Facing Russia, the Netherlands calls on Europe to depend less on the US

Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen presented on June 16, 2026 a new international security strategy urging the Netherlands and European countries to quickly reduce their dependence on the United States for defense, due to a possible armed conflict with Russia. The plan calls for a gradual transfer of capabilities like intelligence and missile defense to the European level, and requires the European defense industry to be able to produce major conventional weapons within four years. This strategy follows a February 2026 alert about Russian preparations for a conflict with NATO.