On September 27, the Atlantic Council hosted an off-the-record strategy session with senior representatives of the Royal Netherlands Ministry of Defense, Wim Bargerbos and Joep Wijnands on the views of the Netherlands on key issues in transatlantic defense policy.

The discussion focused on how the Dutch Armed Forces can continue to ‘punch above their weight’ in international military operations despite significant cuts to the national defense budget. The session also touched upon the upcoming NATO Summit in Chicago and the most pressing issues on the Alliance’s table such as burden-sharing and solidarity, the concept of smart defense, and the prospects for multinational defense cooperation.

Wim Bagerbos is Director General for Policy Affairs at the Netherlands Ministry of Defence. In this capacity, he has led multiple white papers, defense reviews, and inquiries on the future of the Royal Netherlands Armed Forces. Joep Wijnands will become Security Policy Director at the Royal Netherlands Ministry of Defense on October 1, 2011 after serving previously as Ambassador to Lithuania and as the Civilian Representative at the Netherlands PRT in Uruzgan Province in Afghanistan.