New Dutch Coalition Government: Foreign Policy Trends

On Wednesday 15 December, VVD, D66, CDA and the Christian Union agreed to form a new four-party coalition government, leading Mark Rutte into his fourth term serving as PM in the Netherlands. In the midst of widespread calls for systemic change, Covid, and a housing-, climate-, and pollution-crisis, the government has promised a massive increase in public spending, following Germany’s new “traffic light” coalition government. This spotlight will shed light on some of the coalition agreement’s most notable foreign policy-plans and its consequences for foreign relations. 

For the coming 10 years, the coalition has pledged a €35bn climate fund, on top of existing measures, for the energy transition. With the fund, the Dutch government shows its ambition to be among EU front-runners in the transition to a green economy. The new policies carry geopolitical weight as well. With the closure of its gas-field in Groningen - the largest gas-field in Europe - the Netherlands are increasingly becoming dependent on Russian gas. To counter this trend, the Dutch have pledged extra investment for R&D in climate neutral technologies and are looking to increase hydrogen production and research as a substitute. Moreover, they have stated to reduce the dependency on strategic goods and resources. 

The coalition government aims to take a leading role in making the EU stronger, safer and more decisive. Their aim is to use the EU’s economic power strategically. But moreover, they will protect their companies from unfair competition and through smart industrial politics they hope to make the EU more strategically autonomous. In line with their plans to make the EU more decisive, they are in favor of abolishing veto-right in parts of EU foreign policy, such as sanctions. They are also looking into options for an EU security council. Hence, in order to improve its international position, the Netherlands is looking toward the EU for a stronger and more strategic foreign policy.

But the Netherlands is also looking toward closer trans-Atlantic cooperation. The government is increasing its military budget and sees NATO as a cornerstone of collective defense. Within NATO, however, it will focus on defense, protection and security within their own region. It also is looking to create more interoperability with the German military and it will take further steps to merge Dutch and German military units. The current trends - position of China and Russia, a stronger focus of the US on Asia, and instability around Europe - cause the Dutch to follow its current NATO and EU policy and increase its defense spending.