The Netherlands provides military resources to dubious regimes
By Leonie Coppes (trainee 2024-2025), Daniël van Kessel, | 11 July, 2025
Over the past decade, foreign trade ministers granted permits worth hundreds of millions for military exports to countries where there was a serious risk of conflict and human rights violations, according to research by The Investigative Desk and Follow the Money. In doing so, the Netherlands is pushing the edges of export regulations.
In 2020, international media reported the deaths of two Palestinian fishermen. They were shot dead by the Egyptian navy, which reportedly was indiscriminately shooting and arresting Palestinian fishermen.
When the State Department was about to grant an export license of 10 radar and communications systems for Egyptian naval vessels in April 2023, ministry officials issued an advisory to stop the license. “The human rights situation in Egypt is worrying,” they wrote, referring to reports about Palestinian fishermen.
According to officials, there was a clear risk that the naval vessels and Dutch radars would be used in new human rights violations. International and European agreements stipulate that the Netherlands must stop exports in that case.
But other officials at the same ministry disagreed with the advice. Holding back the license, they said, would hinder defense cooperation within Europe. They stressed the trade importance: the order was worth 72.5 million euros and approving it could ‘lead to follow-up orders’. They called the reports of human rights violations ‘although worrisome, insufficiently specific’.
Read the whole investigation on Follow the Money (in Dutch).
Interview with Leonie Coppes
Leonie Coppes is one of the investigative journalists who contributed to this series
What prompted you to start the research?
Being a civil servant and volunteer for Amnesty International before becoming an investigative journalist, I was aware of the criticisms against our government prioritizing trade above human rights. I wanted to find out whether this was the case with regards to the export of military goods.
Why is this story important?
Military expenditures have always been a controversial topic, but in the light of Ukraine, Gaza and the current rises of NATO expenditures it is even more relevant to understand the choices of our government.
When did you start this investigation?
I started this investigation in May last year.
How did the collaboration come about?
I got in contact with Daniel van Kessel from Follow The Money. He just started writing about defence policy and was interested in joining this research. Daniel played a major role in this publication.
Is there a moment during the research that has stayed with you?
We have reached out to more than seventy civil servants working for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, nobody was willing to speak with us. Via various sources with close links to the Ministry, we got to know that after October 7th higher officials have implicitely made clear to civil servants, it would not be appreciated if they would speak to the outside world. After months of investigation, spokes persons contacted us to kindly ask us to stop contacting civil servants. The unwritten rules however learn the government has no right to interfere in the research method of journalists, whether they like it or not.
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