Today, the Dutch army is almost completely absorbed by the German army. All brigades are now ‘under German command’, but the Netherlands will continue to decide for itself where ‘our soldiers’ will be deployed.
In Veitshöchheim, the Germans symbolically received the unit flag of the 13 Light Brigade from Oirschot this afternoon. This means that the third and last brigade of the army is under German command. In 2014 this already happened with the Airmobile Brigade from Schaarsbergen, two years later it was the turn of the 43 Mechanized Brigade from Havelte. Only the Commando Corps and support units such as the engineers, medical troops and logistics remain outside the integration.
The far-reaching cooperation is a new milestone since the Netherlands and Germany first visited each other in 1995. Since then, the First German-Dutch Army Corps has existed, a rapidly deployable NATO unit that operates from the German city of Münster. Later on, weapons were purchased together on several occasions.
More than cost savings
The collaboration once started as cost savings, but now goes much further than that. The Dutch brigades, together with their German colleagues, form three divisions with which both armed forces can ‘bring in’ a total of 50,000 soldiers, as it is called in military jargon.
It has been agreed that military equipment will be purchased together as much as possible, but the doctrines and regulations will also be aligned as much as possible. This should mean that it no longer matters which ammunition is fired or which mechanic repairs which combat vehicle.
The merger has more advantages. For example, the Netherlands sold almost all tanks in 2011 after the armed forces had to cut back 1 billion euros. The Germans still have more than enough, so that Dutch soldiers can train with tanks again. The arrival of the Dutch is also more than welcome for the Germans. The country is struggling to fill their divisions. With the approximately eight thousand soldiers from our country, that problem is suddenly a lot less serious.
Control over the Dutch units is about the only thing that remains unchanged. Berlin does not determine whether ‘our soldiers’ are deployed. Politicians have the last word in this.
No European army
Is this far-reaching cooperation the prelude to a European army? It’s not that far yet. This first requires a common European foreign policy and a common security policy. Countries still decide on this themselves.
Watch our news videos in the playlist below:
Free unlimited access to Showbytes? Which can!
Log in or create an account and don’t miss a thing of the stars.