Dutch intelligence services cut back on sharing information with U.S
The Dutch intelligence services AIVD and MIVD have reduced the amount of information they share with their American counterparts, citing political developments in the United States under President Donald Trump and growing concerns over the politicization of intelligence and "respect for human rights."
In a joint interview with de Volkskrant, AIVD Director-General Erik Akerboom and MIVD Director Peter Reesink confirmed that the agencies have become more selective in their cooperation with the CIA and NSA. “That we sometimes no longer tell certain things, that’s true,” Reesink said. Akerboom added, “Sometimes you have to think case by case: can I still share this information or not?” While both officials stressed that relations with U.S. intelligence agencies remain “excellent,” they emphasized that the Netherlands has become “more critical.”
According to the two directors, the Netherlands is increasingly focusing on European cooperation. “We have scaled up enormously,” Akerboom told De Volkskrant, referring to a leading group of Northern European services — including those from the United Kingdom, Germany, Scandinavia, France, and Poland — that are exchanging intelligence more intensively. The war in Ukraine and the growing Russian threat to Europe have accelerated these multilateral intelligence partnerships. Reesink noted that a similar development is visible within military intelligence circles.
Akerboom and Reesink also described a persistent and expanding cyber threat from Russia and China. They said Russian intelligence services conduct “dozens of successful hacks” in the Netherlands every year, targeting both companies and government institutions. “In places where we are really affected,” Akerboom said.
The AIVD chief warned that China is rapidly emerging as a cyber superpower, now as technologically advanced as the United States. He cautioned about “close-access operations” aimed at Dutch nationals traveling to China — particularly journalists, senior civil servants, and employees of technology firms. During such operations, laptops and smartphones can be physically or wirelessly accessed and emptied of data.
Chinese intelligence services then reportedly use artificial intelligence to sift through the intercepted material, Akerboom said. “People really need to be aware of that: their devices are vulnerable.”
