The Netherlands embraces "values-based realism" as Prime Minister Jetten sets out pragmatic foreign policy course

Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten has set out a sharply pragmatic vision for the Netherlands’ foreign policy, arguing that realism — not nostalgia or moral absolutism — must guide Europe’s role in an increasingly unstable world.

In a keynote speech at the Next Gen: The Hague Security Conference on 27 May, Jetten explicitly aligned himself with the thinking of both Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Finnish President Alexander Stubb, presenting what he described as a foreign policy rooted in realism, pragmatism and strategic flexibility.