General debate

Before the Cabinet can carry out its proposals, Parliament has to consider and approve them. That is why, after the State Opening of Parliament on Prince's Day, the House of Representatives will set out to consider the National Budget and the Budget Memorandum. The Budget Memorandum and the National budget contain the plans of the Cabinet for the coming years and the financial basis thereof. The House of Representatives holds a debate about the impact of the proposals on Dutch society. This debate is called the general political debate.

Motions
All the ministers and state secretaries as well as all MPs are present when the general political debate is held. The prime minister speaks on behalf of the government and the leaders of each political group speak on behalf of their political group. By means of a motion, MPs can make it clear that they do not agree with parts of the proposals, or add some elements.
Important debate
The debate generally goes on for two days. It is thought of as a very important debate, because it is about what the government is going to do next year. The debate attracts a lot of media attention and is televised live during the daytime.

General financial debate
In October the House of Representatives holds a general financial debate, in which the financial experts of the various political groups represented in Parliament discuss the National Budget with the minister of Finance. In the next two months, each cabinet minister will defend his or her own budget bill in Parliament.
MPs have the time until January 1st to discuss the proposals. In general, the government and Parliament will not fully agree with each other. That is why there are meetings and debates on the plans throughout the rest of the year.