The Netherlands and Europe are facing complex societal challenges. We are directly confronted with military threats, with the invasion of Ukraine being the primary one. The fast pace at which technologies are evolving is also bringing new threats. Consider, for example, China's assertive stance. The Netherlands is also one of the most digitised countries in the world, making us especially vulnerable to cyber attacks. In the crime world, a strong shift is visible to the digital world. Cybercriminals feel invisible and often manage to stay out of the hands of authorities through clever use of anonymous tools.
Organised crime is putting further pressure on the security of our society, with all its undermining consequences. This also poses a threat to society. Foreign interference and influencing our society through disinformation form other threats to our democracy and public values.
Central mission
To meet these threats, a central mission has been formulated in the area of security: That the Netherlands is secure and resilient against external threats and undermining crime, both in the physical environment and the digital domain. Subsidiary to the central security mission are five innovation missions:
- That in 2030 organised undermining crime in the Netherlands will be risky and poorly rewarding, due to increased visibility of illegal activities and money flows;
- That by 2035, the Netherlands will have the navy of the future. The greatly improved cooperation in the naval construction cluster will enable the Netherlands to respond flexibly to unpredictable developments;
- That by 2030, the Netherlands has an operationally deployable space capacity for defence and security. In this, the Defence Space Agenda will serve as a guideline (the long-term space agenda will follow later);
- Cybersecurity: by 2030, security is mandatory in the development of digital products, and the Netherlands has a strong cybersecurity knowledge and innovation chain. The objectives and actions in the Netherlands Cybersecurity Strategy 2022-2028 (NLCS) will provide the overarching framework for this mission;
- High-tech Land Action: that by 2030, the armed forces will operate fully networked with integration of new technologies to act faster and more effectively than the adversary.
Current information
Here you can read news about the latest trends and developments on the missions, programmes, innovation agenda and key technologies relevant to the security sector.