Excerpt:
The first of two days of formal debate on the cabinet's 2015 spending plans took place on Wednesday, with opposition MPs queuing up to accuse ministers of showing a lack of ambition and betraying pensioners.
The debate got off to a confrontational start when Geert Wilders, leader of the anti-Islam PVV, demanded a copy of the Koran be removed from the parliamentary chairwoman's table.
After MPs voted 11 to 125 against the motion, Socialist Party leader Emile Roemer took to the stand to outline his party's objections to the budget, in particular the impact on the elderly, who are losing tax breaks and face higher healthcare premiums.