Dutch pension funds stop Brussels from steering members' savings into European startups

European pension funds will not have to put a minimum of two percent of their assets into high-risk European venture capital. A proposal by European Parliament member Damian Boeselager, from Volt, failed in the negotiations, according to preliminary texts from the Paliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, het Financieele Dagblad reports.

Dutch pension funds keep the right to decide for themselves whether and how much to invest into European scale-ups and startups. According to the Dutch central bank, De Nederlandsche Bank, Dutch pension funds manage more than 1.17 trillion euros.

The debate arose as the European Commission reviews rules governing pension funds. Officials want to tap the sector’s large pools of capital to strengthen European competitiveness.

Dutch pension funds and members of the European Parliament lobbied hard in recent months to stop Brussels from setting investment rules for fund boards. A requested two percent allocation would have carried large costs for major funds. For ABP, one of the country’s biggest funds, it would have meant about 11 billion euros in mandatory venture capital investments.

ABP chairman Harmen van Wijnen criticized Brussels for tightening rules on risk diversification and transparency. He said pension funds are not an ATM for companies or governments that need money. ABP has already pledged one billion euros to European venture capital funds.

The European Parliament is expected to vote on the proposals in early November. Formal negotiations between the Parliament, the European Council, and the Commission will then follow to reach a final legal text. Brussels aims for a definitive agreement by the end of 2026 or early 2027.