Prince's Day 2024
"Prince's Day" (Prinsjesdag), which always takes place on the third Tuesday of September, marks the start of the parliamentary year. Prince's Day 2024 was the first one since the elections for the House of Representatives in November 2023. After King Willem-Alexander had delivered the speech from the throne in the Royal Theatre in The Hague, Minister of Finance Eelco Heinen presented the ceremonial "third-Tuesday-of-September"-briefcase to the House of Representatives.
Budget Memorandum and national budget
The President of the House, Martin Bosma, accepted the documents in the briefcase: the Budget Memorandum and the national budget for the upcoming year. In the days after Prince's Day, the House of Representatives discussed the main political issues regarding the plans that were presented on Prince's Day during the General Political Debate. The General Financial Debate, which focusses on the financial aspect of the plans, took place in the following week.
Budget debates
During the months after Prince's Day, the House of Representatives and the Senate, in that order, debate the budgets of the individual government departments. The budgets must be approved by both chambers by 1 January, before they can be implemented in the upcoming year.
Read more
Visit the page Prince's Day and the budget cycle to learn more about the budgetary year.