How does Secretary of State Eric van der Burg intend to implement the 3.5 billion euro cut on civil servants? 'It's going to hurt, but you can't prevent that'

State Secretary Eric van der Burg plans to implement a €3.5 billion budget cut on civil servants, primarily affecting execution organizations like the UWV. He acknowledges that this will cause pain but insists on the necessity of change to improve efficiency. The government aims to reduce the number of civil servants by 25,000 over the next decade, focusing on simplifying processes and reducing bureaucracy. Van der Burg emphasizes the importance of digitalization and streamlining operations to achieve these savings. He also notes the need for fewer advisory committees to avoid missing critical signals, while acknowledging that the current evaluation processes are insufficient. The challenge remains to balance simplification with the potential backlash from interest groups.