Final evaluation Netherlands participation in ISAF 2006 - 2010

5.1.1 HGISThe greater part of the expenditure for the mission in Afghanistan, aroundEUR 1.6 billion, was funded from the HGIS budget. The HGIS budget wasestablished in 1997 and is a permanent provision within the NationalBudget for the funding of the government’s international cooperation. Thiscomprehensive approach, with the Minister of Foreign Affairs acting as acoordinator, enhances the cohesion and cooperation required for anintegrated and coherent foreign policy. This arrangement means thatvarious ministries have HGIS budgets included separately in their overallbudgets.5.1.1.1 HGIS expenditure, Ministry of DefenceHGIS has a permanent provision for additional expenditure by the armedforces for crisis-management operations. This provision is part of theDefence budget and is known as policy article 20, ‘Conduct of crisismanagementoperations’. This provision is reserved for the possibledeployment of the Defence organisation in current and future missions. Theprovision is to ensure that missions do not weigh on the funds in theDefence budget which are reserved for the regular day-to-day running ofthe armed forces. These regular funds are for the readiness andsustainment of the armed forces. The funds for missions from HGIS areadditional funds. The costs which the Ministry of Defence can charge to theHGIS budget are costs which would not have been incurred if there hadbeen no deployment. Examples include the allowance which militarypersonnel receive while they are on deployment, food, accommodation,transport to and from the mission area, fuel consumption in the missionarea and materiel maintenance. In principle, the HGIS budget only coversrunning costs, not investment costs. That means that the purchase of newmateriel is charged to the investment budget in the regular Defencebudget.Expenditure covered by the HGIS budget for the armed forces’ participationin Afghanistan amounted to around EUR 1.2 billion in the 2006-2010 period.Page 80 of 133