The use of telephones and other electronic devices is no longer permitted during Dutch cabinet meetings.

Ministers under Prime Minister Dick Schoof must hand over their equipment to limit espionage risks.

Several sources confirmed this, according to a report in the Dutch newspaper AD. Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp points out in the newspaper that in his opinion this measure “should have been taken much earlier”. He adds that this is “completely normal” for him, also because of his previous positions. Security around the meetings would also have been further tightened in other areas.

The Dutch intelligence services AIVD and MIVD have been warning about espionage for years. In 2020, the then director of the MIVD advised the management of large companies to keep phones away from sensitive meetings. Prime Minister Schoof was recently director general of the AIVD, which explains his attention to this issue.

According to the AIVD’s annual report, the espionage threat in the Netherlands is still “current and urgent”. Last year, Russian intelligence services tried to gain access to defense suppliers’ systems, while China focused on obtaining trade secrets in the Netherlands.