Netherlands strengthens embassies as Brexit approaches

As the Brexit approaches, the Netherlands is expanding the workforce at embassies in European countries in order to remain strongly present in Europe after the United Kingdom leaves the European Union, a spokesperson for institute Clingendael confirmed to NU.nl.

Thijs van der Plas, a top official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, discussed this strategy at a conference on the Brexit at Clingendael on Monday. The Netherlands will strengthen over 10 posts in Europe in preparation for the Brexit.

The government already made 40 million euros per year available for strengthening diplomacy in response to the instability the Brexit brought with it. It was initially said that this money would mainly be used to strengthen Dutch embassies in North Africa, according to the newspaper.

The advisory council for international affairs AIV, an independent body that advises the government on foreign policy, previously advised the government to allocate at least 70 million to 80 million euros per year for strengthening Dutch diplomacy abroad.