First Balkenende Cabinet - Cabinet Actions

Cabinet Actions

• Revoked a planned ban on mink farming initiated by the previous cabinet
• Approved an expansion of the European Union.
• Support for the United States in its plan to invade Iraq.
• Cuts to a subsidised jobs scheme of Ad Melkert, the Melkertbanen.
• Removed price controls on some popular medical interventions (knee and hip operations, cataract operations), so that painful waiting lists begun to disappear
• Reorganisation of defence (and budget cuts?) involving 4800 job losses
• Reduction of spending on public transport of 39 million euros in 2003 (originally to be 60 million)
• Cuts to the budgets of most government departments, but with increased spending on health and some other areas.