Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations Judith Uitermark announced on Wednesday evening during a committee debate on addressing the legacy of slavery that the €100 million Slavernij Fonds (Slavery Fund) will open in mid-August.

The fund, equally distributed across three regions, will support projects aimed at raising awareness, fostering healing, and addressing the enduring consequences faced by descendants of enslaved people, referred to as the “pass-through.” Eligibility criteria for subsidies were unveiled on July 1, the anniversary of slavery’s official abolition in the Kingdom in 1863.

An additional €100 million has been allocated for “policy incentives,” allowing government bodies to submit proposals. On July 1, Caribbean territories will present their “action list” for these funds.

Opposition Criticizes Fund as “Subsidy-Driven Victim Industry”

The announcement sparked debate in Parliament, with PVV MP Peter van Haasen dismissing the initiative as “not a historical reflection, but the perpetuation of a subsidy-driven victim industry.” He criticized what he called “a circle of institutions, interest groups, and activists sustained by government funds, keeping themselves busy with commemorations, advisory committees, workshops, and awareness subsidies.”

JA21 leader Joost Eerdmans echoed these sentiments, arguing that the €200 million could be better spent than on “nonsensical projects.”

Cross-Party Support for Education and Structural Measures

Other party representatives, including Raoul White (GroenLinks-PvdA), Faith Bruyning (NSC), Mpanzu Bamenga (D66), and Don Ceder (ChristenUnie), called for greater (and structural) emphasis on the colonial past in Dutch European education. Minister Uitermark confirmed that efforts on this front are already underway.

When Van Haasen pressed the minister on when the slavery past would be considered “finished,” Uitermark responded firmly: “I’ll be brief: we’re not putting an end to it. This is an ongoing process—and we’re only just beginning.”