Bruins' first debate: critical of European integration and vague about cutbacks

The new Minister of Education, Eppo Bruins, was forced to show his true colours thanks to a motion by VVD. Does he support the plans for a new European diploma? Not if such a degree “would replace part of the Dutch system”, said Bruins. If it’s a plan that has far-reaching consequences for Dutch higher education institutions, “I won’t go along”. However, he does identify potential advantages: if a European degree were to make it easier for Dutch students to work or study abroad, he would be open to it.

Cautious
In March, the European Commission presented a proposal for a new European degree. The plans are still vague, but the Commission intends to introduce a new kind of diploma alongside the existing Bachelor’s and Master’s diplomas. The main goal of this measure would be to faciliate collaboration between European universities.

The previous Minister of Education, Robbert Dijkgraaf, said positive things about the EU proposal, which resulted in criticism from NSC, the party of new minister Eppo Bruins. Hence Bruins' cautious attitude.

VVD is afraid "making things easier" would attract more foreign students to the Netherlands when the new cabinet wants the opposite. The party is therefore asking Bruins to oppose the plans for a European degree when participating in a European consultation, but the minister doesn’t want to go that far just yet.

R&D
Bruins’ first debate in the House of Representatives, in preparation for an upcoming European consultation, lasted about ten minutes. GroenLinks-PvdA asked the minister how the Netherlands is going to meet the international standard for investments in research and development (R&D), now that the cabinet is making budget cuts in this area.

In the EU, three percent of the gross domestic product must be spent on R&D, but the Netherlands is nowhere near meeting that standard, according to a report by the Rathenau published just before the summer. Bruins acknowledged cutbacks are being made, but he refrained from concluding that the country will not meet the standard. “‘Even with headwinds, you have to keep rowing and maybe a bit harder.”

This Tuesday, September 17, is Budget Day, when the new cabinet presents the budget for 2025. The cabinet is expected to provide more insight into the planned cutbacks of almost a billion euros.