What is the Dutch share of EU debt?

In recent years, the European Union has significantly increased its borrowing. In 2024, outstanding EU-level debt stood at approximately €875 billion, up from €538 billion in 2021. This rise is largely due to two initiatives: the NextGenerationEU (NGEU) COVID-19 recovery programme and Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) loans to Ukraine.  Through NGEU, the EU provides both grants and loans to Member States, funded by borrowing that will begin to be repaid from 2028. Loans under NGEU must be repaid by the countries that received them. What remains after subtracting these repayable loans is known as consolidated EU debt. This stems mainly from NGEU grants, and constitutes a shared responsibility among all EU Member States.

Official national accounts do not currently include joint EU debt, as it is formally owned by the European Union – not individual Member States. However, Member States are collectively responsible for this debt, and ultimately, national and EU taxpayers are one and the same.

What part of this debt is the Netherlands responsible for?

Although Member States are collectively responsible for the entire EU debt, we can still make an estimate of what portion of this debt will be borne by the Netherlands through higher EU contributions. Member States contribute to the EU budget based on their share of the EU’s gross national income (GNI). In 2024, the Netherlands accounted for approximately 6.2% of the EU’s GNI. Based on this percentage, the Netherlands’ estimated share in the consolidated EU debt amounts to €17.6 billion. It must be noted, however, that allocating EU debt based on GNI simplifies a more complex reality, as the debt could also be financed through the EU’s own revenues.

Adding this share of EU debt to the Dutch public debt raises the Netherlands’ debt-to-GDP ratio from 43.7% to 45.3%. The German central bank, the Bundesbank, has recently also begun reporting a similar debt increase for Germany. Like DNB, it uses EU debt figures published by Eurostat, which have only been available since last year. Across the EU Member States, this consolidated debt raises the average debt-to-GDP ratio from 82% to 83.6%.

Joint EU debt is becoming an increasingly significant part of European public finances. To provide a more complete picture of the Netherlands’ financial position, DNB will begin reporting the Dutch share of EU debt in its annual Autumn Projections, starting this December, following the example set by the Bundesbank.

By explicitly including this share, we aim to improve transparency and contribute to a better understanding of the Netherlands’ overall debt burden.