News item | 03-06-2025 | 10:43
The NATO summit in The Hague can go down in history if the moment that Europe got up and took responsibility. Minister Ruben Brekelmans expressed that hope yesterday. He did that during ‘Debate in the City’, part of NATO through the Netherlands Tour. Around 600 interested people came to the local politics and students in current geopolitics, experts, involved in local politics and students.
The central question was whether NATO is strong enough in uncertain times. The minister gave a resounding yes in the Royal Schouwburg in The Hague as an answer. But Europe really has to work hard, he added. Especially now that the United States is questioned aloud in the European contribution to the alliance.
“The burden distribution within NATO has been out of balance for decades,” Brekelmans acknowledged. “Trump is not the first to point us to that. Barack Obama and Joe Biden did that too. It is therefore right that Europe is taking on the glove and is going to work. We can do that and we can do that with more self -confidence. Europe is not Calimero in the shadow of great powers. Is our population 4 times larger. “
Differences
But there are still differences among themselves. The minister approached cases as the various types of weapon systems that countries work with. There are also important strategic capacities and there is a lack of experience with large -scale commanding. “So there is work to be done, a lot of work,” he emphasized. ” The good news is: Europe is waking up and the wheels are running.
Because Russia is not standing still. Not only are there the daily attacks on Ukrainian goals. The offensive cyber program is also running overtime. And the Netherlands also notices that. “We are not at war with Russia, but Russia, in hybrid form, with us.”
Turning point in history
A strong NATO must contribute to deterrence. Numerous government leaders and defense ministers will meet in just under a month. As mentioned, the minister hopes at a turning point in history. “If we agree, the NATO summit of The Hague will go down in history when Europe got up and took its responsibility. The moment when the geopolitical relationships shifted, Europe was no longer a spectator, but a player of weight. I hope we will look back at this top in 10, 20 years and say: in The Hague, we experienced the turning point.”