The EU is lagging in security and defence cooperation but the Netherlands wants to lead in pushing for a more proactive and self-reliant approach to these matters, Dutch Defence Minister Kajsa Ollongren (D66/Renew Europe) said in a speech in Maastricht on Wednesday.
Ollongren’s speech, which was part of the run-up to Europe Day on 9 May, mainly focused on the issue of EU strategic autonomy in security.
“The European Dream, the European Promise. To protect that ideal, the Netherlands wants to take the lead in deepening EU security and defence policy,” said Ollongren, lamenting that the EU was “caught off guard” when Russia’s war in Ukraine in February last year.
“While European integration on the economic front gained steam in recent decades, security and defence cooperation lagged behind,” she added. “Especially as NATO gains renewed significance from war on its eastern flank, a fully-fledged European role within the alliance is crucial,” she also said.
Ollongren proposed several concrete measures to fortify Europe’s self-sufficiency, including strengthening the European defence industry “in order to help Ukraine”, joint arms procurement within the EU and increasing European cooperation on an operational basis.
She also advocated for Europe to take on a larger role on NATO’s eastern flank, as well as maintaining cooperation with the UK, which “is and remains a military superpower”.
Ollongren went on to criticise the EU’s reliance on foreign powers – not only in the field of security but also in raw materials.
“[…] [We] gave too little thought to our security. For that, we relied on the Americans. For our gigantic economic prosperity, we made ourselves too dependent on cheap raw materials, energy and manufacturing from countries like Russia and China”, she said.
Recently, relations with China deteriorated significantly after the Dutch secret service (AIVD) designated the country as “the biggest threat” to Dutch security, with Chinese officials accusing the Netherlands of having a “cold war mentality”. The Dutch also introduced chip export restrictions towards China, based on an agreement with Japan and the US.
(Benedikt Stöckl | EURACTIV.com)
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