter of last year, compared with the year-earlier period.

The drop in the Netherlands was 8.7%, in Spain 15% and Ireland almost 10%. By contrast, house prices in Norway and Estonia rose nearly 8.5%.

Read more: DutchNews.nl - Dutch house price drop third biggest in EU since crisis began