“Political amateurism,” Jimmy Dijk of the SP called it. Henri Bontenbal (CDA) thought it was a “shameful political situation.”
On Tuesday evening, the opposition was considered hard on the political fall-out of what seemed to be a cabinet crisis last week, when coalition parties PVV, NSC and BBB helped a motion by MP Joost Eerdmans to a majority. The cabinet, the motion said, had to express itself against the European Commission’s plan to stretch the budget rules to free up more money for European defense. The coalition was thus divided: the VVD does support Rearm Europe. In addition: Prime Minister Schoof had already agreed to the plan during a European top.
After hours of crisis meeting, the cabinet had sent a woolly letter of seven sides to the Chamber on Friday in which it was stated that the motion would be carried out “partly, partly not”. This Thursday and Friday, an EU summit will be discussed again about the elaboration of the Rearm Europe plan, but which position the Netherlands will take during these discussions remained unclear during a debate in the Lower House.
No ‘blank check’
PVV leader Geert Wilders claimed that Schoof was ‘as free as a bird’ to negotiate in Brussels, but explicitly kept the right to turn against European plans later. VVD party leader Dilan Yesilgöz called the Motie-Utmans “irresponsible” for “the safety of Dutch people,” but then found that her party was not going to give a “blank check”.
It was then Mirjam Bikker (ChristenUnie) who put his finger on the sore spot. The cabinet, as stated in the letter about the Motie Utmans, “will not take a position in advance” in the negotiations on REARM Europe. Despite all the consultations, the coalition had not formulated any new positions on the European plans and Prime Minister had not received a mandate, Bikker analyzed: “The prime minister is not as free as a bird, but outlawed.”
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The criticism of the “confused performance” of the Netherlands on the international stage (Dixit Bontenbal) and the bickering within the “Dutch rear -hatal coalition” (according to Laurens Dassen of Volt) then mainly ended up on the plate of Yesilgöz. In recent weeks, the VVD leader has made support for Ukraine and European Defense a spearhead, and underlined that last week with an unexpected visit to the Ukrainian President Zensky and a speech in the War Museum Over Monday, in which she argued for raising the defense issues to BBP. Coalitians Wilders and Van der Plas (BBB) responded to X surprised. “That will be cutting in climate and other VVD hobbies,” tweeted the PVV leader.
Sincere
In the room there was genuine Chagrijn about that division, at a time that Trump and Putin – without Europe – negotiate about Ukraine. The cabinet has not yet sworn in the previous crisis, Timmermans snarled during the debate, or the coalition was again “as toddlers rolling on the street.”
D66 leader Rob Jetten wanted to know from Yesilgöz why the VVD does judge “hard” about the coalitionmates, but in the meantime remains in the cabinet. Yesilgöz was not impressed by that: in new elections, while the war in Ukraine threatens to escalate, nobody benefited.
Prime Minister Schoof tried to put the problem out. Although the European government leaders have already agreed to Rearm Europe all kinds of details have yet to be worked out, according to Schoof. “Then the cabinet will come up with an opinion.” However, when Mirjam Bikker noted that the cabinet will take ‘no position’ next Thursday in Brussels, Schoofed against that.
The European Commission will announce more details of the plans on Wednesday. On that basis, the government will define a “substantive position”, said Schoof. The Prime Minister once again emphasized that the Netherlands wants strict conditions for releasing the European budget discipline and especially for joint EU loans-of which right-wing parties have a great aversion.
New motion Eerdmans
Joost Eerdmans thought that was not a credible story: “What will the Netherlands do? That Brussels train has long left?”
At the end of the debate, Eerdmans submitted a new motion in which the government is called “to actively oppose Eurobonds and strictly to look at compliance with the European budget rules.”
Eerdmans said he had ‘good hope’ that his motion would be accepted again.