Cabinet replaces Inkopen met Impact with five-year Visie op Rijksinkoop

The cabinet has adopted the Visie op Rijksinkoop, a five-year vision for modernising how central government buys goods and services. It replaces the 2019 strategy Inkopen met Impact and is meant to make the procurement system more agile.

Central government procurement is worth about €20bn a year, with contracts with 25,000 companies. The cabinet says buying should also serve digital independence, sustainability and security, and through them the economy and innovation. It says the changes should make it easier and quicker for companies to do business with the government, with fewer rules and less bureaucracy.

Why it matters

1. From 1 January 2026, companies carrying out government contracts that involve national security risks must meet the general security requirements for central government contracts (ABRO).
2. The government will build digital autonomy and security into contracts more firmly, map risks before signing and monitor them during delivery.

The security requirements are meant to reduce risks such as cyberattacks and espionage, and to apply the same standard across central government.

State Secretary Van der Burg, who is responsible for Kingdom Relations and an agile government, said: "Too many rules have built up over the years for the buyer, the users and the market parties the state does business with." With this vision, he said, "we make procurement more efficient". That avoids duplicate costs and work, he said, and means quality can go up and the state can work with fewer people.

The government points to examples already in use. Government uniforms are recycled into construction panels for government buildings. Temp agencies and government bodies swap timesheets digitally. The recent purchase of data connections, internet and mobile, saved money and took social impact and reuse of raw materials into account.

The vision covers all central government procurement except Defence, which will align with it where it can.