Police officers stand outside a Jewish school following an explosion that caused minor damages, in Amsterdam, Netherlands, March 14, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw

Europe must take greater responsibility for its own security, the Dutch military intelligence agency MIVD said on Tuesday, citing pressure on long-standing Western alliances and China’s support for Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The comment by MIVD Director Peter Reesink accompanied the release of its annual report for 2025.

“The international system we have relied on for decades – with institutions acting as guardians of rules and agreements – is under pressure,” Reesink said in a statement. “It is precisely in this space, where rules blur and power becomes more decisive, that threats grow. Europe must increasingly take responsibility for its own security.”

Spillover from other conflicts including the US-Venezuelan conflict and tensions in the Middle East posed threats to the Netherlands and its interests, the MIVD said in a report published on Tuesday. It also warned about the growing risks of Chinese cybersecurity attacks, which the agency expects to increase this year.

The report comes amidst heightened tensions between NATO and US President Donald Trump, who has threatened to leave the alliance due to its reluctance to join the US-Israeli war with Iran.

Reesink told journalists in The Hague that the Netherlands still has a strong relationship with the United States. At the same time, he said there is an increased push by European agencies to strengthen cooperation and rely less on what the Dutch intelligence agency called “unpredictable” politics in Washington.

“Europe needs to stand on its own two feet. That applies for the defence sector … and also for the intelligence community,” he said.

The greatest security threat to the Netherlands remains the conflict in Ukraine – Europe‘s largest since World War Two – he said, citing military cooperation between North Korea, China, Iran, and Russia.

A member of Shomrim, a community security patrol group operating in Jewish neighborhoods, stands on a road near emergency vehicles at the scene, after four ambulances belonging to Hatzola, a Jewish community organization, were set on fire in an incident that the police say is being treated as an antisemitic hate crime, in northwest London, Britain, March 23, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Isabel Infantes

British counter-terrorism police said on Tuesday they had arrested eight people in an investigation into a series of suspected arson attacks in London, including an alleged plot targeting a venue linked to the Jewish community.

Seven of the arrests were made within the past 48 hours as part of a probe into a suspected conspiracy to commit arson, the police statement said.

While they did not identify a specific venue, police said an intended target was connected to the Jewish community.

The arrests come as British police have been investigating a string of attacks on Jewish-linked sites in the capital, part of a wider rise in threats and criminal activity since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza in October 2023.

UK security officials have warned that Iran has sought to use criminal proxies to carry out hostile activity in the UK, and the pro-Iranian group Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyya has claimed some of the latest attacks on social media.

Police made no connection between the group and the latest arrests.

SERIES OF INCIDENTS TARGETING JEWISH SITES IN LONDON

In the latest operations, police said detectives had arrested three men aged 24, 25, and 26 in Harpenden, north of London, on Sunday evening before releasing them on bail.

On Monday, a 25-year-old man had been arrested in Stevenage, north of London, while a 26-year-old and two women aged 50 and 59 had been arrested in a vehicle near the central English city of Birmingham and taken to a London police station, where they remained in custody.

On Tuesday morning, officers arrested a 39-year-old man at an address in west London under Britain’s Terrorism Act 2000. Police said the arrest had been linked to an investigation after jars containing a non-hazardous substance had been found in Kensington Gardens in central London last week. Searches were continuing at a premises in east London, officers added.

Separately, a 17-year-old British teenage boy pleaded guilty on Tuesday to arson not endangering life, the BBC reported, following an attack on a synagogue in north London over the weekend. The fire caused minor damage and no injuries.

Since an attack last month on several ambulances belonging to a Jewish charity, counter-terrorism police said they had arrested 23 people.

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares, Norway’s Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide, and Ireland’s Foreign Minister Micheal Martin hold a press conference in Brussels, Belgium, May 27, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Johanna Geron

European countries including Spain and Ireland pushed on Tuesday to suspend a pact governing the EU‘s ties with Israel but failed to garner enough support from the bloc’s other members for any action.

Arriving at an EU foreign ministers’ meeting in Luxembourg, a number of ministers called for suspending or partially suspending the pact over concerns about settlements in the West Bank, the humanitarian situation in Gaza, and a new death penalty law.

“Today, Europe’s credibility is at stake,” Spain‘s Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told reporters, calling for a discussion on suspending the association agreement, which came into force in 2000.

But member countries have diverging positions as to whether – and how – to shift the bloc’s policies on Israel.

Speaking after the ministers’ discussions, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said there was not sufficient support to suspend the agreement, but that discussions on the relationship with Israel would continue.

“I didn’t see the shifting of positions in the room regarding the suspension,” she said in a press conference.

Kallas said she would bring up ideas raised by ministers with the EU‘s trade commissioner.

GERMANY CALLS FOR DIALOGUE

The European Commission proposed in September suspending some trade-related provisions of the association agreement, an arrangement affecting about 5.8 billion euros of Israeli exports. Israel said at the time the proposals were “morally and politically distorted.”

Suspending the trade arrangement would require a qualified majority vote among EU governments – the support of 15 out of 27 EU members representing 65% of the EU population. A full suspension of the association agreement would require a unanimous decision from all member countries.

Germany and Italy indicated they were sticking to their existing positions.

Berlin remains committed to creating the conditions for a two-state solution with the Palestinians “but this must be done through critical, constructive dialogue with Israel,” German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul told reporters.

TRADING PARTNER

Ministers from countries including Ireland and Belgium pushed for a shift in the EU‘s policy.

However, Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot added that Belgium was “aware that a full suspension is probably out of reach given the positions of the various European countries.”

The European Union is Israel‘s biggest trading partner, with trade in goods between the two amounting to 42.6 billion euros in 2024, according to the EU.

The EU also has proposals on the table to impose sanctions on violent settlers and Israeli ministers it deems to be extremist.

These proposals require unanimous backing from member countries, with diplomats hoping that the measures targeting violent settlers could move ahead once a new Hungarian government comes in to office in May. Israel has blamed settler attacks on a “fringe minority.”

Sweden and France circulated a paper ahead of Tuesday’s meeting calling for the EU to take stronger action to limit commercial engagement with settlements.

Much of the international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law.

Israel disputes this, citing historical and biblical ties to the area. It says the settlements provide strategic depth and security. Defenders of Israel also note that, while about one-fifth of the country’s population is Arab and enjoys equal rights, Palestinian law forbids selling any land to Israelis.