The coalition agreement states that the Netherlands will continue to support Ukraine "politically, militarily, financially and morally against Russian aggression."
The ultra-right "Freedom Party" of the Netherlands previously did not support the supply of weapons to Ukraine
The new government coalition in the Netherlands, led by the far-right Freedom Party (PVV) of Geert Wilders, has announced that it will continue its political and military support for Ukraine.
The coalition agreement, published on Thursday, states that the Netherlands will continue to support Ukraine "politically, militarily, financially and morally against Russian aggression."
At the same time, the coalition will also make it legally binding to spend at least 2% of the Netherlands' GDP on defence in accordance with agreements with NATO.
It should be noted that after the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, Wilders distanced himself somewhat from the Kremlin, calling the invasion a mistake. But he did not support sending additional weapons to Ukraine. However, other parties in the government coalition are seeking military aid for Kyiv.
Wilders, whose political force won the parliamentary elections, recently wrote that "while the PVV is fighting for the Netherlands, billions are flying abroad," referring to the Hague's decision to allocate one billion euros in aid to Ukraine in April.
As Reuters notes, the four-party coalition will seek the "toughest asylum regime in history" with increased border controls and stricter rules for asylum seekers arriving in the Netherlands.
The provision on the rejection of the European asylum and migration policy will be submitted to the European Commission for consideration as soon as possible, says the coalition plan.
The Netherlands is challenging the EU's migration policy
According to Wilders, this will make the Netherlands less attractive to asylum seekers and "people from Africa and the Middle East will start to think that they will be better off somewhere else".
With this decision, the Netherlands can join Hungary and Poland, which also challenge the EU's migration policy, AP notes.
The plans are likely to face resistance from Brussels, as EU countries have already agreed to a historic pact on the European asylum and migration system, and leaving it is usually discussed at the negotiating stage.
The coalition government in the Netherlands has said it will also seek to restrict free movement for people from countries joining the EU in the future.
The technology industry association FME, representing firms including semiconductor giant ASML, said it was concerned the measures would make it harder for technology companies to hire the workers they need.
The day before, four Dutch parties agreed on forming a government, including the far-right Freedom Party of Geert Wilders. Since the end of November, they have been negotiating a new coalition after the parliamentary elections.
Nothing is known about the candidacy of the future prime minister and coalition leader. Wilders told reporters that the parties had discussed the issue but would continue discussions "later."
