The Government Takes Next Steps for the Resilience of the Netherlands

Minister Van Oosten of Justice and Security: “Whether it concerns the government, companies, social organizations, or citizens: each of us plays a crucial role in preparing the Netherlands for the challenges we may face in the future. Therefore, it is important that we now take these steps across the cabinet to make the Netherlands resilient.”

Minister Brekelmans of Defence: “We live in a gray zone between peace and war. Threats are approaching. Russia is trying to disrupt our society and cause unrest. We must prevent this and it requires action from everyone. With this letter, we outline those actions. Not out of fear, but to stand strong together. This is how we keep the Netherlands safe.”

State Secretary Tuinman of Defence: “Military readiness depends on sufficient personnel, the right equipment, and room to grow. We invest in additional personnel, accelerate intake, and conduct more frequent and large-scale exercises. New weapons and modern systems make our units ready for combat again. Because a ready armed forces and resilient society deter the enemy.”

The joint efforts of the government and society form the basis for a future-proof and resilient Netherlands. In recent times, the cabinet has taken important steps to strengthen the resilience of our country through concrete measures aimed not only at the government but also at businesses, the healthcare sector, and society as a whole.

With the national campaign Think Ahead and the information booklet, an important step has been taken to prepare and strengthen the resilience of the Dutch people. But hard work is also underway to strengthen implementing organizations and vital sectors. The resilience challenge is complex. Because not everything can be done at once, the steps take place in different phases. Various ministries are busy making sectors more resilient:

• The Ministry of Justice and Security is working on emergency support points with the help of municipalities and safety regions.
• The Ministry of Defence is strengthening military readiness. Larger-scale exercises are held more often (also in the Netherlands), the defense budget is increasing, and the armed forces are growing. Defence also provides Dutch assistance when societal partners request it.
• The Ministry of Economic Affairs is working on the resilience of companies through meetings for the business community in cooperation with VNO NCW and will launch a resilience campaign for businesses in 2026.
• The Ministries of Infrastructure and Water Management, Climate and Energy Transition, and Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature are all working on updating crisis plans regarding food security, drinking water, electricity, and gas.
• The Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport is strengthening healthcare infrastructure and emergency care capacity.
• The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science is committed to protecting our heritage such as archives and monuments, so they are not used in conflicts but remain part of our national identity.
• The Ministry of Finance is working to safeguard financial services, including payment and securities transactions.
• The Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations protects the democratic rule of law and legal order, strengthens government services, and works on structural cooperation in resilience between the national government, municipalities, provinces, and water boards.

Efforts are underway to strengthen military readiness, the deployability of the armed forces, and cooperation with NATO partners. By investing in more personnel, equipment, and resources, the capacity of the armed forces is increased to better respond to threats. The introduction of the National Resilience Training and the National Program Space for Defence contribute to this.

The cabinet embraces the new NATO standard whereby the defense budget grows to 3.5% of GDP by 2035, plus 1.5% for defense and security-related expenditures. Next year, the defense budget will increase by €3.4 billion to €26.8 billion. About half of this will be invested in new equipment, including counter-drone systems. Defence is building a deployable and scalable armed forces prepared for various threats, capable of deterrence and, if necessary, fighting and winning. Defence does this not alone but in cooperation with civilian parties. Important topics such as infrastructure and logistics, healthcare, and energy are therefore being addressed to secure support for the armed forces and strengthen cooperation.

Looking to the future, further steps will be taken to strengthen societal resilience. This requires ongoing cooperation and effort from all involved. Only by working together can we prepare well for future challenges and continue to ensure the safety and stability of the Netherlands.

The caretaker cabinet remains committed to strengthening resilience, confident that this joint approach will make the Netherlands stronger for the future.