“The danger is maximum for our continent”

Wopke Hoekstra (Christian Democrat Appeal, CDA, centre-right) is Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.

France and Germany seem to be experiencing a lack of leadership on the issue of the conflict in Ukraine to the benefit of the Baltic countries and Poland, is this temporary or not?

My observation is different. If we take a step back, we see a huge reflex of unity within the European family and with our North American, Japanese, Korean, New Zealand and Australian allies. Unity is the most important thing we needed to deliver weapons to Ukraine, to take six sanctions packages, to provide humanitarian aid. One of the biggest mistakes made by Vladimir Putin is that he grossly underestimated this level of unity.

Do you fear a kind of weariness?

It is something that we must collectively manage to prevent this from happening. We must continue to engage because our response to this devastating war, to this brutal violation of state sovereignty, defines who we are. We must continue to help Ukraine, to deliver arms, to discuss sanctions, to talk about justice for the war crimes committed, even though we know it is difficult, and to talk about the reconstruction of the country. The commitment remains, but it is important to explain to the general public what we are doing and why we are doing it, because the danger is greatest for our continent. Putin is waging a 19th century war^e century, without respect for human lives and international rules. I think people understand what is happening for Ukraine, and for Europe in general.

Do you fear a gas cut from Russia?

It is clearly a challenge that we must manage by anticipating it. We must be sure that we can continue to heat our homes, our factories, our schools, our hospitals, at an affordable price for citizens and governments. We must combine this short-term crisis with our long-term goals of combating global warming and achieving carbon neutrality.

This is why we are accelerating the development of LNG terminals, and looking towards renewables. We have also agreed, within the ruling coalition in the Netherlands, that nuclear energy must be part of our energy mix, as has been the case in France for years. Aware for ten or fifteen years of our energy dependence on Putin’s regime, we should have anticipated this point.

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