Today, our faction leader Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius debated the increasing geopolitical unrest.
Our democracy, our safety, our free way of life are now at stake. In a mature Netherlands, in a mature Europe, we must defend our freedoms ourselves. The VVD was astonished by what happened on Friday in the White House.
Putin is the aggressor. Putin is a dictator, Zelensky is the elected leader of a free and democratic country. But regardless of what we think of Trumps actions, it is now essential not to escalate further. Zelensky and Trump will need to sit down together again. That relationship must be restored.
But we must also take care of ourselves as the Netherlands, as Europe. Thus, we must invest substantially in our own defense. Strengthening cooperation with our neighboring countries. And also, in the long term, decide on our potential support for a form of mission. Because we may only prevent Putin from advancing further towards the Baltic states, towards us, this way.
Watch the full contribution from our faction leader Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius here:
Concrete steps to strengthen our defense.
The Netherlands must arm itself against growing threats and geopolitical shifts. To keep the Dutch safe, we must invest more in Ukraine and in our defense. Therefore, together with the cabinet and many parties in the House of Representatives, we have arranged the following:
🤝 3.5 billion in aid for Ukraine
3.5 billion in aid for Ukraine is coming, so we can continue to support Ukraine against Russian aggression. Furthermore, we will continue to see if we need to do more to put Ukraine in a strong position against Putin.
🤝 We will soon have clarity about the increase in defense spending
We must stand up for the freedom and safety of the Netherlands and Europe. Our defense spending will go up anyway, so we want clarity on this soon.