Centrist D66 leader Rob Jetten emphasised the need for stronger European cooperation to ensure security and prosperity, rather than focusing on the United States.
 |
| Centrist D66 leader Rob Jetten |
The political leader in line to become the Netherlands’ next prime minister said on Friday that concerns about US President Donald Trump’s territorial ambitions in Greenland were a "wake-up call" for Europe.
Centrist D66 leader Rob Jetten emphasised the need for stronger European cooperation to ensure security and prosperity, rather than focusing on the United States.
"We can continue talking and complaining about the US, but what we should do instead is make sure that the European cooperation is strengthened, that we can guarantee security and prosperity for our own citizens," he told the Associated Press news agency.
Once in office, one of the first things Jetten will do is "talk to my colleagues in Europe to see what role the Dutch can play again in strengthening the European cooperation," he said.
Still, Jetten stressed he also would seek to boost cooperation with Washington, "mainly on topics of security, the war in Ukraine, but also on an economic level, because the Dutch economy and American economy are very much, interlinked."
Trump has repeatedly argued that the US needs Greenland, a self-governing territory of NATO member Denmark, to counter threats from Russia and China.
Last week he scrapped the tariffs he had threatened to impose on eight European nations, including the Netherlands, to press for US control of Greenland.
Jetten was speaking to media after he and the leaders of two other parties that will form a minority coalition government following elections three months ago presented a policy blueprint on Friday with their plans for the coming four-year term.
