A secure Netherlands and a strong society

A government that operates effectively

Many people – young and old, members of the business community and civil servants charged with implementing policy – find the government large and complicated. The government apparatus itself is becoming bogged down by its increasing complexity, and it consequently cannot fulfil its promises. This undermines trust, and given the major transitions and challenges we are currently facing, we simply cannot afford that. The present situation does not call for even more rules, but requires a government that makes clear choices, works as a team and delivers. This is why we are building a streamlined and effective government that focuses on what is truly necessary. We are setting a clear goal: a government that is straightforward and reliable. A government that is honest about what can be done and that takes responsibility for its actions. A government that is rooted in society and accessible to people. We intend to restore public trust by demonstrating that the government can deliver.

Simple, feasible and predictable

The people who implement policy are often the face of the government. Those who implement policy, subnational authorities and support services will be involved with policy from the start, so that rules are aligned with what people actually do (and are able to do) in practice.
A periodic Simplification Act will continually improve laws and rules. We will start by scrapping or simplifying at least 500 rules, and will subsequently set a target for each ministry.

Breaking down barriers between government bodies

We will work more often with multidisciplinary, cross-domain teams for major, long-term projects, such as the National Liveability and Security Programme and Project Beethoven. We will focus on goals instead of procedures and avoid micromanagement.
Central government will enhance the exchange of knowledge with the private sector, educational sector and research community, with a view to addressing shared societal challenges. There will be exchange programmes between ministries, implementing agencies and civil society organisations.
Together with the regions, we will work with strategic agendas to jointly and comprehensively carry out major tasks in a given area. This means that we will work together to improve quality of life, housing and employment for local residents and businesses. Regional challenges often require regional solutions. With this in mind we will prioritise the knowledge and expertise of people in the regions themselves and build on the recommendations contained in the report ‘Every Region Counts’.

A more productive government

The government has grown considerably, but productivity levels have not kept pace. There is room for improvement. Over the next few years the Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations will coordinate the modernisation of the civil service. We seek to move towards a fundamentally more efficient and effective government, with far less (complex) legislation, less overhead and a more compact civil service. To that end we will also be implementing government-wide retrenchment targets.
From IT and procurement to HR, we will make central government operational management more uniform, in part by introducing mandatory standards and shared services, with the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations playing a coordinating role.
We will establish a Digital Service for the Netherlands: compact, equipped with expertise and having the necessary decision-making power. This service will support the digitalisation of central government, set quality standards and safeguard good design choices. We will reduce dependence on external IT providers by employing more IT talent in the civil service. We will facilitate the responsible use of data and AI within the government.
We will tackle the multitude of organisational forms within central government. We believe that policymaking and implementation should be more closely linked. For this reason we will explore whether certain autonomous administrative authorities (such as the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV)) can be placed under the direct responsibility of a minister.
The Netherlands has fallen behind when it comes to the availability of digital services to members of the public and companies; we will make considerable efforts to address this problem. Estonia serves as a model for digital service provision. All government services must be accessible online.
Implementing agencies will be given an annual target for efficiency savings, half of which can be reinvested in efficiency and improvement.
The Senior Civil Service (ABD) will limit its focus to senior management. The most senior positions in the ABD will not be replaced more often than once every seven to nine years, unless there are compelling reasons to do so. There will also be external recruitment, and a clear specialisation structure will be set up for positions dealing with complex issues.
We will work to enhance the government’s expertise and professional skills by taking on more people with specialised knowledge as permanent employees instead of hiring their services, and by giving them parity with managers when it comes to job evaluations and career opportunities. For that purpose we will review the Top Incomes (Standardisation) Act, taking inspiration from Singapore. In this way, external hiring can be reduced where possible from the current 15.4% of total staffing expenditure to 10% (the ‘Roemer norm’).

Trust as a basic principle

Politicians determine the ‘what’, and those implementing policy determine the ‘how’. Those implementing policy will be given more scope and a greater mandate to make professional assessments in the public interest. Where possible, we will choose simpler norms which do not make provision for every single exception. In doing so we will allow for individual, customised solutions by the professionals responsible for implementing policy.
We will organise regular tripartite dialogues between members of the government, policymakers and those responsible for implementation in order to obtain quick feedback and make adjustments.
Placing trust in the public will once again be our point of departure: there will be less mistrust and simpler rules, but if that trust is betrayed, the consequences will be severe.
We will make multiannual, robust agreements with subnational authorities. This will give rise to a partnership of equals in which each tier of government can shoulder its responsibilities and deliver results.

A strong democracy

Freedom and democracy can never be taken for granted. That is why we will not only protect our democracy against external threats, but also work to make it more robust and resilient. We will strengthen the democratic ethos throughout our society, taking the Dutch Constitution as its foundation. Here is what we aim to do:

We will make our democracy under the rule of law more resilient, in part by increasing the independence of key democratic institutions. We will build more checks and balances into appointment procedures for the Electoral Council, the (yet to be established) Netherlands Authority for Political Parties and the central-government-wide advisory bodies. We will also enhance the protection of those who work to uphold the rule of law. We will improve the interplay of checks and balances by ensuring that inspectorates and supervisory authorities have sufficient resources and powers.
We will improve the parliamentary system by implementing several modernisation proposals made by the National Commission on the Parliamentary System (Remkes Commission): reforms to the Senate electoral system, introduction of a right for the Senate to propose amendments to bills and return them to the House of Representatives, and a second reading of constitutional amendments in a Joint Session of the two Houses of the States General. In addition we will explore the introduction of a minimum threshold for representation in parliament and a new electoral system for the House of Representatives in which preferential votes carry greater weight. Comprehensive legislation on political parties will be introduced.
We aim to deepen the democratic ethos throughout society, including by focusing more on citizenship education.

Dependable government with a human face

Government and politics can do more to increase public trust by showing transparency and a human face. And by using plain language: letters from the government should be easy to understand. Provinces, municipalities and water authorities face the same challenge. We will therefore involve subnational authorities more closely in our policy. Here is what we aim to do:

We will formalise the right to make a mistake and the right to communication in plain language. We will proceed with the Bill amending the General Administrative Law Act in order to strengthen the system of safeguards that it provides.
We will improve cooperation between public authorities, proceeding on the basis of recommendations made by the Study Group on Central-Local Government Relations. When tasks are to be transferred to subnational authorities we will perform a feasibility check as standard (such as the Subnational Authorities Feasibility Assessment (UDO)).
With regard to the operation to redress the consequences of the Groningen earthquakes, we will ensure stable implementation by appointing a government commissioner to oversee the process. This individual will be tasked with the smooth organisation of the compensation process and the speediest possible completion of the reinforcement operation. The commissioner will also be jointly responsible for implementing the Bright Future (Nij Begun) programme, which aims to bolster the future prospects of the Groningen and Noord-Drenthe regions.
We will introduce a lobbying register that is practical and workable for public authorities and stakeholders alike. We will make the Open Government Act easier to apply. Working on the basis of the evaluation expected in 2026, we will also examine whether amendments to the Act are needed. In the meantime, we will focus on its practicability, including though more effective information management and better use of artificial intelligence.
We will work at EU level on a revision and simplification of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the application of the current GDPR in the Netherlands.
Clubs and associations are crucial for meeting other people and fostering social engagement, but they are being hamstrung by regulatory pressure and liability risks. We will make a clearer distinction between professional organisations and community associations, and will limit the liability of volunteers. We will amend the Management and Supervision (Public and Private Companies) Act, and will ensure that making charitable donations remains attractive from a tax perspective. We will make agreements with banks and municipalities to reduce practical obstacles associated, for example, with banking and event management regulations.

Meeting places are under pressure, especially in villages, older neighbourhoods and new housing estates. We will therefore establish a Community Fund aimed at developing and maintaining facilities such as community centres, club houses and village shops. This will be done in collaboration with local authorities, the business sector and society at large.

Equal treatment

Everyone in the Netherlands is equal under the law. This principle is in keeping with the Dutch traditions of tolerance and openness. The freedom to believe what we wish, be true to ourselves and not be judged on account of our background is essential to who we are. Racism and discrimination have no place in our society. Here is what we aim to do:

We will strengthen the roles of the National Coordinator against Discrimination and Racism and the National Coordinator on Combating Antisemitism by enshrining their tasks in law. We will take action to combat ethnic profiling. Sometimes there is a legitimate reason for making distinctions on the basis of ethnicity, such as in the context of healthcare. But ethnic profiling has no place in the activities of public authorities.
By establishing a national antidiscrimination agency with physical offices we can obtain a more detailed picture of discrimination and antisemitism. We will increase the number of antidiscrimination detectives, police officers who prioritise the investigation of discrimination cases. We will strengthen police networks such as Pink in Blue and the Jewish Police Network, and we will involve them in efforts to tackle discrimination effectively.
In order to obtain a licence, professional football organisations are required to draft plans for promoting antiracism, equality, inclusion and a climate of social safety. As a standard practice, disciplinary investigations will be conducted in response to reports of discrimination. In order to tackle discriminatory and antisemitic chanting more effectively, legislation prohibiting participation in such chanting will be enforced more strictly, and mouthing the words along with such chants will be made a separate criminal offence.
Working together with the six islands in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom, we will work actively to raise public awareness about the Netherlands’ colonial past and role in the history of slavery, as well as their enduring impact.

We are one Kingdom

The fact that we are joined in a kingdom with Aruba, Curaçao and St Maarten makes the Netherlands much more than a country on the North Sea coast. At the 2026 World Cup the Kingdom will, for the first time in its history, field two qualifying teams. The Kingdom of the Netherlands offers many opportunities to strengthen our society and economy on both sides of the ocean. We will therefore work to foster social equality, reduce poverty and make far better use of opportunities for green growth. Working in collaboration with Aruba, Curaçao and St Maarten, our focus will be on promoting good governance, protecting human rights and strengthening the rule of law. We will help these countries to enhance their self-sufficiency and combat corruption. Here is what we aim to do:

New policy in the European part of the Netherlands will, as a rule, be implemented in the Caribbean part of the Netherlands unless there are compelling reasons not to.
In the Caribbean part of the Netherlands we will work to develop a decent minimum income standard based on the recommendations of the Caribbean Netherlands Minimum Income Standard Committee (Thodé Committee). One focal point will be ensuring the affordability of utilities and basic needs on Saba, St Eustatius and Bonaire. We will ensure that business costs remain affordable, and that entrepreneurs have the freedom they need to do business.
To improve the quality of governance and financial management, we will modernise the administrative and financial framework acts for Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba. We will also implement the Public Administration (Probity Screening) Act, in order to safeguard the integrity of public administration. The Netherlands will continue to work with Aruba, Curaçao and St Maarten on good governance, tackling corruption and crime that undermines society, and strengthening the foundations of their economies and education systems on the basis of long-term agreements.
The Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands forms the basis of relations between the countries of the Kingdom. The Charter provides that the islands may declare independence if they choose.
The Netherlands has a responsibility to protect the Caribbean part of the Kingdom. We will therefore maintain a credible military presence in the region. This will enable us to better protect our interests.
We will make it easier for island residents to vote in European Parliament elections.
The Caribbean part of the Kingdom is already experiencing the effects of climate change, including coral erosion and flooding. We will therefore lose no time in implementing a common climate agenda, and we will proceed with the policy plan for nature and the environment of the Netherlands in the Caribbean.
We will work to ensure a sustainable economic future for the islands. To this end, we will establish a Caribbean Economic Growth Platform, aimed at stimulating economic development and innovation across the six islands. The new national investment institution will be able to invest in all four countries of the Kingdom, and the same conditions will apply to all four countries.

Safety and security in a state where the rule of law is strong

Safety and security start where you live: in your own home, street and neighbourhood. Being safe and secure means being able to go home without fear after a night out. It means knowing that help will arrive if you need it and trusting that the rules apply to everyone. But now all too often we see violence in the streets. Emergency workers are attacked. Criminal complaints go unprocessed for too long. We want to be a country where criminals are punished and where authority is respected. We are grateful to the police, emergency workers and other guardians of the rule of law, and will ensure that they have enough people, resources and capabilities to do their jobs properly.

In order for society to be safe and secure, the rule of law must also be strong, nobody should be above the law and our democracy must be protected from threats at home and from abroad. The rule of law requires constant maintenance. Here is what we aim to do:

Rule of law

The right to demonstrate is fundamental to our democracy but, as we have seen in recent times, demonstrations sometimes get out of hand and develop into large-scale public order disturbances. In order to safeguard this important right, we will amend the Public Assemblies Act. Mayors will be given powers for administrative enforcement or to move demonstrations. In addition we will amend the criminal law, so that the courts will treat criminal offences committed during demonstrations more seriously.
We will build a solid partition between the independent courts and the political sphere. We will make the appointment of members of the Council for the Judiciary independent of the minister. There will be a separate budget for the courts.
In order to strengthen legal protection, article 120 of the Constitution will be amended to enable constitutional review against the classic fundamental rights laid down in the Constitution’s provisions.

A safe and secure society for everyone

The police have the challenging task of preventing and tackling crime in ever more places – from minor offences in the neighbourhood to online extortion.
We will support the police and invest across the board in its operational effectiveness and organisation. This means that we will train more community police officers and detectives specialised in investigating cybercrime and sexual offences, and deploy them at more police stations. We will also invest in expanding the provision of weapons and defensive equipment to the riot police.
We will take our lead from what the police and local authorities need to uphold public order effectively in the streets, in our neighbourhoods and online. They must be equipped with all the powers and resources that they consider necessary for this purpose. Special enforcement officers and police officers who need bodycams to carry out their duties will be given them, so that they can work more safely.
We will examine how we can expand the number of volunteers who work for the police, creating a year-long programme in which young people can familiarise themselves with police work, similar to the voluntary service year in the Defence organisation.
The National Liveability and Security Programme and the Prevention Through Responsibility Programme are making neighbourhoods safer and preventing a great deal of crime, for example by stopping young people from developing into career criminals after an early misstep. We will therefore continue these programmes at the same level.
In order to prevent disturbances, we will provide more effective help to people presenting psychologically distressed or misunderstood behaviour. In doing so we will take into account the recommendations of the parliamentary study on psychologically distressed and misunderstood behaviour and safety, which include giving mayors more scope to order care interventions and creating more places in emergency shelters. We will be mindful of avoiding additional complexity or regulatory burden for the criminal justice system.
All too often football fans and society are harmed by hooliganism in and around stadiums. We will get to work on measures to limit incidents, including a system of fines for clubs when police need to be deployed in a stadium itself.

Effective on-the-spot penalties

The criminal justice system – from custodial institutions to the courts, and from the police to the probation service – is overburdened. We will ease the pressure through more effective punishment and faster penalties. Here is what we aim to do:

We will give the police greater scope for disposing of criminal offences, enabling them to respond more swiftly and effectively to minor offences and specific serious offences, such as theft, shoplifting and criminal damage. Under these expanded powers, police will be able to issue on-the-spot fines and/or penalty orders, while there will also be sufficient legal protection safeguards in place.
It is entirely unacceptable that the perpetrators of serious offences sometimes go unpunished because the authorities obstruct data sharing. We will therefore improve the sharing of data for use in the criminal justice system.
Cybercrime is having a growing impact on the safety of people in the Netherlands. For this reason we will be increasing the penalties for serious cyber offences.
The Public Prosecution Service plays an indispensable role in our criminal justice system but is hampered by major IT problems that can potentially have an impact on criminal cases. We will ensure a more settled policy regarding the Public Prosecution Service and make effective agreements to get its digital operational management in order once and for all.
We will continue the fight against organised crime, taking inspiration from the anti-Mafia strategy pursued by the Italian authorities. In this connection we will take action against the continuation of criminal activity from inside custodial institutions and develop a proposal to protect lawyers more effectively against pressure from criminals, particularly suspects being held in more restrictive custodial regimes. For example, we will expand the scheme for suspects-turned-witnesses and tighten the enforcement of rules against contraband, such as phones smuggled into custodial institutions.
It is untenable for convicted criminals to be released early owing to cell shortages. We will invest in the Custodial Institutions Agency and expand and improve cell capacity. We will do this by for example paring down facilities, introducing separate regimes for low-risk detainees and taking additional measures.
We will take measures to ensure that it is easier to hold private proceedings in sexual offences trials involving minor victims. The names of victims in this category will more often be anonymised in major sexual offences trials.
Clients in the forensic care system often receive similar care to that received by psychiatric patients who have not committed offences. We will therefore require convicted persons to make a co-payment for forensic care.
It is often too complicated for victims to recover damage from perpetrators in criminal proceedings. We will make this easier for victims. In this connection we will consider establishing norms and fixed amounts for compensation, expanding the scope for group claims and introducing a separate, accessible procedure alongside the criminal trial.
Under the rule of law, everyone is entitled to a fair trial, which includes the right to a lawyer. In order to safeguard access to justice for everyone in the Netherlands, we will reduce court fees and invest in the funded legal aid system.

Sensible policy on drugs, gambling and sex work

Online gambling and sex work are legal in the Netherlands but can often be exploited for the purposes of crime and human trafficking. We want to prevent vulnerable people in those sectors from being exploited by those who aim to profit from them. Soft drugs are subject to a tightly regulated policy of toleration. We will denormalise the use of hard drugs and tackle the sale and trafficking of these substances. Here is what we aim to do:

The Controlled Cannabis Supply Chain Experiment is intended to examine whether regulation results in improved safety and health. We will continue the experiment, evaluate it and on that basis decide on next steps.
Large festivals will be required to produce a drug prevention plan. People convicted of offences under the Opium Act will more often have an education order imposed on them as part of their sentence.
Young sex workers are particularly vulnerable to coercion and exploitation. In three years’ time we will therefore raise the minimum age for sex work from 18 to 21. Exit programmes for those wishing to stop doing sex work voluntarily will be continued. We will also examine whether a ban on the illegal employment of sex workers could be enacted in the form of a ban on pimp-controlled prostitution. We will strengthen the legal status of sex workers by, for example, providing better access to insurance cover, business bank accounts and other financial services. We will continue the programme Together Against Human Trafficking.
We will strengthen the duty of care on providers of online gambling services, take tougher action against illegal gambling websites and introduce a complete ban on advertising for online gambling. We will examine the scope for limiting the number of licences granted for online gambling websites.

Stopping violence against women

The government is opting for a clearer and more resolute approach to tackling domestic and gender-based violence, so that women and girls can be safe wherever they are. Here is what we aim to do:

Management of the approach to tackling violence against women, as laid down in the National Action Plan to Stop Violence Against Women, will be overseen by a national coordinator. We will bring existing programmes for combating abuse, harassment, stalking, violence and femicide within the scope of the national coordinator’s office and make clear agreements on the responsibilities of and cooperation between emergency workers, the criminal justice authorities and ministries. In this connection we will consider how the role of the ‘Safe at Home’ centres can be utilised more effectively in tackling gender-based violence.
We will devise a system-wide approach. Violence committed in a domestic setting has been underestimated for too long and should be given more priority by emergency workers and be regarded as high-impact crime. Professionals who play a role in the approach to tackling violence against women will be given proper training on domestic violence, intimate terrorism and the red flags that precede femicide. We will aim to make more use of ‘combined hearings’ (which address multiple cases concerning a particular family) in criminal law and family law. We also need to increase awareness about how women and girls are treated. This means talking about these issues at school and at home.
We will continue the Enhanced Approach to Online Sexual Violence, including online misogyny and online sexual harassment, as laid down in the National Action Plan.
We will tighten legislation on domestic violence in order to comply with the Istanbul Convention and introduce a domestic violence disclosure scheme (in line with the UK’s Clare’s Law) as well as a separate criminal offence of psychological violence. We will also make it easier to require perpetrators to follow compulsory assistance programmes. A statutory duty to seek advice will be introduced for educational and healthcare professionals where there are signs of domestic violence and other harmful practices.
In order to improve protection for victims of honour-based violence, the position of the National Expertise Centre on Honour-Based Violence (LEC) will be safeguarded and we will introduce the possibility of imposing an exit ban in cases where someone is at risk of being subjected to genital mutilation or forced marriage. The government will get to work on improving the scope to punish those who perpetrate or are accessories to honour-related violence.

National security

The Netherlands needs to defend itself against a great many threats to our national security: cyberattacks on companies that provide critical services, suspect drone flights and crime that undermines society (for which even young people are being recruited). There is also growing geopolitical uncertainty and an increase in hybrid, military and terrorist threats. The most visible is the heightened risk of further escalation (inadvertent or otherwise) between Russia and the West. Even now Russia is engaging in hybrid activities, including sabotage, espionage and cyberattacks.

At the same time we are increasingly the target of the undesirable transfer of knowledge and technology by countries such as China and Iran. Our national security is also still under pressure from jihadist and other forms of terrorism, the rise of anti-institutional extremism and the normalisation of right-wing extremist ideas.

Due to this accumulation of threats to our national security, we will have to deal with at least five major challenges in the coming years:

Strengthening our resilience against hybrid activities (including sabotage) by state and non-state actors.
Combating the threat from jihadist and extremist networks in the Netherlands, paying specific attention to online radicalisation.
Countering threats to democracy and the rule of law posed by organised crime and crime that undermines society.
Expanding our technological capabilities (including intelligence capabilities), so that our intelligence and security services are leaders in technology.
Strengthening independent, unique intelligence capabilities, thus contributing to Europe’s strategic autonomy and making us less dependent on other countries.

This requires the intelligence and security services and the National Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Security (NCTV) to be able to act quickly, resolutely and proactively. We will maintain our unique system in which the services operate within the framework of the democratic state governed by the rule of law. At the same time we need to invest in the robustness of the intelligence and security services, so that they can operate effectively and proportionately in all circumstances, make use of new technologies, and have adequate digital infrastructure at their disposal. Here is what we aim to do:

Prevention is better than cure. We will therefore step up cooperation at European level in the area of intelligence and security services. We want to have a European equivalent of the Five Eyes alliance, so that we can work together on intelligence as part of a leading group of European countries.
We will expedite the drafting of a new, stronger Intelligence and Security Services Act. This legislation must be technology-neutral, so that the services are not put at a disadvantage by technological advances. We will draft this Act so that it focuses on threats, unlike the current Act, which focuses on intelligence resources. This will enable us to take flexible and effective action in response to threats. Lastly, we will merge the supervisory authorities, to ensure comprehensive supervision with sufficient safeguards, including in terms of the rule of law.
We will expand the operational capabilities for intelligence investigations of the Defence Intelligence and Security Service (MIVD) and the General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD), whereby the services can develop independent intelligence, thus contributing to Europe’s strategic autonomy.
We will enable the services to make maximum use of new technologies and anticipate what our adversaries are capable of, by ensuring those services have the best technical talent and the necessary technological capabilities, and by enhancing cooperation with innovative tech companies.
We will expand defensive and offensive cyber capabilities against threats from abroad, including through the development of active cyber defence measures. We will focus on earlier and better recognition of cyber threats, by means of an integrated intelligence overview based on data from various public and private organisations. We will strengthen the legal basis for sharing data with private parties, with safeguards to ensure that this data does not fall into the hands of foreign powers. This requires a coordinated approach to monitoring and detection, by means of cooperation between the intelligence and security services, the NCTV, the National Cyber Security Centre, the private sector and our European partners.
Cyber criminals with obvious links to the Russian regime will be placed on the EU’s sanctions list.
There will be differentiation in supervision with regard to, on the one hand, operations to counter foreign threats and intercept military communications and, on the other hand, intelligence operations in which Dutch citizens are investigated directly.
We will combat disinformation and online influencing. We will increase the scope for removing disinformation at European level. We will also make full use of the scope for reminding social media platforms of their responsibilities. We will assign the task of monitoring the sources and dissemination of disinformation to the NCTV and the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations.
We will encourage the services to publicly disclose tactical intelligence more often, as long as this can be done without compromising their position from an intelligence perspective.

A resilient society must be collectively self-reliant. For that reason we will involve all of society in security and crisis management. This starts in our neighbourhoods and villages, where people take responsibility, look out for each other, and can rely on each other in an emergency. Organising this will help enhance our readiness in the face of the threat of hybrid warfare and other crisis situations. Here is what we aim to do:

Together with local authorities and safety regions, we will set up neighbourhood crisis teams consisting of civilians who can be deployed in the event of a disaster or crisis.
We will ensure that the locations in neighbourhoods and villages where people can go to in a crisis situation, such as community centres and fire stations, are available for this purpose.

Furthermore we will adopt an enhanced approach to counterterrorism, tackling radicalisation, and strengthening the Surveillance and Protection System. Here is what we aim to do:

We will enhance the approach to counterterrorism (including at local level) and develop a coordinated approach to young people who are becoming radicalised. We will counter online and offline radicalisation by taking preventative action, ensuring early detection and expanding the knowledge and skills of professionals in the field.
Terrorist content must always be taken offline within one hour of an order to that effect being issued by the supervisory authority.
We will ensure that terrorist organisations can be banned in the Netherlands and in the EU as quickly as possible.
Anyone with dual nationality who joins a terrorist organisation will lose their Dutch nationality. Therefore, in the interests of national security, we will continue the legislative procedure for the Revocation of Dutch Nationality (Permanent Authorisation) Act. We will provide more legal scope for expanding the monitoring of terrorist offenders who have been released from prison and whose Dutch nationality has been revoked, but who cannot yet be expelled and could otherwise disappear out of sight of the authorities. We will turn the Counterterrorism (Interim Administrative Measures) Act into permanent legislation, create a temporary national security monitoring measure by analogy with practice in the United Kingdom and Germany, and enable electronic monitoring in combination with an order to remain within a specified area. The temporary monitoring measure will be reviewed periodically and will not entitle a person to benefits. At the same time we will also focus our efforts on removal from the Netherlands.
We will invest in the Surveillance and Protection System in order to counter the increased threat against politicians, journalists, lawyers and others. Recommendations in the report by the Dutch Safety Board following the murder of Peter R. de Vries will be implemented in full. The threat against individuals in these categories emanates in part from criminal networks that seek to undermine the rule of law. In addition to the efforts of the National Police and the Public Prosecution Service, which both work to counter this threat, the AIVD will boost its involvement – within its existing mandate – in analysing threats and collating relevant intelligence.