Toespraak minister Brekelmans bij NATO Summit Pre-event on Defence Industry
De toespraak is alleen beschikbaar in het Engels.
Good morning, distinguished guests, colleagues, partners,
Last night, I had a dinner with some of the people here today. At this dinner location, we didn’t have a good internet connection. I said there that we live in such turbulent times, that every time I have been offline for a few hours, the first thing I do is check my phone to see how the world has changed.
And look what happened last night… And fortunately, this time it was change for the better, not for the worse. Let’s hope these positive outcomes provide the foundation for a new way forward towards a just and lasting peace, with better cooperation among allies and friends.
Thank you all for being here, a few months ahead of the 2025 NATO Summit – a summit that, I believe, will be a defining moment for the future of our security.
The timing of this pre-event couldn’t have been better. Over the last few weeks, and also last night, one thing has become very clear: we are witnessing fundamental shifts in our security landscape.
It is not merely that Putin’s Russia poses a direct threat to our freedom and security. Nor is it that Russia is supported by North Korea, Iran, and China – we already knew that. What has become increasingly evident is that Europe must take greater responsibility for its own security. We can no longer take U.S. support for granted, we need to earn it. We must design our own umbrella against the storm.
Yesterday, I was at the Paris Defence Strategy Forum, where European leaders debated the future of our defence and security cooperation. In fact, right now, talks are taking place on a daily basis, at all levels, because the stakes couldn’t be higher.
Europe stands at a crossroads. The question is: do we seize this moment to strengthen our defence industry, ensuring our security for generations to come? Or do we allow delays, inefficiencies, and outdated procurement processes to undermine our capabilities?
I think we have only one choice. One choice and one chance to do it right.
Europe must rise to the occasion. And with that in mind, I’m very pleased to see so many of you here today. Because security is not just a government responsibility. The war in Ukraine is not just a war between armies. It’s a war between industries.
Preventing the expansion of war in Europe is a mission that requires strong partnerships between nations, industries and institutions. The challenges we face demand more than words; they require action, investment, and cooperation on an unprecedented scale. And, with the latest developments in mind, we need to act with unprecedented urgency, at an unprecedented speed.
The coming months will shape the future of European security. Whether a peace agreement in Ukraine will be reached or not, we need to continue our support to Ukraine and ensure that they have the means to not only defend themselves but also to deter future aggression. Ukraine needs to negotiate from a position of strength, not from a position of weakness. That’s why Europe must double down on its efforts.
That’s why it was so important The Netherlands has made 3.5 billion available. It will be in budget for next year, but it allows us to shift some of that money to this year, and to accelerate our support. This means we can buy more drones, ammunition and air defence which Ukraine needs right now.
At the same time, we must strengthen our own defences. The troubling paradox is that a ceasefire or peace agreement in Ukraine will make the rest of Europe less secure. When the war in Ukraine ends, Russia’s resources will be freed up for aggression elsewhere.
Our military intelligence agency (MIVD) has estimated that Russia could regroup and shift its focus in little more than a year. Can you imagine that Russia is moving hundreds of thousands of soldiers away from Ukraine towards the border of the Baltic States? Can you imagine Russia doing a large military exercise there? From our experience with Ukraine we know that we only know one week ahead if it’s just a military exercise, or the preparations for an attack. Can you imagine how much stress and panic this would cause? In the Baltic States, in Europe, within NATO? This is the reality we must prepare for.
Russia is ramping up its war economy. It is producing more weapons, recruiting more soldiers, and strengthening its military machine. Putin has the intent, the capabilities, and the incentives to continue his imperial aggression. Whether in Ukraine, the Baltic States, or another former Soviet region, Putin will exploit any weakness he sees.
Our only option is peace through strength. Peace through strength, which also means providing Ukraine with robust security guarantees – ensuring that any ceasefire or peace treaty does not become just a pause before the next wave of aggression. ‘Robust’ means deterrence: making it crystal clear to Putin that any renewed hostility will be met with overwhelming force. Peace is not just about ending a war – it’s about ensuring that no new ones begin.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is where you come in. You are at the heart of this effort. Our ability to deter threats, support Ukraine, and defend our way of life depends on what our defence industries can build, develop, and deliver.
Last week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed a € 800 billion defence plan to urgently rearm Europe. European defence shares soared to record highs in response. But money alone does not scare Putin. Nor do defence systems that won’t arrive until 2030 or beyond. The only thing Putin listens to is military power. That means delivery – on time and at scale. Our industrial capacity determines our ability to protect what we hold dear and prevent further war in Europe.
So, what do we need to do? We have 3 key priorities. We must become stronger, we must become smarter, and we must act together.
First, we must become stronger. That means achieving deterrence through mass production. We need large quantities of essential military equipment to sustain prolonged operations. We must pool our resources and invest in shared capabilities. Only then can we produce at the speed and scale required to match our adversaries.
Second, we must become smarter. Both today’s and tomorrow’s battlefields are being shaped by innovation. Cyber, AI, space, and quantum technology will define military superiority. The majority of breakthroughs in these fields occur in the private sector, in your businesses, start-ups, and scale-ups. If we want to quickly integrate cutting-edge technology into our defence capabilities, it’s absolutely essential to strengthen partnerships between government and industry.
Third – and most importantly – we must act together. NATO, the EU, and national governments must work hand in hand with industry, breaking down bureaucratic barriers, aggregating demand, standardizing weapons systems, simplifying procurement processes, and ensuring long-term contracts that provide certainty for industry.
At present, we face a stark reality: while defence budgets are increasing, production delays and high prices threaten our ability to deliver. A 10% increase in budget is meaningless if equipment prices rise by the same amount. We must break the cycle by scaling up industrial capacity, reducing lead times, and securing long-term, predictable orders.
We face another reality. I have been a Minister now for more than 8 months, and I have been at multiple NATO and EU meetings. At these meetings, my colleagues and I say all the rights things, like I just did. We talk about aggregating demand, buying together, standardizing, creating more interoperability. But then we go back to our capitals and nothing changes. Each capital defines what it needs, looks at its own industry, and then uses the same procurement processes.
We don’t need more big words, we need big action. That’s also the big challenge for today: what is needed to turn big words into big action?
As the Dutch ministry of Defence, we do 3 important things.
First, we set the right example. When we buy big weapon systems, we often push ourselves to buy what’s already there quickly, and not ask for unique products which take longer to produce. In our last Defence white paper, we decided to invest in tanks. We buy the same ones Germany already has. What’s good enough for Germany, is good enough for us. And vice versa. We also buy more F35’s and frigates that are already there. Within these investments, we set aside a certain percentage for innovation. This encourages the industry to look for ways to multiply the military impact. For example, by adding unmanned systems to tanks, F-35s and ships.
Second, apart from the procurement of weapon systems, we spend 150 million a year, or 1.1 billion over the course of seven years, to scale up our Defence industry. The Dutch industry delivers cutting-edge technology – radars, sensors, frigates, satellites, robotics, drones, cyber and AI systems, aircraft and space components. In just 3 years, Dutch defence industry turnover has nearly doubled – from € 4.7 billion in 2021 to € 9.3 billion in 2024. With around 900 defence companies, we are a substantial player. And more importantly, we have the innovation, expertise and drive to expand our role, to lead the way in specialist high-tech systems, and make Dutch industry an even stronger force in European defence.
Third, if any gaps remain, we are willing to use and set up new instrument. That’s why we set up SecFund to invest in start-ups, most often in dual-use technology. We started with 25 million, and we have planned to grow this to 100 million.
The 3 things I just mentioned are important. We do see that it is leading to results. Our industry is growing, we see more entrepreneurs with successful ideas. But it is not enough. We need to do more.
I see 3 big opportunities.
First, if we want to keep up, we need a whole new way of working together. We must move beyond the outdated ‘buyer and seller’ game and create true strategic partnerships.
Take for example drones. In the past, we would define what type of drone we want, create a tender, then the industry would come up with proposals to create this drone, and then we would select the best drone for the lowest price. This does not work anymore. I have no idea what type of drone we need in 5 years, the industry has no idea what type of drone it can build in five years.
So we need to set up new partnerships. Instead of the traditional procurement cycles, we must build alliances that offer stability to businesses while ensuring the flexibility to adapt and innovate as new challenges emerge. Partnerships that not only look at the best product for the lowest price, but also take into account speed and the resilience of supply chains. Partnerships in which we also share more information, for example by joint-programming, building business-cases together, and sharing risk assessments.
Second, there are many opportunities in the Ukrainian industry. Because if there’s one place where defence technology is being tested and improved daily, it’s on the battlefield. A week in Ukraine is worth a year on a European test range.
A fine example is the Dutch Drone Action Plan – a bold 400-million-euro investment in cutting-edge drone technology for Ukraine, with half of the funds going to Dutch companies. By forging joint ventures between Dutch and Ukrainian companies, we are not only delivering advanced systems to the front lines in Ukraine, the Ukrainians are also providing Dutch entrepreneurs with the latest insights and lessons learned from the battlefield.
Third, we need to get more private investment, more private funds into the Defence industry. Just look at the security landscape – few industries have such a guaranteed future as the defence sector. And yet, access to financing remains a significant barrier. Even as mindsets are shifting, many private investors remain hesitant to invest in defence.
Unlocking defence financing requires action on different fronts:
We must help to make investments in the defence industry easier and more attractive. That means ensuring long-term demand and translate this into more long term contracts. But it also means we as Ministry of Defence need to help private investors in navigating through the defence industry. Many financial institutions have not invested in the defence industry for years or even decades. They don’t know who to trust and how to assess certain investments. We as the Ministry of Defence can help in this. We need to determine together how we can do this in the most effective way.
Also, we should make better use of the instruments that are already there. They can be used for the defence industry, but it is often unknown.
Furthermore, we must optimize processes. We need to cut red tape, streamline regulations, and speed up approval processes for defence investments. Speed matters; we cannot afford unnecessary delays.
A good example is the recent exception to the bank guarantee rule, allowing the purchase of Medium and Short Range Air Defence systems from the Norwegian company Kongsberg. Exceptions like these are crucial to keep things moving without delay, and I am fully committed to encouraging more of them.
And last but not least, we need to keep raising awareness and changing perceptions. The defence industry is more than just an industry that supports the armed forces – it’s the backbone of our security. We need a stronger dialogue with the financial sector to ensure that defence investments are seen for what they truly are: essential and future-proof.
I’m glad to see more banks, insurance companies, pension funds, and private equity firms and other private investors stepping forward to contribute to our security. And I am especially pleased to see a number of them represented here today.
Ladies and gentlemen,
We are at a decisive moment in history. The 2025 NATO Summit and the NATO Summit Defence Industry Forum in June will be decisive for the future of our security. We know that we need to scale up, create more certainty and bigger contracts, aggregate demand, create new partnerships, get more private investors on board.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte also said it right: this summit needs to be an ‘implementation summit’, not an ‘ideas summit’. Scaling up the defence industry requires something from all of us, and certainly from the government as well.
This should also be the focus for today. How can we turn big words into big actions? That’s the key question. What do you think we need to make this vision a reality? What challenges do you face? How can we work together to take away any obstacles? And what we can do right after this event, what is the first step tomorrow?
Today is the perfect opportunity to exchange our thoughts and ideas, to inspire each other, and to shape the way forward – together. Let‘s turn big words into big actions.
Thank you.