This means that Dutch defense spending is finally in line with agreements between NATO member states, Hahn says. The agreement had already been made, but initially there was a ceiling of 2 percent of GDP. After the war in Ukraine, there was a “low” of 2%. ‘We have been in the right row for a long time and now we respect what was agreed. Rutte is proud of it».
Outgoing Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra reports that the NATO summit in 2025 can simply come to the Netherlands. “It seems that the Netherlands is being asked to organize it. That would be good news, because it puts us in the diplomatic spotlight for a while. And it doesn’t just show how big it is I commit of the Netherlands to NATO, but also that of NATO to the Netherlands”.
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At the end of the day tomorrow, Hoekstra hopes to be able to report more on an upcoming NATO summit in the Netherlands. “You know the story of the bear and the skin. So I’m a little cautious, but it looks good. Where will the summit take place? We will discuss it properly in the cabinet first, that is not the case for now.’
More specialization
If it depends on Rutte, support for Ukraine will be thoroughly reviewed. “We do everything now, but in the long run it helps if countries specialize.” It’s the first time Rutte has explicitly expressed a desire to specialize military support, Hahn says. The Netherlands leads the way with all sorts of coalitions and forms of support, but ultimately you have to specialize. “In the Dutch case it could be with F-16s.”
This desire for specialization appears to be widespread, says Hahn. “Not all countries have Patriots, Leopard tanks or F-16s, so I can imagine that widely felt desire. Rutte stressed that NATO must continue to provide a lot of support to Ukraine, also to be taken seriously as a defensive bloc.’
This specialization was also reflected in the interview that Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren had with her Danish colleague. From August, the Netherlands – along with ten other countries – will train Ukrainian soldiers in Denmark to fly F-16 fighters. After that, the Netherlands may also want to supply F-16s, although permission from the United States is needed first.
In this regard, NATO finds itself in a complicated dilemma: too much support for Ukraine, with endless security guarantees and too much enthusiasm for Ukrainian NATO membership, creates too much uncertainty. At the same time, the support must be strong enough to have a deterrent effect on Russia. It is also the only way for NATO to remain a serious power bloc. “That’s what Stoltenberg and Rutte are trying to say too.”
‘annoying and absurd’
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky does not hesitate to point out via Twitter how annoying and absurd he finds the way Ukraine is currently being treated. But he just wants to build up the pressure, says Hahn. At least it seems to have the wind in its sails. Because, as Stoltenberg pointed out: Putin underestimated how the West actually brought NATO’s border closer to Russia.
Rutte’s bet is that Moscow realizes: “They still radiate unity”, referring to the NATO member states. The commitments will surely come at this NATO summit, but it is not yet clear whether Zelensky will be satisfied with them – and whether several world leaders want to go further. ‘A number of important countries are working together to see if they can somehow provide security guarantees for Ukraine. There is still discussion about various things ».