Government program and King’s speech with digital accents
In the recently presented coalition program (Dutch) of the Schoof administration, compared to previous coalition agreements, there is a fairly strong emphasis on digital technology and digitization. Almost all chapters of the program address this topic. King Willem-Alexander also emphasized the importance of digitalization for the future of the Netherlands in his speech (Dutch)from the throne. The government wants to ensure that everyone can participate safely and securely in digital society.
The chapters of the coalition program that focus on security are the most digitally oriented. These emphasize the need for a digitally resilient society, with specific measures such as the implementation of the Cyberbeveiligingswet (Cbw), which implements the NIS2 directive. This law is expected to take effect in the third quarter of 2025. CIO Platform Nederland is closely involved in the implementation of this law. For example, by providing input on proposed pieces of legislation and sharing questions raised by members so that they can be answered by the government.
In the field of innovation and artificial intelligence (AI), the cabinet wants to strengthen the Dutch AI ecosystem by facilitating access to supercomputers, high-quality knowledge and data. This will benefit companies, researchers and governments and promote the application of AI in various sectors.
In the healthcare sector, data sharing is being accelerated, with an emphasis on patients' control over their own data and the use of AI for administrative purposes. This is seen as an important step toward more integrated and efficient health care, with digital technologies playing a crucial role.
The government is also committed to improving the digital economy and infrastructure, with the goal of giving everyone access to gigabit Internet, and encouraging small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to take advantage of digitization. Several schemes and grants are aimed at this. To ensure better digital skills, efforts are being made to strengthen education in these areas, both in primary and higher education. Together, this should lead to a strengthening of the digital economy and innovation power in the Netherlands.
These Cabinet plans show a clear focus on innovation, cooperation between public and private sectors, and improving the digital skills of the population.
In doing so, the Cabinet follows quite closely the priorities published by CIO Platform Nederland last year in the run-up to the elections, which highlighted education, security, competition and efficient implementation of legislation in particular.
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