THE HAGUE, 05-02-2015 – In the General Debate on the Foreign Affairs Council MP’s Harry van Bommel (SP) and Joël Voordewind (CU) have posed critical questions on the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in new NATO states such as Poland and the Baltics.
They did this in response to a letter that was sent by the US congress to secretaries Kerry and Hagel, asking to examine the possibilities to do so. Voordewind expressed his concerns for this possible escalation, and the danger of a new arms race. Van Bommel asked if the Dutch government had plans to revise the 1996 NATO agreement not to deploy nuclear weapons in new member states. Minister of Foreign Affairs Koenders in response reemphasized the Netherlands’ policy opposing the deployment of nuclear weapons in new NATO member states. Read more on this.