The new Dutch government, led by liberal Rob Jetten, has given hope to the region’s centrist forces, writes Politico.
The government-forming process in the Netherlands is over, and the new government also wants to breathe new life into NATO. That is also the commitment of Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel.
He told Politico that the new government will see the world as it is, not as it wants to be. Consequently, the world will see a government that still sees NATO as the cornerstone of collective security, but also wants to build a stronger Europe, both economically and militarily.
Van Weel is a member of the liberal VVD party. The party has joined forces with Jetten’s centrist D66 and the Christian Democrats CDA, forming an unusual minority government for the Netherlands. Jeten has not yet formed a new cabinet, but
Van Weel is open to continuing in his current role.
The minister spoke to Politico after weeks of European friction with US President Donald Trump, who has insisted that Greenland should become part of the United States, undermining the transatlantic alliance. European leaders have begun to consider the possibility of surviving in a world without American protection or even friendly relations with their overseas neighbor.
The damage to mutual trust caused by Trump’s remarks is palpable. Van Weel said it is undeniable, and he hopes Greenland will never be on the agenda again. The minister also said Trump’s demand to return Greenland to the Americans has created a harmful distraction from the urgent task of achieving peace in Ukraine: “I really regret that this has taken up so much time and effort of so many people in these times when the whole world seems to be on fire.” The minister added that there are many issues that need to be worked on together to achieve results, and regardless of whether there is mutual trust, they need to be worked on, and the countries of the world need each other.
The Netherlands, with a population of 18 million, is firmly committed to achieving NATO’s new goal of allocating 5% of GDP to defense. The country currently spends about $28 billion a year on defense, and among the European Union’s NATO countries, only France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain, which have much larger populations, spend more.
The outgoing Dutch government planned to increase the size of the armed forces from 70,000 to 100,000 by 2030.
Van Weel previously worked with the current NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte, when Rutte was the Dutch Prime Minister. Rutte caused outrage on the 26th of January when he warned that EU politicians were dreaming if they believed they could defend themselves without American help. Some politicians have said that Rutte is the one living in illusions if he believes Trump can be trusted. Van Weel thinks that both sides are partly right: Europeans are very dependent on US support, but this should be reduced, and this is in the name of a more balanced transatlantic bond.
The Dutch politician believes that European governments must be prepared to take drastic decisions to strengthen the region’s defense, and he is not against the creation of a new European Security Council, which could also include countries that are not part of the EU, such as the United Kingdom. Van Weel pointed out that the EU was built on the basis of economic cooperation, so it has never had a security-oriented structure or goal, but the world has changed and the bloc must also play its role in the field of defense.
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