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Dutch Parliament Says ‘Nyet’ To NATO Defense Spending Plan Amid Chaos Of Geert Wilders Pullout

Zero Hedge, by Tyler Durden, Wednesday, Jun 04, 2025

NATO aims for its members to spend at least 3.5% of their GDP on defense, but those dreams of NATO expansion – at a moment the proxy war in Ukraine is becoming dangerously close to entering hot war between the West and nuclear-armed Russia – are dying.

Dutch parliament on Tuesday slapped down a proposal to increase defense spending to 3.5% of gross domestic product (GDP), key to NATO’s capability targets, in a non-binding motion.

While it doesn’t have legal force at this point, this makes clear parliament’s opinion, unleashing deeper tensions among NATO allies, and as the Trump White House exerts pressure to rapidly raise collective defense.

This comes at an ultra-sensitive political moment, given that as we reported earlier Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders pulled his Party for Freedom (PVV) out of the coalition that governs the Netherlands.

This sets up the likelihood of new elections after the man dubbed the “Dutch Donald Trump”, withdrew the PVV, related to immigration policy failure. 

According to the latest developments, Prime Minister Dick Schoof has just announced that he would offer his resignation from the Netherlands’ ruling coalition while continuing in a caretaker government, setting the stage for a likely snap election:……………………………………

………………………………………………………….In the background is the fact that Western populations are ‘war weary’ and don’t want to see escalation of NATO force strength in Ukraine. Trump himself is facing a revolt among conservative pundits on the American domestic front, as some European leaders, particularly Hungary’s Orban, are warning of a protracted conflict in Eastern Europe if the West and warring parties don’t climb down the escalation ladder soon. https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/dutch-parliament-says-nyet-nato-defense-spending-plan-amid-chaos-geert-wilders-pullout

June 8, 2025 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | weapons and war