Dijsselbloem hails "exceptional" figures of Dutch economy

Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem welcomed the latest Dutch economy figures on Tuesday, which projected growth for both this year and 2017 and a rare balanced budget.

After many years of deficit, the projected budget balance in 2017 is "exceptional," according to Dijsselbloem.

"We have an open economy and when there is an international crisis one can see it directly in our budget," he said in a video statement, "Our budget remains fragile so we are not there yet, so we have to continue like this. We have to create a buffer to deal with setbacks and will have to continue to decrease the debt."

According to the CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (CPB) published Tuesday, gross domestic product (GDP) is projected to grow by 2.1 percent in 2016 and 2017, unemployment is to decrease to 5.3 percent next year and the government budget will be balanced.

The debt ratio will decline to below the EU Treaty of Maastricht norm of 60 percent of GDP for the first time since 2010.

The CPB said the international situation remains uncertain. "The consequences of Brexit, for now, appear less severe than expected, but the economic and political situation in the European Union continues to be uncertain," it said.

According to the CPB, household consumption is the main driving force behind economic growth in the Netherlands, in combination with an ongoing rise in employment and wage increases and the strong growth in the housing market.

The decrease in unemployment of 2016 is projected to continue in 2017, when around 475,000 people are expected to be unemployed, 65,000 less than in 2016. Endit