Organisation - March 24, 2010

Provincial government not turning its back on Wageningen UR

The news report in De Gelderlander -- that the provincial government will stop giving subsidies to Wageningen UR because of the high salaries of its executive board members -- is incorrect. This is disclosed by Simon Vink, spokesman for the executive board.

To begin with, a decision hasn't been made by the States-Deputed of the province. A motion has been moved by the States-Provincial, and this has been accepted. What the States-Deputed will do remains to be seen. A representative informed us that the provincial government would not take any action against Wageningen UR.'
This is because, Vink continues, Wageningen UR does not have any subsidy from the provincial government. Wageningen UR carries out projects for the provincial government. 'But assignments are not subsidies', says Vink. He sees the motion as 'a signal' without any practical consequences.
Moreover, Vink maintains that the members of the executive board do not have to keep to the Balkenende standard. 'The standard applies to publicly financed organizations, such as Wageningen University, but not to a market-oriented organization such as DLO or a private organization such as Van Hall Larenstein.'
The States-Provincial of Gelderland moved a motion earlier this month to forbid the provincial government from giving subsidies to an institution if there are grounds to believe that it has exceeded the Balkenende standard of €181,000.