Benelux & Ireland in March 2026: the most important developments in politics
In March 2026, politics in the Benelux countries and Ireland was shaped by the war involving Iran and by NATO's response to it. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said the alliance was not involved in the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, and on 5 March he said there were no plans to invoke its defence clause after an Iranian missile incident. On 26 March he credited President Donald Trump with pushing allies to spend more on defence. Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin met Trump in Washington on 17 March and urged him to avoid military conflict with Iran. On 12 March, the Netherlands joined South Africa's case against Israel at the International Court of Justice over Gaza.
A second theme was Russia and Ukraine. On 14 March, Belgium's Bart De Wever called for the EU to negotiate with Russia over peace in Ukraine, and the Belgian foreign minister rebuked him the next day. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban criticised the EU's stance, and the Dutch prime minister said on 3 March that he was open to Orban's demand on a Ukraine pipeline. At the EU summit in Brussels on 19 March, leaders discussed the political and security consequences of the Middle East conflict. Chancellor Friedrich Merz had said the summit would focus on EU competitiveness, and EU leaders cancelled a planned press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
In national politics, Rob Jetten, the new Dutch prime minister, said on 19 March that the Netherlands is returning to the heart of the European Union. In Belgium, a court requested the trial of former diplomat and EU Commissioner Etienne Davignon over his alleged role in the 1961 assassination of Congolese Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba, with the trial expected to begin later this year.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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