Dutch parliament committed to keep supporting Ukraine after PVV election win

Ukraine can continue to count on the Netherlands' financial, diplomatic, and humanitarian support. In a debate about the upcoming EU summit, a majority of the new Tweede Kamer, the lower house of the Dutch parliament, indicated that aid to the government should continue.

The Kamer also supported a proposal to start accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova. Political parties stressed that the Copenhagen Criteria, the conditions for admission to the European Union, are not up for negotiation.

VVD, GroenLinks-PvdA, NSC, CDA, VOLT, ChristenUnie, and D66, among others, supported the policy of the outgoing Cabinet. Since the start of the war in Ukraine almost two years ago, the Netherlands has been one of the driving forces behind assistance to Ukraine in the EU.

Several parties want to continue to give Ukraine money and weapons but are unwilling to open accession negotiations. “The accession acceleration of Ukraine is over,” said Gijs Tuinman of the BBB. The SP and SGP also support that position.

The largest party in the Tweede Kamer, the PVV, has always been against Dutch military support to Ukraine. A larger EU is also anathema to the party, PVV parliamentarian Emiel van Dijk made clear in the debate. He fears that the Dutch taxpayer will pay for the costs.

Since the far-right PVV won the parliamentary election, gaining 20 seats to become the largest party with 37 of the 150 seats in the Tweede Kamer, there have been concerns in the EU about whether the Netherlands would continue its support for Ukraine. Geert Wilders’ party has always opposed aid to Ukraine and has been known to have Russian connections and pro-Russia views.

European leaders will talk at the end of this week about 50 billion euros for Ukraine and starting accession talks with that country and Moldova. Prime Minister Victor Orbán of Hungary is threatening to veto this. Outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte said everyone is calling Orbán to persuade him.

It is possible to come up with something to circumvent Hungary for the financial part, according to Rutte. However, he believes convincing them about the expansion will be very difficult. He hopes it doesn’t come to that. It would be “a real shame” for the EU if it could not reach a common position at the summit.

The U.S. Congress is threatening to block the billions of dollars President Joe Biden wants to give Kyiv. His opponents also want more money to go to border control in the south. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in Washington to convince members of Congress to provide aid.