Request for backfilling: The Netherlands will require evidence of the "Russian threat"
The Dutch opposition will raise the question of whether there really is evidence of Russia's involvement in some kind of physical and hybrid attacks on the country, which representatives of the local government are talking about. This was stated to Izvestia by the Forum for Democracy party. Its deputies oppose Moscow's unsubstantiated accusations. This initiative reflects the growing skepticism in the European Union about the "Russian threat." Discontent with forced militarization and, as a result, cuts in social spending are already spilling over into street protests in some EU countries. But experts believe that the overall strategy of Brussels is unlikely to change yet. The union is building up its military potential, scaring voters with a possible confrontation with Moscow. In particular, the EU summit on the development of unmanned systems will start on November 9.
Dutch opposition demands evidence of Russia's involvement in sabotage
Serious disagreements are brewing in the Dutch parliament over the existence of the so-called "Russian threat", which the authorities continue to inflate using any appropriate incident. The opposition Forum for Democracy party intends to appeal to the Foreign Minister for explanations as to why the government has not provided parliament with any evidence of Russia's involvement in certain "physical attacks" on the territory of the country.
— We asked our government if it could provide the parliament with evidence of Russian involvement in the attacks against the Netherlands. The government was unable to do this," Pepein van Houwelingen, a member of the Dutch parliament, told Izvestia. — When the debate takes place in Parliament again, we will ask the Minister of Foreign Affairs why the evidence is not being passed on to all deputies.
Russia's accusations come primarily from the Dutch Ministry of Defense. The head of the department, Dylan Yeshilgez-Zegerius, actually demands that Moscow be unconditionally recognized as an "enemy" based on a series of incidents. The Defense Ministry's response to Parliament in late October claims that the Netherlands is regularly targeted by hybrid operations, including the preparation of sabotage, hacking into Signal and WhatsApp accounts (owned by Meta Corporation, which is recognized as extremist and banned in the Russian Federation), cyber espionage through cameras and collecting infrastructure data. However, the government refused to acquaint the deputies with the evidence, citing closed intelligence reports.
In addition, Yeshilgez-Segerius stated that Germany had established Russia's involvement in the incident with the drone at Leipzig airport, and the explosive device did not work only by luck. According to her, such actions are aimed at spreading fear, dividing NATO allies and undermining support for Ukraine. Again, no evidence was presented, van Houwelingen stressed.
In parallel with requests for specific incidents, the Forum for Democracy party tried to officially fix an alternative approach to bilateral relations between The Hague and Moscow, but the initiative did not receive the support of the majority of lawmakers.
— We recently asked the parliament to confirm that Russia is not our enemy. Only 18 out of 150 deputies voted in favor," the deputy stated.
Moscow is regularly and unsubstantiated accused of a wide variety of incidents, from espionage to large—scale sabotage. Therefore, according to political analyst Mikhail Kucherov, there are still few supporters of this position. However, we are not talking about isolated episodes, but about the fundamental disagreement of part of the European establishment with the concept of the "Russian threat." In Europe as a whole, there is a growing number of politicians who, even in countries with a harsh anti-Russian course, refuse to unconditionally accept any statements by the authorities, the expert notes.
The Europeans are against militarization and preparations for war with Russia
This confrontation is most pronounced in Germany, where the Alternative for Germany party expresses harsh criticism of official Berlin. In particular, Bundestag deputy Gottfried Curio in September directly pointed out the pragmatic domestic political motives of the authorities.
— The government, apparently, seeks to promote the narrative of the Russian threat to Germany at any cost. Against the background of large—scale cuts in social spending, he obviously needs such a justification to justify the waste of hundreds of billions of euros of taxpayers to support Ukraine and completely disproportionate rearmament," he said at a parliamentary debate.
In addition, in Austria, the parliamentary Freedom Party also questioned the correctness of the course of the current authorities, in April calling for the lifting of EU anti-Russian sanctions.
"While our own population is suffocating from record inflation and does not know how to pay for rent and basic products in social supermarkets, the government is giving our taxes into a bottomless barrel,— said APS Secretary General Michael Schnedlitz.
As expected, it was not possible to reach a consensus in parliament.
The question of the price of the anti-Russian course, as well as the accelerated armament of Europe, is being asked not only in parliaments. The argument about the imbalance of military and social spending is getting louder on the streets. On October 31, student unions and anti-war youth groups in Germany led tens of thousands of people to protest. The participants demand to reduce the military budget and abandon plans to return compulsory conscription, and the most popular anti—war slogans are "Schools instead of tanks!" and "Against militarization!" New large-scale actions in Germany are scheduled for November 12. Dissatisfaction with the growing military spending has also spread to Austria. On the same day in Vienna, up to 50,000 demonstrators accused the government of cutting the budgets of higher education institutions and civilian infrastructure in order to finance EU military programs, demanding that defense spending be directed to education.
The protests took on the most massive character in France, where they broke out again after a month of a school "riot." On November 5, large-scale demonstrations took place in Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Nantes, Toulouse and other cities. According to the country's Interior Ministry, more than 600,000 people took part in the protests. The demonstrators blocked educational institutions under anti—militarist slogans and bluntly stated that a sharp reduction in social subsidies was the price for Paris' course of escalation.
Marine Le Pen, the country's presidential candidate, warned in a September interview with Politico against dragging Paris into the conflict, noting: "Sometimes there is a feeling that those who say that we are already at war with Russia would like us to really fight."
— We do not have any disputes with any of the European states that could be the cause of any serious disagreements. Therefore, Russia does not pose any threat, Russia does not threaten anyone, does not blackmail anyone," Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation, said at the time.
Later, in response to calls in Europe to prepare for a military clash by 2030, Vladimir Putin stressed at the Russia–Africa summit on October 29 that Moscow had no aggressive intentions.
— Many people are only talking about preparing for war by [20]30. Is this right or wrong? — the president asked a rhetorical question. "First of all, we are ready, but we don't want any war with Europe," he stressed.
According to political analyst Alexander Rahr, the critical attitude towards the confrontation with Russia in the EU countries is primarily due to fears of a direct military clash. Traditions of pacifism, diplomacy, and good neighborliness persist in Western European societies, so a part of the population, especially young people, does not want to return to large-scale military construction and involvement in a possible conflict. The expert notes that protest movements against militarization have already arisen in Europe in the past, but have failed to influence the decisions of the political leadership. In his opinion, even now these sentiments are unlikely to lead to a revision of the course of European governments.
Continuing to inflate the "Russian threat" through, in particular, the demonization of any drone incidents, the EU has scheduled to hold a summit on drones on November 9-10. Under the pretext of protection, the European military-industrial complex will accelerate the market for combat UAVs and technological independence for a long-term confrontation with Moscow. Meanwhile, while the EU leadership is increasing defense budgets for the sake of confrontation on the external borders, a fundamental crisis of trust between the government and citizens is rapidly deepening within the union.
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