The Netherlands is currently repositioning itself within the European Union. The United Kingdom’s departure means that it has lost its closest ally. While it is not striving to replace or imitate this relationship, it is, however, aiming to renew its alliances and take new European initiatives with Paris and Berlin, a move which may make this country, which is holding a general election from 15-17 March, one of the most influential out of the EU-27 at the moment. In 2020, the annual survey among European experts conducted by the ECFR think tank ranked the Netherlands as the third most influential country in the European Union after Germany and France and ahead of Italy and Spain. What follows is an analysis of the current deliberate strategy.

In addition to the persons consulted for this brief (please refer to the list on the last page), the author would also like to thank Luis Vassy, French Ambassador to the Netherlands, and Thierry Chopin, special advisor to the IJD, for their proofreading of this text.