Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten has cancelled his trip to the European leaders’ summit in Dublin as a political crisis over his government’s 2027 tax plan threatens the survival of his minority cabinet.

Jetten will stay in The Hague for an emergency debate in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of parliament, ahead of a decisive vote on the tax plan on Thursday, 12 November. He had already pulled out of the COP31 climate summit in Antalya, Turkey, to focus on securing support for the plan.

Tax deal struck, but majority not secured

His D66 party and coalition partner CDA reached agreement on Wednesday with the opposition parties PRO and Volt on a scaled-back millionaires’ tax, reducing the original €1.5 billion shift from capital to labour to about €1 billion to help fund tax relief for workers. PRO and Volt said they would back the wider 2027 tax plan if their amended proposal is adopted.

But the deal does not guarantee a majority. The VVD, the third party in Jetten’s minority coalition, has not publicly committed to it, and several smaller factions remain undecided. The tax service needs final rates to prepare provisional 2027 assessments, leaving parliament little room to delay.

What is at stake

If the Tweede Kamer rejects the plan, the cabinet could face a rapid political crisis, with discussion in The Hague already turning to whether the government could fall. The Dublin summit, where about 50 European leaders meet on Thursday, will go ahead without the Dutch prime minister.