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Dutch diplomacy seems unable to accept that neutrality is an illusion, especially in the current geopolitical context with countries like the US, Russia, and Israel, which gives the Jetten government the opportunity to take action against the pressure on the International Criminal Court. #NederlandseDiplomatie #InternationaalRecht #Neutraliteit (translated)

The Belgian royal family visits Kazakhstan for the first time, a strategic partner on the borders of Russia, to strengthen cooperation in economic and academic fields, while the country emphasizes its neutrality in a complex geopolitical environment. #Kazakhstan #Belgique #Diplomatie (translated)

Mariba criticized Dilan Yeşilgöz after she claimed that Russia had been declared an enemy of the Netherlands. According to Mariba, Yeşilgöz stated that the Netherlands was not at war, but that a carefree peace was also not in sight. Mariba wrote that the Russian consulate had asked the Dutch government to confirm or distance itself from the statements. She believed it should be made clear whether this was about official policy, a political warning, or political rhetoric. According to Mariba, designating an enemy was not a strategy and threatening language could escalate tensions. She argued that the consequences of such statements ultimately affected civilians and urged the government to explain what the policy and risks were and how it intended to ensure security. She criticized the VVD and argued that politicians should think first before declaring an entire country an enemy. #Nederland #politiek #veiligheid (translated)

287 candidates, including Donald Trump, are in the running for the Nobel Peace Prize, while the relevance of the prize is increasingly being questioned, especially given the geopolitical implications and controversial winners from the past. #NobelprijsVoorDeVrede #MaríaCorinaMachado #DonaldTrump (translated)

Tank tourism in the Netherlands, caused by price differences at the pump with Germany, leads to long waiting times at German gas stations, while Dutchborder regions suffer from empty stores and hospitality, and a solution is not simple due to geopolitical and geographical factors. #Tanktoerisme #Benzineaccijns #Grensregio (translated)

Mike Pyle, a top investor at BlackRock and former economic security advisor, states that the ongoing talks between Trump and Xi are providing calm in the financial markets, despite the persistent geopolitical tensions and competition between the U.S. and China. #FinanciëleMarkten #Geopolitiek #BlackRock (translated)

King Willem-Alexander has served the Netherlands by offering apologies for the role of the royal family in the history of slavery, which is not only morally necessary but also proves to be strategically important in the changing geopolitical landscape. #slavernijverleden #excuses #koningshuis (translated)

"A policy that is completely dominated by business interests, corrupt business interests." Wolfgang Petritsch, the UN High Representative in Bosnia between 1999 and 2002, pointed out that the EU is being pushed into a corner by America. #BosniëHerzegovina #geopolitiek #verkiezingen (translated)

To think about: In April 1946, Nazi leader Hermann Göring explained in his cell in Nuremberg exactly how political power really works. He said that ordinary people never demand war or crisis, but you can always get them on board. The recipe is simple: tell them they are in danger, and accuse the critics of endangering the community. That eighty-year-old formula is today the exact blueprint behind the permanent state of crisis in which we are kept. We see this in the conflict between Europe and Russia over Ukraine, where fear is used to push through billions in weapons without real democratic debate. But it doesn’t stop at geopolitics. We saw the same recipe with COVID-19, and now with climate change and the energy transition. It penetrates into our immediate living environment, such as the Environmental Vision Fryslân or the planned closures of the Wadden nature. While island residents are excluded, the elite discusses coercive 'system changes' at the Springtij Forum on Terschelling. The control over the narrative has now gone frighteningly far. Unheard Netherlands (ON!) is being ousted from the public broadcasting system, and through new legislation, there is an open search for ways to ban right-wing opposition parties. This is exactly where history painfully begins to rhyme with the 1930s, when critical media and parties were gradually silenced under the guise of 'public order' or 'safety'. The lines of this coordinated policy go directly to international networks and think tanks such as NATO, the World Economic Forum (WEF), and the UN with their coercive SDGs. Through programs like the Young Global Leaders, politicians worldwide are being trained to roll out exactly the same crisis narratives in their own countries. Our local democracy seems to have become an execution office for a predetermined global agenda. The great eye-opener that Göring left us is that this mechanism works in every system. Once a population is made afraid enough of an invisible enemy (whether it is a virus, an aggressor, nitrogen, or CO₂), it willingly surrenders its freedom, its diverse media, and its common sense. Fear is the ultimate weapon to steer the masses. This pattern only stops when we cease to blindly follow that automatic pilot of fear. Will you let history repeat itself, or will you say no? #politiek #geschiedenis #angst (translated)

So very, very rarely are there those rare moments that remind you that you still live in the Netherlands. The Netherlands! The beautiful country where I was born half a century ago. This professor reminds me of that country: level-headed, businesslike, without ideological capers and with a clear awareness of what institutions are and are not intended for. A university is NOT a Ministry of Foreign Affairs and should explicitly NOT conduct its own foreign policy. Moreover, those who glorify violence should not be able to hide behind academic freedom or political engagement. A university has a responsibility for the safety of ALL students and for the rule of law that applies in the Netherlands. Sometimes you might almost forget that these were once completely normal premises. Not every social conflict needs to be imported by our institutions, not every radical belief deserves institutional whitewashing, and tolerance does not mean that a university may look the other way when genocidal anti-Semitic violence is glorified. This is the foundation of the Netherlands I knew: freedom, but no boundlessness; tolerance, but no capitulation; universities that pursue education and science instead of geopolitical activism. #Nederland #onderwijs #vrijheid (translated)

Nederland wordt simpelweg niet meer serieus genomen. Je kunt elke mening hebben over Mark Rutte, maar hij was de laatste Nederlandse premier die wereldwijd echt serieus werd genomen. Schoof was ongekend, onervaren en een compromisleider. Jetten is belachelijk. In Washington, maar ook elders, worden Jetten en zijn luchtige, oppervlakkige houding letterlijk bespot. Maar erger nog: Jetten is niet alleen een lichtgewicht, maar ook gevaarlijk. Vorige week koos hij er in New York voor om alleen radicale linkse elementen te ontmoeten. Geen poging tot brede dialoog. Hij is dus een soort linkse activist als Nederlands premier. Decennialang stond Nederland bekend als een land dat in de geopolitieke strijd boven zijn gewichtsklasse meespeelde. Met name Amerika nam de Nederlanders sinds het einde van de Tweede Wereldoorlog bijzonder serieus. Ze beschouwden hun standpunten als zeer waardevol. Jetten trekt daar een streep onder. De anti-Israëlische aanpak van zijn regering zou wel eens de druppel kunnen zijn die de emmer doet overlopen. #Politiek #Nederland #Rutte

Ook huishoudens met een dynamisch energiecontract ondervinden de stijging van de gemiddelde stroomprijs, die deze maand meer dan twee keer zo hoog is als vorig jaar, te midden van lagere gasleveringen als gevolg van geopolitieke onrust. #stroomprijzen #energiecontracten #gasprijzen

Het NRC-commentaar pleit voor het belang van de Verenigde Naties als essentieel platform voor internationale dialoog, ondanks de huidige zwakte van de organisatie door de geopolitieke visie van de Amerikaanse president Trump en de druk op het Internationaal Strafhof. #VN #InternationaalRecht #Vrede