Compromise: PM Schoof does not have to withdraw Dutch support from EU rearmament plan

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof will not be forced to withdraw his support for the European Commission's 800 billion euro defense plan for the time being, having reached a compromise with the leaders of the coalition parties that form his Cabinet. Schoof will have to stand firm in Brussels to make sure that budgetary rules are not excessively relaxed, sources said after crisis talks on Thursday night.

The European Union Member States must not be allowed to plunge themselves into a new debt crisis, they agreed as part of a broad outline during the talks that started in the morning and continued later in the evening. Only VVD leader Dilan Yesilgoz was absent, as she was in Kyiv meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The European Commission wants Member States to invest heavily in European President Ursula von der Leyen’s ReArm Europe plan over the next four years, now that protection from NATO's largest ally, the United States, has become less certain. To make this possible, the EU's executive board wants to issue joint loans of 150 billion euros in the form of Eurobonds. It also wants to exclude additional defense expenditures from the budget agreements.

Schoof expressed his support for this proposal at last week's EU summit, although he knew that coalition parties PVV, NS, and BBB had difficulty with it. These three parties supported a motion by JA21 this week, which resulted in a 73-71 majority of parliamentarians voting against the Cabinet’s support for the European rearmament plan.

This angered Schoof, who felt restricted in his room to maneuver in Brussels, and their split from Schoof also frustrated coalition partner VVD. That party’s former leader, Mark Rutte, currently heads up NATO after having served as prime minister in the Netherlands for nearly 15 years.

It became clear on Thursday evening that a solution had been found for the latest internal rift that formed between the coalition. Contrary to what PVV leader Geert Wilders said earlier this week, Schoof does not have to withdraw his support for the plans.

Schoof did have to make several commitments, including the promise that he would not agree to taking on even higher debt levels without the approval of the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Parliament. Member States must also remain responsible for repaying their own debts, sources said.