A decision to reintroduce the guilder or introduce a ‘neuro’ together with other Northern European countries would cost Dutch consumers 4,500 euros a year, according to the D66 democrat party.

D66 MP Wouter Koolmees argues that going back to a weaker national currency would see an increase in a national debt calculated in euros. Many investors would move their money elsewhere, causing serious problems for the financial sector. In the case of the Netherlands, a country with an export-driven economy and a very big financial sector, the consequences would be enormous.

Mr Koolmees says Dutch banks and pension funds would sustain serious losses and that the economy would take an additional battering because of a substantial reduction in trade. The costs would amount to between 2,000 and 3,000 euros per person for the first year, rising to a structural cost of 4,500 euros per person per year thereafter.

(gsh/mw)

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