THE HAGUE, January 27. /TASS/. The Netherlands plans to increase its army by 25% to 100,000 soldiers, the De Volkskrant newspaper reports, citing State Secretary for Defense Gijs Tuinman.
According to him, the exact size of the Dutch army will not be finalized until next summer. The country’s ground forces, navy and air force continue to develop their plans but the goal going forward will be to field an army of 100,000 personnel. "With this in mind, we need about 25% more troops," Tuinman noted.
The newspaper points out that the country is facing a general labor shortage, making the achievement of this goal more difficult. The army is already doing its best to fill some 10,000 vacancies. Moreover, the country's armed forces are facing an acute shortage of instructors to train new recruits.
Today, about 4,000 to 5,000 people sign contracts to join the army annually. The Dutch Defense Ministry expects this number to grow to 9,000 starting in 2029.
Tuinman also stated that introducing compulsory military service was not being discussed at this point because this would place an unrealistic burden on instructors. "I need people who are really eager to serve in the army," the state secretary said, adding: "I don’t need conscripts. The situation may change if things escalate further but not now."