Ladies and gentlemen, it is a great pleasure for me to have the opportunity to make some opening remarks on this conference. Budget policy is a recurring theme in my career. In 1975 I started my career at the Ministry of Finance in the Budget Directorate. Later, as director of the CPB – the Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis – I participated in the preparation of important reforms in our system of fiscal rules. And now, as Minister of Finance, I am more than ever convinced of the importance of a proper national budget policy. Not – or should I say, not only – because I like figures, but because these figures have a direct and serious impact on the wellbeing of our citizens. Without a sound budget policy there can be no sustainable social welfare system, no funds for a proper education policy, and no base for a durable economic growth. Therefore, I think that the effort to reform and improve national budget systems is one of the best things a social minded government can pursue.