Netherlands allocates additional EUR 700m to support Ukraine
The outgoing government of the Netherlands has allocated an additional EUR 700 million to support Ukraine next year.
As reported by Dutch public broadcaster NOS, the allocation of additional funds for Ukraine has been made possible because other ministries will not be able to spend them by the end of this year.
The funds for Ukraine will be taken, among other sources, from the Defence Equipment Budget Fund and the budget of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where projects have been postponed.
The Netherlands annually allocates about EUR 3.5 billion in aid to Ukraine. But this year, EUR 2 billion from next year's budget has already been spent. For this reason, the Greens-Labour alliance proposed replenishing the budget for 2026.
The decision to allocate EUR 700 million to support Ukraine was made in response to this proposal.
At the beginning of next year, the government will consider where to find the remaining money.
In a letter to parliament, the defence, finance and foreign ministers also warned that it would be difficult to find additional funds in the budget next year: "The financial reality is that next year we will face constraints".
At the end of November, during debates, outgoing Prime Minister Dick Schoof said he did not see the point of allocating additional billions for Ukraine right now. He believes that other countries, especially in southern Europe, should increase their support.
This caused discontent in parliament. The cabinet was accused of governing with an accountant's approach.
Schoof called this term "absolutely inappropriate", particularly because the Netherlands is providing significant assistance to Ukraine. However, under pressure from a parliamentary majority, the prime minister backed down and promised to look into the possibility of implementing the proposal while maintaining his view that now is not the right time.
Recently, the Netherlands announced EUR 35 million in funding for various material support to help Ukraine's defence forces get through the winter.
In addition, the Netherlands has contributed EUR 250 million for the purchase of US weapons for Ukraine under a NATO initiative.