For the first time in years, foreign affairs dominated the troonrede, the Dutch monarchy’s annual speech to parliament, which, among other things, presents the government’s national budget for the coming year.
“The summer of 2014 demonstrated the fragility of freedom and security,” King Willem-Alexander stressed in his speech, referring to the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over Ukraine, killing all 298 passengers and crew, including 196 Dutch nationals.
Given this somber mood, it perhaps came as no surprise that the government allocated an additional 100 million euros ($126.3 million) per year through 2018 to the defense budget. The development cooperation budget, however, did not fare as well.