Netherlands

A strategy developed by the government has been presented in all national and regional newspapers for deconfinement as the number of new infections and deaths in the Netherlands has decreased steadily. From 1 June onwards, primary schools, theaters, museums, restaurants and cafes will open again. Wearing a mouth mask in public transport will be mandatory from that date. It was announced on Friday 8 May, that the Netherlands came to an agreement of an emergency fund for medical costs. In total 240 billion will be kept free, gathered by all the 17 Members of the European Stability Mechanism. The Dutch minister of Finances Hoekstra said he was assured that the money from the ESM will only be used to pay medical costs, such as the development of a vaccin and prevention measures. Minister Hoekstra stresses that the mechanism cannot be used for the closure of shops or income support, but really only for things related to health care. The Dutch government is not accepting any more lenient criteria, in which several other Northern Member States agree. If the money will be used differently, the Netherlands will probably veto that decision by the ESM board. The Netherlands itself has the right to make use of the ESM but will not do that according to Hoekstra as he states that it will be cheaper to borrow money from the capital market, which is preferred by the Dutch government.