Ministry of Defence wants military production in VDL Nedcar plant in Born

Defence companies are to be established in the currently inactive car plant of VDL Nedcar in Born.

The Ministry of Defence and the industrial concern VDL have agreed on this, the Ministry announced on Friday 21 March. Several companies should be located in the enormous production facility, for instance for the production of military drones and vehicles. The Ministry of Defence will cover part of the costs, such as rent. "This will be a flagship of the renewed cooperation between the Ministry of Defence and companies," said the ministry.

"Through this cooperation, additional military production capacity can be realised in The Netherlands. This way, we will become less dependent on countries outside Europe. Investing in our European and national defence industry is crucial," said Minister Ruben Brekelmans (Defense).

Job losses

His department has been involved in talks with VDL about the factory for some time now. "Both VDL and the Ministry of Defence are motivated to explore how this site can be used to contribute to production initiatives," the Ministry wrote to the House of Representatives in April. VDL Nedcar produced cars for car manufacturer BMW in recent years. Early last year, the last BMW car rolled out of the factory. Due to the closure, more than four thousand people lost their jobs. Cars had been produced in Born since 1967.

Urgency

Since Russia's attack on its neighbouring country Ukraine three years ago, much more money is being spent on defence in Europe. The war made it clear that the arms industry in Europe is too small and the dependence on producers elsewhere is too great. The urgency to strengthen the European defence industry has further increased with the arrival of Donald Trump as President of the United States. Trump wants Europe to be responsible for its own security. He has threatened not to help NATO countries that spend insufficiently on defence in times of need. The European Commission recently announced that it wants to allocate 800 billion euros for strengthening defence over the next four years. This money should come from European loans and the relaxation of European budget rules.