Blog | CIOs Are Being Heard by Politics: Digitalization Gains Weight in the Coalition Agreement
In our letter to the Informateur of November 2025, CIO Platform Nederland delivered a clear message: digitalisation must become one of the central pillars of the new government. Specifically, we called for investment in the digital economy, to make it not only sovereign but also resilient and competitive. We urged action in the areas of AI and innovation, a clear embedding of the Netherlands within Europe, and improved governance of digitalisation through the appointment of a Minister of Digital Affairs.
With the coalition agreement, it appears that this call has not fallen on deaf ears. Digitalisation is woven throughout the entire document and even has its own dedicated section. There is a specific focus on strengthening innovation and competitiveness, aligning with the recommendations of the Wennink report, among others. The emphasis on collaboration—both within the Netherlands and across Europe—is also clear. In addition, attention is given to better coordination and enhancing the resilience of the digital government.
Based on the points raised in CIO Platform Nederland’s letter, I outline below the most important elements of the coalition agreement.
1. The digital economy: not only sovereign, but also resilient and competitive
In the letter to the Informateur, CIOPN indicated that digitalization offers great opportunities, but that the Netherlands will lose economic and strategic control if we do not have a grip on digital infrastructure and data. Therefore, the Netherlands and Europe must strengthen their digital sovereignty by becoming less dependent on non‑European technology and by investing in competitive European alternatives. We asked the cabinet to opt for European cloud and software solutions, open standards to prevent lock‑in, and to increase digital resilience through cybersecurity measures and exercises. In addition, we advocated harmonization of legislation and enforcement, as well as acceleration of EU rules such as NIS2.
The coalition agreement sets out with very similar reasoning the ambition to develop the Netherlands into a leader in the digital world. The coalition states that the Netherlands must actively reduce its dependence on foreign cloud and technology suppliers and that European alternatives must be strengthened.
Concretely, it states, among other things, that “Digital procurement and tendering will be standardized and centralized, driven by security‑by‑design, zero trust, sovereignty, open source and chain security. The government will leverage its market power to enforce safe standards and will establish government‑wide minimum requirements for security.” The agreement introduces strong measures for open standards, open source and interoperability, exactly as CIOPN advocated.
In the area of cybersecurity, the alignment between the two documents is almost complete. The agreement speaks of accelerating NIS2, central coordination, tighter supervision, more data sharing, and actively exercising cyber crises etween government and companies.
In addition, more general policy instruments have been announced that can be relevant in the digital environment. For example, the ACM will receive more options for improving competition—for instance the New Competition Tool that CIOPN requested. This would allow it, over time, to intervene in markets in which structural competition problems occur, without having to establish a violation of competition law. The ACM will also receive the so‑called ‘call‑in’ power, enabling it to assess acquisitions that fall below current thresholds—for example on strategic risks—and, if necessary, to impose conditions or prohibit the acquisition. CIOPN, also together with our sister associations, has repeatedly urged this as well.
2. Take action on artificial intelligence (AI) and innovation
In our letter to the Informateur, we called on the new cabinet to prepare the Netherlands well for the impact of AI. Specifically, we asked to include digital literacy and AI in education, to develop policy to attract international talent to the Netherlands (and Europe), and to encourage sustainable digitalization.
In the coalition agreement, AI receives national priority. The cabinet will invest in computing power, AI infrastructure, key technologies and regional innovation ecosystems. It will also invest in digital and AI expertise within the government. Digital literacy in education is also included as an objective, specifically: “We train young people, from child to student, in cybersecurity and digital skills and strengthen public‑private training programs.” That aligns closely with CIOPN’s call.
And whereas the previous cabinet wanted to block virtually all inflow into the Netherlands, the new coalition takes a more careful approach. There will be a three‑year pilot to bring skilled workers to the Netherlands for delineated sectors under (strict) conditions. It will also remain possible to attract international talent around education and research. That is good news, especially in combination with the recently announced [European visa policy](https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/news/commission-adopts-visa-strategy-and-new-recommendation-attracting-talent-innovation-2026-01-29_en) aimed at attracting talent that can help drive innovation.
Strategic innovation policy will focus primarily on four essential domains: digitalization and AI, security and resilience, energy and climate technology, and life sciences and biotechnology. To finance innovation, a National Investment Institution (NII) will be established with €3 to €5 billion. The NII will focus on projects with a positive business case whose financing does not materialize in the market—for example due to higher risks or a lack of available venture capital. This occurs, for example, with larger financing rounds for start‑ups and scale‑ups.
Sustainability is one of the objectives in the coalition agreement, particularly in a general macroeconomic sense. Specifically for sustainability in relation to digitalization, there are few concrete entry points; however, sustainability is partly seen as a means to reduce dependency, as also indicated in our letter.
3. Appoint a Minister for Digital Affairs
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