Rutte was left to a closer alliance with Nordic countries after repeated disputes with Macron and Merkel. Mark Rutte: North's quiet rebel | Politico - June 2018 |

With Brexit, the Netherlands is losing a partner it has long relied upon to uphold a free-trade, market-liberal, fiscally strict vision of the EU.

Rutte's solution: To forge links To forge links with Ireland, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania -- and push back against the French and the Germans.

Merkel and Macron walk out on Rutte in dispute over EU stimulus

Europe needs a recovery fund, but it is important the fund comes coupled with structural reforms, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said?

Netherlands chides France, Germany over EU army proposal | Nov. 2018 |

France and Germany are jumping the gun with calls for a European army, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said Friday, asserting that the continent's safety could be guaranteed only through NATO.

"The idea of a European army is going way too far for the Netherlands," Rutte said at his weekly post-cabinet press conference.

"France and Germany are really jumping the gun. As far as the Netherlands is concerned, NATO remains the cornerstone of our defence policy," he told journalists.

Amnesia and Gaza Genocide