Netherlands suggests EU peacekeepers could be sent to Ukraine without unanimous decision

The Netherlands does not rule out the possibility of deploying an EU peacekeeping mission to Ukraine without the unanimous approval of all member states, should a ceasefire agreement be reached.

Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans said this in an interview with the Trouw newspaper, according to Ukrinform.

The article states that both NATO and the EU typically require unanimous decisions for peacekeeping missions.

"It is sometimes difficult for 27 EU countries to reach a consensus. Given the haste that is there, you can decide not to wait for unanimity in any context. So then you start looking more at a group of countries. Ukraine is large and a ceasefire line – if it were to come – is long. If you want to do that in a credible way, you not only need many countries, but also large countries," he said.

At the same time, the potential participation of the Netherlands remains uncertain.

"It depends on what exactly is on the table and what it looks like. Based on that, we will have to see whether there is political support for it," Brekelmans said.

According to the newspaper, the Dutch parliament must approve the deployment of peacekeepers, which could be challenging, as the far-right PVV (Freedom Party), a key member of the ruling coalition and currently the largest party in the Netherlands, is skeptical about providing military support to Ukraine. The party has been resistant to continuing military aid for Kyiv.

"We as the Netherlands have always said that we will not fight in Ukraine. No 'boots on the ground,' because we do not want a direct confrontation between NATO and Russia. We fully support that. What is being considered now is a possible peace treaty. It is about maintaining peace. But it is still too early to say what that would look like in concrete terms, so I am not going to anticipate that," Brekelmans said.

On December 16, the EU adopted its 15th package of sanctions against Russia.

Photo: ANP