Last week, the cabinet announced that the sector plans will remain. ‘But that money must then be cut elsewhere,’ said Vice-President of the Executive Board Jan Lintsen. 'Scrapping start-up and incentive grants is a big blow for many researchers. It amounts to about €335 million for all universities combined. Those grants were introduced precisely to bring peace and stability. Now the opposite is happening.'

Impact on the UvA

In the coming weeks, the consequences of the cuts for UvA faculties and service units will become apparent during the annual budget process. The draft budget will be discussed with deans and directors and with the representative advisory bodies. On 9 October, the draft budget will also be presented for consultation to the entire academic community via uva.nl/en. 

Action towards The Hague

Although the government's plans have now been presented, we will continue to campaign against the cuts, which still need to be debated in the Senate. We will do this together with other Dutch universities as part of the umbrella organisation UNL, but also in consultation with the unions and WOinActie.

'We don't want to leave things as they are, and we'll try to limit the impact as much as possible. The fine for taking a longer time to complete a degree, capping the influx of international talent and opportunities to invest in knowledge - this is short-sighted policy and we will continue to oppose it,' says Edith Hooge, president of the Executive Board.