Netherlands to invest more in defence
More money will be spent on security, including the armed forces, ‘because of the security situation, nearby and elsewhere in the world’, the King of the Netherlands, Willem-Alexander, announced on 20 September.
In 2017, the Dutch government plans to increase defence spending by €300 million to nearly €8.7 billion. Some two-thirds of this amount will be invested in improving readiness with more personnel, improved basic and speciality training, and the stockpiling of spare parts, fuel and training ammunition.
Dutch Defence Minister Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert identified the number one priority as basic readiness, with the aim being to achieve it by 2021,
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