Accountability Day

The annual reports not only account for how much money has been spent and on what; the specific goals that were envisioned, and to what degree they have been achieved in the past year, are also discussed.

When doing so, a special suitcase is used, similar to the one carrying the budget plans (Miljoenennota) on Prinsjesdag, the third Tuesday in September.

The suitcase is decorated with the Coat of arms of the Netherlands, and the text DERDE WOENSDAG IN MEI ("THIRD WEDNESDAY IN MAY") beneath it.

At the Parliament's prompting, this date has been brought forward, because MPs are too busy in autumn preparing the national budget debates for the next year to also invest time in the financial report of the previous year.

In 2004, the House approved of a motion requesting the Government to have all Cabinet members be present during the plenary debate on the national financial report the day after the third Wednesday in May.