Rob Jetten: Unless we offer Ukraine a clear path to EU, Russia won’t be the only country destabilising us

Since the end of February 2025, the Netherlands has had a new government. The October elections were followed by difficult coalition negotiations that ended with the formation of a minority government led by Rob Jetten.

The new Dutch government may lack stability due to its insufficient votes within the coalition, but it certainly does not lack an understanding of Ukraine’s significance for the future of Europe. That is why the new prime minister chose to visit Ukraine on 8 March as his first trip outside the European Union and only his second foreign visit overall – the first was to the EU capital, Brussels.

Before leaving Kyiv, Prime Minister Jetten agreed to give an interview to European Pravda.

Mr Jetten, this is your second foreign visit as prime minister – the first one was to Brussels. Why did you choose Ukraine? And what can Ukraine expect with you as prime minister?

Well, first of all, I'm very happy to be here because Ukraine has suffered so much over the past few years, fighting for the freedom of all Ukrainian people, but also fighting for European values.

For me as the new prime minister, it's super important to underline to all Dutch voters that we will continue to support this country, that we stand ready to increase cooperation, both military and non-military, but also that the Netherlands can play a vital role in the justice that needs to take place as soon as this war is finished.

By talking not only to the president and the prime minister but also to many Ukrainians today, I can bring back the stories, the suffering, and the heroism of the Ukrainian people to hopefully also inspire people in my country and help them understand why we will continue to support you.

Prime Minister, since you referred to justice, let me focus on that. Let me be frank: the Netherlands is also perceived as a country that is slowing down the creation of the Special Tribunal [for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine]. We have heard statements that it might not be established until after 2028, which Ukraine considers unacceptable because it is too far off. Do you anticipate that this might happen under your leadership?

At the moment, I'm very glad that the advance party is on the way, diving into the details to establish the tribunal. It is of utmost importance that we speed up the process.

This is also what I discussed today with President Zelenskyy: what the Netherlands can do to make sure that we continue to progress on this very important topic. I just had a very long and intense conversation with former prisoners of war and abducted children who are luckily now back in Ukraine. It's their stories and their suffering that underline the importance of bringing to justice all those war criminals who were responsible for it.

Do you anticipate that the tribunal could start working this year, or maybe in 2027?

For this year, it's important that we fill in more details about how the tribunal could work, what could be a good location in the Netherlands, and also to make sure that other parties in the Council of Europe will be part of it so that we can start the work as soon as possible.

We've heard today that you want to see Ukraine in the EU. Do you think it is possible for that to happen while you are in office?

Well, I hope to be in office for four years, and maybe even more, but you never know in Dutch politics!

But I think what is important is that the future of Ukraine is in Europe.

The reforms that the Ukrainian government has implemented over the past few years were very important steps, but there is more work to be done.

If Ukraine continues on the path of reforms, then the European Union can also continue on a path toward Ukrainian membership of the EU.

What we stated in our coalition agreement is that this is also part of the new geopolitical world order. Europe needs to think about what the European family should look like.

From the perspective of my government, it's an EU with Ukraine, but it needs to go hand in hand with the necessary reforms to make sure that all European member states will be able to accept Ukrainian membership.

Do you think the current enlargement methodology needs to be changed significantly? For instance, would you support a model in which Ukraine becomes a political member first and gains full membership benefits later?

The Netherlands has for a long time been a very strong advocate for modernisation of almost everything within the EU – accession, but also the European budget, European agricultural policies, and many other topics.

On many topics, Europeans need to be less naive and understand that if we want a stronger continent that delivers more for our people, we have to do a better job in a modernised EU.

In terms of Ukrainian accession, I think we should also be careful. To prevent a lot of disappointments in the years to come, we shouldn't promise things that we are not able to deliver.

So I would see a step-by-step approach. If we increase support for Ukraine in terms of all the reforms that need to take place, I'm sure Ukraine can speed up its side of the process.

But do you understand that Russia will do everything possible to prevent Ukraine from joining the EU unless some political steps are done differently than they are now?

Yes, and that's why we've stated that we have to look at the European family also from a geopolitical point of view – not only regarding Ukraine, but also other countries that would love to be part of the European family.

If we do not increase our cooperation and if we don't provide a clear path to EU membership, it's not only Russia but also other countries that will try to influence the process and destabilise the European continent.

So that is something we need to keep in mind during all these negotiations.

As a Ukrainian who spent three years in the Netherlands as a refugee, I want to ask you: what is going to happen to Ukrainians after 2027? What will their status be, and what will happen to those who are living in temporary centres?

That's a very good question, and it's also one of the top priorities for our new minister for migration to have in-depth talks with European partners to clarify in time for Ukrainian refugees in Europe how we can provide them with the right shelter, education, work rights, and so on.

Hopefully during this year we can provide clearer answers on that as soon as we've progressed in the negotiation process.

How can Dutch businesses be sure that Ukraine is safe enough to invest? We don't know whether all territories will be de-occupied. Some might remain occupied, and the Russian threat will still remain. What reasons are there for Dutch businesses to invest in Ukraine?

I had a very interesting conversation on this topic with the prime minister today, and I'm convinced that we can create much more business-to-business cooperation between the Netherlands and Ukraine – not only in the defence industry, but also in the energy sector and many others.

I will ask the minister for foreign trade to come up with a clear plan to make sure that Dutch businesses are willing to do more here in Ukraine, also in the short term.

During the war?

Yes, both during and after.

Daria Meshcheriakova and Sergiy Sydorenko

European Pravda