NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte looks on during a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C. on July 14, 2025.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP
The prospect of secretive deals bypassing democratic bodies has triggered discussions on parliamentary sovereignty.
A Dutch parliamentary motion to prioritise national institutions over internationalist NATO directives was defeated earlier this month, but has since prompted a wider debate about where the most important military decisions are made.
Pepijn van Houwelingen, MP for the Forum for Democracy (FvD) party, said it was wrong that the government accepts “secret NATO objectives that the House of Representatives is unaware of, let alone has ever agreed to.”
Zojuist hebben vrijwel alle partijen tegen onze motie gestemd waarin wordt uitgesproken dat de regering de wil van de Tweede Kamer moet laten prevaleren boven geheime NAVO-doelstellingen die de Tweede Kamer niet kent, laat staan ooit mee ingestemd heeft.👇 pic.twitter.com/CSCTM93Zqv
— Pepijn van Houwelingen (@PvanHouwelingen) July 3, 2025
His party leader, Thierry Baudet, also previously accused NATO boss and former Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte of “selling out the Netherlands for his own career interests,” saying that NATO’s “war-mongering” is harming European interests.
Commentators were disappointed to see that, as podcaster Scarlett Karoleva put it, “even parties that prioritise national sovereignty refuse to stand up for democratic oversight,” adding: “What is their freedom worth anymore?”
Indeed, Geert Wilders’ PVV party voted against the motion, alongside members of VVD, D66, and NSC. Their officials said there are “strategic and tactical considerations” for keeping certain information secret. Some were uncomfortable with providing any explanation at all.
Speaking since the motion failed in parliament, former Dutch MEP Rob Roos stressed that “NATO can interfere with our foreign policy, our financial obligations, and soon even with conscription,” adding that “no one is monitoring them.” This, he said, could have serious implications for national democracy:
If parliament no longer has the final say, why would citizens still vote?
The FvD is likely to raise further such motions in the near future, especially if NATO—with the more stable backing of U.S. President Donald Trump—becomes more comfortable pressing military decisions on its members.
Michael Curzon is a news writer for europeanconservative.com based in England’s Midlands. He is also Editor of Bournbrook Magazine, which he founded in 2019, and previously wrote for London’s Express Online. His Twitter handle is @MichaelCurzon_.
