There appears to be a wide gap between the flowery rhetoric in the so-called Troonrede (the state of the union address  at the opening of the parliamentary year) and the budget presented yesterday by the government on the occasion of Prinsjesdag.  Despite words indicating that our country aspires to be among the top innovative and research-driven economies, our sector will suffer a number of significant and parallel budgetary blows in the years to come. Less funding, the abolition of long-awaited and committed research incentives and the cancellation of all extra’s from the so-called FES funds (installed to ensure intelligent spending of the Dutch gas proceeds). These are the first observations, but I will certainly share more detail once the impact of the budget cuts will become clearer.