Three members of the Senate participated in the Annual Meeting of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly from October 11 to 13, 2025. The Annual Meeting took place for the 71st time, this time in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. Together with around 260 parliamentarians from the 32 NATO countries and partner countries, Bart Kroon (BBB), Randy Martens (GroenLinks-PvdA) and Koen Petersen (VVD) discussed, among other things, strengthening investments in defense and expanding the transatlantic industrial and technological defense base, continued support for Ukraine, countering the growing cooperation between Russia, China, and other authoritarian regimes, and contributing to security in strategically important regions for the alliance.
The parliamentary assembly adopted six resolutions, including one from Kroon on transatlantic economic cooperation, which included a call for joint policy on critical raw materials, energy, and food security. The 2025 Women for Peace and Security Award was awarded to Dr. Vjosa Osmani Sadriu from Kosovo. Prior to the meeting, the Benelux delegations met at the Dutch ambassador Janneke Vrijlands residence, who organized this meeting together with her Belgian colleague Caroline Vermeulen.
Plenary Session
During the plenary session, Danijel Krivec, Vice President of the National Assembly of Slovenia, Robert Golob, the Prime Minister of Slovenia, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the Assembly. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte answered questions from the national delegations. Bart Kroon asked him on behalf of the Dutch delegation whether NATO should establish a no-fly zone along the borders of NATO territory following several incidents in which Russian aircraft recently entered the airspace of NATO member states. According to Rutte, this was not the case.
Vice President of the European Investment Bank Robert de Groot explained investments in military infrastructure. He advocated that countries should not invest separately in the same infrastructure but should procure jointly to finance projects. Kroon noted that within the NATO PA, work is being done on a report on the economic impact of increased defense spending and financing opportunities. We are also looking at the role of existing and new multilateral financial institutions to strengthen public and private investments in defense and security, said Senator Kroon. He inquired about De Groots views on such initiatives and other ways to attract private capital. According to De Groot, all initiatives are needed, including multilateral ones, and that they complement each other well. The Assembly approved the 2026 budget, adjusted to 1.9% Belgian inflation.
Geo-Economic Threats
On October 11, Bart Kroon presented his report Geo-Economic Fragmentation: A Challenge to the Transatlantic Partnership in the Committee on Economy and Security. He pointed to increasing geo-economic fragmentation: countries are increasingly opting for protectionism, strategic reindustrialization, and weaponizing trade. The report names China and Russia as the main actors using economic coercion and evasion of sanctions to exert influence. Kroon: Our governments must recognize economic power as an important pillar of deterrence, and economic cooperation as a crucial part of national security.
One of the recommendations in the report is the re-establishment of the NATO Economic Security Committee. The goal is to address economic security issues by monitoring global economic trends and coordinating strategies for economic security among allies. Additionally, the report calls for closer cooperation between NATO and the OECD through the Global Parliamentary Network. The report and the resolution were unanimously adopted by the committee. Kroons rapporteurship in this committee was extended by one year.
Support in Slovenia
During the political committee, Slovenian Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon emphasized the importance of cooperation between the EU and NATO. Slovenia joined NATO in 2003 through a referendum. The country is increasing defense spending from 2% of GDP in 2025 to 3% in 2030. Senator Koen Petersen inquired about support for NATO. According to a recent poll, support stands at 56% of the Slovenian population. Fajon replied that support is influenced by NATOs bombings of Belgrade in 1999. In Slovenia - formerly part of Yugoslavia - the bombings are still experienced as traumatic. She emphasized that meeting the NATO norm is challenging due to pressure on social spending.
Russian Threats
In the defense committee, Slovenian Defense Minister Borut Sajovic discussed Slovenias security priorities. He warned that Russian actions undermine democracy and threaten our way of life. During the discussion of the report on a future NATO-Russia strategy, Senator Randy Martens asked rapporteur Patterson (Canada) whether parliamentary involvement would be possible again in the future and under what conditions, once Russia has ended the war against Ukraine. Rapporteur Patterson replied that a lasting peace must first be achieved before this can be considered. Furthermore, there were presentations in this committee on Russian sabotage, hybrid warfare, transnational security, and NATO air defense on the eastern flank.
Unmanned Weapon Systems
The Science and Technology Committee discussed the report of Sven Clement (Luxembourg) on unmanned weapon systems, which are becoming increasingly important in modern warfare. Low costs and high attrition call for large-scale production. NATO can enhance its technological edge through innovation, interoperability, and lessons learned from Ukraine. Bart Kroon asked whether flexible defense technology also requires resilient supply chains, given the dependence on adversaries for raw materials. He advocated for investment in agile, decentralized production. Rapporteur Clement endorsed these concerns and stated that small, agile production units are more effective than large factories.
Other
The delegation spoke en marge of the conference with the Swedish, Polish, and Ukrainian delegations. With the Swedish delegation, they exchanged thoughts on the Swedish concept of Total Defence Obligation and parliamentary involvement in the multi-year defense budget. With the Ukrainians, they reflected on discussions in Montreal and Dayton. Direct financing by the Netherlands of the Ukrainian industry has already started. They requested additional funding, especially as Russian war production is increasing and the number of drone attacks is rising significantly. The delegation intends to visit the Netherlands in the short term. With the Polish delegation, discussions were held about the long bilateral relationship, gratitude for Dutch support during the recent drone invasion, and the support for defense spending in Poland.
