Latest news with #BartH.Meijer
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Dutch far-right leader Wilders quits coalition, toppling government
By Bart H. Meijer AMSTERDAM (Reuters) -Dutch far right leader Geert Wilders said on Tuesday his PVV party would leave the governing coalition, toppling the right wing government and likely leading to new elections. Wilders said his coalition partners were not willing to embrace his ideas on halting asylum migration, for which he had demanded immediate support last week. "No signature under our asylum plans. The PVV leaves the coalition," Wilders said in a post on X. Wilders' surprise move ends an already fragile coalition which has struggled to reach any consensus since its installation last July. It will likely bring new elections in a few months, adding to political uncertainty in the euro zone's fifth-largest economy. It will likely also delay a decision on a possibly historic increase in defense spending to meet new NATO targets. And it will leave the Netherlands with only a caretaker government when it receives NATO country leaders for a summit to decide on these targets in The Hague later this month. Anti-Muslim populist Wilders won the most recent election in the Netherlands, but recent polls have shown he has lost support since joining government. Polls now put his party roughly at par with the Labour/Green combination that is currently the second-largest in parliament.
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Russia is ramping up hybrid attacks against Europe, Dutch intelligence says
By Anthony Deutsch and Bart H. Meijer THE HAGUE (Reuters) -Russia is increasing its hybrid attacks aimed at undermining society in the Netherlands and its European allies, and Russian hackers have already targeted the Dutch public service, Dutch military intelligence agency MIVD said on Tuesday. "We see the Russian threat against Europe is increasing, including after a possible end to the war against Ukraine," MIVD director Peter Reesink said in the agency's annual report. "In the Netherlands, we saw the first (Russian) cyber sabotage act against a public service, with the aim of gaining control of the system. It was thwarted, but it was the first time." The MIVD did not specify what public service had been targeted. The agency also found a Russian cyber operation against critical infrastructure in the Netherlands, possibly as preparation for sabotage, the report said. Western countries have in recent years said hybrid threats by Russia and China were becoming increasingly more aggressive. Such threats could include everything from physical sabotage of critical infrastructure to disinformation campaigns, espionage and cyber attacks in a bid to influence or undermine society, the agency said. It repeated its warnings of Russian entities mapping infrastructure in the North Sea for espionage, and acts of sabotage aimed at internet cables, water and energy supplies. Britain's foreign spy chief accused Russia in November of a "staggeringly reckless campaign" of sabotage in Europe, ranging from repeated cyber attacks to arson. Moscow has denied responsibility for all such incidents. Beijing routinely denies allegations of cyber espionage. CHINA THREAT China also still poses a serious threat to Europe through its support for Russia's war efforts and aggressive stance towards Taiwan, the report said. It was continuing its efforts to gain Western knowledge through investments and espionage, especially in the Dutch semiconductor industry, it added. The MIVD said last year Chinese cyber espionage was more extensive than initially thought, targeting Western governments and defence companies. Reesink reinforced the message shared by European allies that the military needed to be scaled up. "If you look at the speed at which Russia is increasing its military complex, its equipment, its artillery, it's by far much faster than we do in Europe, even in the U.S. So that creates a sort of window of vulnerability for us," he said. He emphasized the "need to speed up and make sure that we have the same pace as they have to at least be deterrent enough."
