What does NRC think | Defense must explain why she needs the space

The Dutch armed forces is at the start of a growth spurt. The war in Ukraine has ensured that NATO countries will increase their investments in the Ministry of Defense considerably. Minister Ruben Brekelmans (Defense, VVD) wrote this month to the House of Representatives that the treaty organization would like to see that the Netherlands will spend between 16 and 19 billion euros more on his armed forces every year. For the time being, the Netherlands will issue 22 billion euros in 2025, and the government has agreed to spend at least 2 percent of GDP on defense goals. This will lead to a significant growth in the number of soldiers.

These people will all have to be trained and trained somewhere. The new equipment that the Netherlands is going to purchase must also be given a place. Last Friday, the cabinet therefore presented its plans for housing the armed forces. The Ministry of Defense has dozens of places in the eye where it wants to have a new barracks, ammunition depots, runways and practice places installed, and where extensions of existing locations must be placed. The defense claim to the available space is growing from the current 35,000 hectares to roughly 37,000 hectares in 2035.

Space is scarce in the Netherlands. Where the armed forces are, there is no place for homes, activity, nature or recreation. It is therefore good that the Ministry of Defense has had extensive contact with provinces and municipalities in recent months to see where expansion hurts the least. This type of consultation will hopefully prevent disagreement between the national government and lower authorities.

In the coming period it is important that citizens are also included in this process. Because in the end they will have to make room for defense – even literally when expropriating soil – and they will be confronted with nuisance. The Ministry of Defense must be able to explain why the choice fell at certain locations, but especially why her interests sometimes have to prevail over other interests.

Why can a barracks be built somewhere, but no residential area elsewhere? Why does a farm have to give way for a training ground? Why am I already shocked by a flying F-35? Short and good: if the Netherlands and the rest of NATO fail to protect liberal democracy against threats from outside, then citizens have nothing to say about these types of things in the future.

This argument will not impress everyone. It is therefore conceivable that citizens with legal objections to permits, for example for environmental reasons, will eventually find their way to the Council of State. He will then have to weigh the different interests against each other, as it should be in a constitutional state.

The Ministry of Defense is apparently not completely comfortable with it, because there is a law on a law that offers the opportunity to deviate from (European) environmental rules with an appeal to the ‘urgency’ of the situation in the world. If that law comes, the ministry would like to appeal to it with restraint. Defense will take a prominent position in society for a longer period of time. Then it is better to Hearts & Minds Then win your way by pressing.

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