Middle East

Former Dutch Minister and UN-Lebanon-coordinator Hennis-Plasschaert takes top UN security post

Hennis-Plasschaert briefs the Security Council meeting on the situation concerning Iraq in 2022 / photo: UN

Dutch diplomat and former Minister of Defence Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert has been appointed Under-Secretary-General for Safety and Security at the United Nations. The announcement was made by UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

Dutch cabinet embraces more pragmatic foreign policy towards Global South

As Europe grapples with a world increasingly shaped by geopolitical rivalry, economic fragmentation and the rise of new powers, the Dutch cabinet is making a strategic bet: the Netherlands must forge deeper partnerships across the Global South, even when interests and values do not always fully align. Exclusive reporting and

Dutch intelligence services AIVD and MIVD warn of growing Chinese cyberattacks targeting critical network devices

Chinese hackers are gaining an increasingly sophisticated understanding of the devices that sit at the gateways of Western networks, and Dutch intelligence services now warn that this trend could translate into a sharp rise in cyberespionage operations in the years ahead. The warning raises new questions about how vulnerable government

Ukraine, Montenegro, Albania and Serbia: where The Hague stands on EU enlargement

While Prime Minister Rob Jetten's cabinet supports bringing Ukraine, Moldova and the Western Balkans closer to the EU, it is simultaneously pushing back against fast-track accession, opposing plans to weaken national vetoes in enlargement decisions and demanding far-reaching safeguards before new members can join. As Brussels

Dutch cabinet marks 7 October with different messages: Prime Minister Jetten remembers Israelis and Palestinians, while ministers Berendsen and Yeşilgöz focus on Israel

Three years after the Hamas attacks of 7 October, members of the Dutch cabinet are commemorating the day in notably different ways. While Prime Minister Rob Jetten explicitly referred to both Israeli and Palestinian victims of the conflict that followed, Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen and Defence Minister Dilan Yeşilgöz focused