According to foreign minister Wopke Hoekstra, Europe is ‘barely able to defend the continent’, now that a Russian invasion of Ukraine is imminent. The minister makes the statement in the talk show Beau ‘almost with shame’. According to the new minister, the European Union still has a lot of work to do ‘in a geopolitical sense’.
Hoekstra also finds the continued dependence on Russian gas ‘bad to sell’. In his opinion, Europe has done too little about this in the past ten years. “You have to be honest about that. We wasted too much time on that.”
Should Russia invade Ukraine and subsequently face sanctions, it is conceivable that the country will turn off the gas tap for Europe. The EU must be prepared for that. When it comes to that, Hoekstra hopes for help from, for example, the United States. He puts it into perspective, however, that this only becomes relevant after a number of ‘if-then scenarios’.
Also read: ‘Certainly’ no Patriot missiles, but which weapons does the Netherlands want to supply to Ukraine? (Premium)
Last Monday, Hoekstra said he had good consultations with colleagues in Brussels about how the EU should respond if Russia invades Ukraine. Among other things, there was talk of an ‘extremely strong’ sanctions package in the event of an invasion. Hoekstra hopes that the conflict can be resolved diplomatically. ,,But you have to be crystal clear: if the aggression continues, it will have serious consequences.”
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