The cost to the Netherlands government of the Flight MH17 disaster

The images are etched in our memory. Military cargo planes
that land at Eindhoven Airport. Hundreds of casualties being carried outside in coffins under the watchful eye of the King and Queen. Then, an endless hearse procession on the A2 on its way to Hilversum to the Van Oudheusden Barracks. Here, the identification takes place of victims from civil aircraft MH17, that was shot down while flying over Ukraine. All 298 passenger and crew died on 17 July 2014. Among them 196 Dutch people and nine people of other nationalities living in our country. This happened nearly ten years ago. Today, the Netherlands Court of Audit publishes the assessment into the costs made by the government concerning the tragic event of MH17. An assessment requested by the Prime Minister
on behalf of the government into the Dutch legal proceedings
against the Russian Federation. In this context, I wish to emphasise that the pain of the bereaved cannot be measured by money. This assassment is about costs made by ministries, municipalities and other government organisations, such as the national police the Public Prosecutor and the Dutch Safety Board. It is explicitly stated that it only concerns costs from Dutch authorities. And not personal costs
made by the bereaved, costs made by affected companies
or costs made by foreign authorities. We received a cost statement from 83 government organisations. We assessed these according to the Supreme Audit Institutions norms. Costs made between 17 July 2014 and the end of 2022 that the Netherlands Court of Audit was able to determine, amount to 166 million euro. In case of uncertainties, we did not include an amount. These 166 million euro include crisis management costs made immediately after the disaster. Costs made for the repatriation of victims and their identification. And the costs made for research by the national police, the Ministry of Defence, the Dutch Safety Board, and the Public Prosecutor. Because of this, and by the trial in
The Hague, the facts are brought to light. And of course, costs due to the aftereffects of the disaster. Costs the government makes for care for the bereaved, contributions to commemorations, and various ongoing legal proceedings. We explicitly call this an intermediate balance. Some costs will continue after 2022. For example, trauma counselling for the bereaved or maintenance of memorials, for a special documents archive, or advances the government recently paid
to the bereaved on the damages that three offenders were sentenced to pay by the court. Meanwhile, there are various
ongoing legal proceedings about the violation of human rights
and the liability of the Russian State for taking down flight MH17. Costs to that end are also ongoing. This is why the Netherlands Court of Audit will provide annual updates on this assessment. So you, society, politicians and the state as litigant in these proceedings have the correct financial data at your disposal.