Cabinet shares childcare state aid memos, not Brussels' replies
Minister Aartsen has sent MPs three internal memos on informal talks with the European Commission about state aid risk in the new childcare funding system, but keeps the Commission officials' responses private.
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Aartsen's answer to parliamentary questions reached the House of Representatives (Tweede Kamer) on 9 November 2026.
The memos were written by civil servants. The talks were exploratory, the minister says: their aim was to gather information on the risk of state aid in the new system and on how best to reduce that risk.
Because the talks were informal, the Commission officials' responses and judgments are not shared. In annex 2, a position of the Commission officials has been redacted.
The release answers a request for information by MP Van Houwelingen (FVD) during the two-minute debate on childcare on 7 October 2026. He asked for the communication between the government and the Commission on the service of general economic interest (DAEB).
Aartsen says the government needs to be able to hold informal, exploratory talks with Commission officials, who have expertise in state aid rules. In his words: "An informal status of the talks is not possible if there is a chance that the information exchanged there will eventually be made public later."
Source: Tweede Kamer
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