Dec 12, 2023 at 9:02 PM Update: 22 minutes ago
Ukraine can continue to count on the financial, diplomatic and humanitarian support of the Netherlands. A majority of the new House of Representatives said on Tuesday in a debate about the upcoming EU summit that aid to Kyiv must continue.
The largest party in the House, the PVV, has always been against Dutch military support to Ukraine. Geert Wilders’ party fears that Dutch taxpayers will pay for the costs.
A number of parties want to continue to give Ukraine money and weapons, but are not interested in negotiations about accession to the European Union. For example, BBB, SGP and PVV are against EU expansion.
Nevertheless, a majority of the House agreed to the start of negotiations on the accession of Ukraine and Moldova. Political parties do emphasize that the Copenhagen criteria – the conditions for admission to the EU – must be observed.
VVD, GroenLinks-PvdA, NSC, CDA, Volt, ChristenUnie and D66, among others, supported the policy of the outgoing cabinet. Outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte said before the debate that he is counting on the support of the House. “I really believe that support is there.”
European leaders will discuss more money for Ukraine and the start of accession talks at the end of this week. The Netherlands has been one of the drivers of support for Ukraine within the EU since the start of the war in February 2022.
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2023-12-12 20:02:43
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