A deeper look into the Netherlands-Ukraine relations

The Netherlands has been a reliable partner for Ukraine since the full scale invasion. In this article we dive deeper into the development of the relationship between Ukraine and the Netherlands in recent years. The instability of the current Dutch government might impact  the relationship between the countries and the future of Ukrainians receding in the Netherlands.

Support since 2022

In February 2022 Russia launched a full scale invasion of Ukraine.

The Netherlands contributed in February and March mainly humanitarian aid to Ukraine. In April 2022, the Netherlands contributed the first heavy military material to Ukraine. Since the full scale invasion the Dutch government has allocated more than 6 billion in support to Ukraine, of which more than 5 billion is military support.

This places the Netherlands on the 7th place of individual contributors in total amount, giving more support to Ukraine than France and Italy which have larger economies. The Dutch Defense Minister Brekelmans visited Kyiv and Charkiv last October and announced that the Netherlands and Ukraine will collaborate in the production of drones. The Dutch government allows the usage of Dutch weapons on Russian territory. 

Political landscape in the Netherlands

When the full scale invasion began, the Netherlands was governed by a coalition of the right-wing liberal party VVD, the liberals of D66 and Christian democratic parties CDA and ChristenUnie.

This coalition was supportive of Ukraine, giving support to Ukraine directly after the invasion. The Prime Minister at that time was Mark Rutte. Currently Mark Rutte is the Secretary-General of NATO and continues to support Ukraine.

The coalition fell in July 2023 and a new election was held in November 2023. The winner of that election was the nationalistic populist right-wing party PVV with 23,5% of the votes. PVV stated in their party program that no more weapons should be given to Ukraine.

In the Netherlands it is common that coalitions have to be formed and the PVV formed a coalition with right-wing liberals VVD, the agrarian populist party BBB and newly formed center party NSC. The coalition agreement of the current cabinet states that the Netherlands continues to support Ukraine, both humanitrary and military. The cabinet has been upholding this promise.

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Recent events 

This November the Netherlands is in turmoil, due to riots in the capital and anti semitic violence.

Heated discussion about the riots and integration of muslims led a cabinet member, State Secretary Achahbar, to resign on Friday November 15th. There were rumors that the cabinet would fall, this did not happen, but the situation remains unstable. If in the future the current cabinet falls, a new election might impact the stance of the Netherlands regarding Ukraine, which would depend on the outcome of this election.

Established parties like the Christian Democrats CDA, the social green democrats PVDA/Groenlinks, the liberal parties VVD and D66, and the newly formed central party NSC are all supporting Ukraine. Populist parties like the PVV, agrarian party BBB and the radical right-wing FvD, have less favorable stances. This is exemplified by the debate in October where the PVV questioned the NATO membership of Ukraine and the farmers party BBB suggested making Ukraine a buffer state and was reluctant about a NATO membership for Ukraine.

Minister Veldkamp (NSC) of Foreign Affairs and Defense Minister Brekelmans (VVD) strongly condemned the idea of a buffer state. 

Ukrainians in the Netherlands

Due to the war more than 6 million Ukrainians have fled according to the United Nations. More than 108.000 Ukrainians have found refuge in The Netherlands. Ukrainian refugees who are now in the Netherlands have permits, valid till March 4th 2026, which give them access to social welfare, healthcare and allows them to work.

The Ukrainians live spread across the Netherlands. The integration of Ukrainians is going well, about 45% of the Ukrainian refugees find a job within 6 months.

Outlook

As long as the current cabinet continues to govern the Netherlands, the support to Ukraine is guaranteed. If the cabinet falls, there will be an early election.

The outcome of this election might impact the stance on Ukraine. Most parties in the Netherlands have pro Ukrainian stances, the uncertain factor here is the largest populist nationalist right-wing party PVV. In the Netherlands coalitions have to be formed, which makes it likely that Ukraine will continue to receive support from the Netherlands, only the amount of support might differ.

For the Ukrainian who are residing in the Netherlands the outlooks are stable as long as their permit is valid. Currently the permits are valid till March 2026 and during the next year a decision will be made about the extension of this permit.

Disclaimer: Articles reflect their author's point of view and do not claim to be objective or to explore every aspect of the issues they discuss. The Ukrainska Pravda editorial board does not bear any responsibility for the accuracy of the information provided, or its interpretation, and acts solely as a publisher.

The point of view of the Ukrainska Pravda editorial board may not coincide with the point of view of the article's author.