Dutch Finance Minister sees some budget cuts before election

THE HAGUE (Reuters) - The Dutch finance minister, who pulled together last-minute support for crucial budget cuts, said on Friday that some of those measures could be approved by parliament before elections on September 12.

The minority government collapsed at the weekend in a row over the budget cuts, which are required if the Netherlands is to meet strict EU limits on budget deficits.

Led by Finance Minister Jan Kees de Jager, the government won support late on Thursday from three small opposition parties for a revised package of spending cuts and tax rises. Unions and other opposition parties slammed the deal, saying it would hurt growth and warning it would be torn up after the election.

The deal meant the Netherlands, a core member of the euro zone, would be able to meet an April 30 deadline for presenting proposals to Brussels on its plans for meeting EU deficit targets, averting an embarrassing crisis.

De Jager said he would send the new budget plan to Brussels at the weekend, and that he expected a rise in value added tax to take effect on October 1.

The Netherlands still faces months of policy uncertainty before the September 12 elections, both domestic and regarding euro zone issues such as the EU fiscal treaty, which will enshrine balanced budget rules in national law.

De Jager said he expected the Dutch parliament to approve the EU fiscal treaty, but did not say when.

In the past the minority government relied on the support of the anti-euro Freedom Party for a majority in parliament, except on European issues when it relied on the opposition Labour party.

"Until now, the European agenda of this cabinet has been approved by the opposition when the Freedom Party did not support it. It seems to me that thanks to (Thursday's) agreement, the situation has improved instead of worsened," de Jager said.

(Editing by Sara Webb and Tim Pearce)