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Dutch intelligence services now share less information with US

October 18, 2025 [Gebouw_AIVD_Zoetermeer] The AIVD's headquarters in
Zoetermeer. Photo: Wikipedia

The Dutch intelligence services are sharing less information with the
United States and working more closely with European partners, AIVD
director Erik Akerboom and MIVD director Peter Reesink have told the
Volkskrant in a joint interview.

Their caution towards Washington is linked to what they describe as
the increasingly autocratic course of president Donald Trump, who has
dismissed senior officials for lacking loyalty and used lawsuits to
pressure journalists, judges and universities.

The directors said this is the first time developments in the US are
directly shaping Dutch intelligence ties, marking a break with
decades of close cooperation with the CIA and NSA.

"That we sometimes don't tell things anymore, that is true," Reesink
said, while Akerboom added that sharing is now considered case by
case. "We are very alert to the politicisation of intelligence and to
human rights violations," he told the paper.

In the past, the NSA intercepted large amounts of raw data, including
Dutch phone calls. Akerboom said he could not specify what is or
isn't shared, "but we are more critical", although neither director
could rule out that raw data containing information about Dutch
citizens still reaches the US.

At the same time, cooperation within Europe has increased. Akerboom
said a leading group of northern European intelligence services --
including the Netherlands, Britain, Germany, the Scandinavian
services, France and Poland -- now exchange more information,
including raw data, driven by Russia's war in Ukraine.

The directors also warned that Russia is behind dozens of successful
hacks in the Netherlands every year, "in areas where it causes real
disruption", while China is becoming an even greater digital threat.

Akerboom cautioned Dutch travellers to China about so-called "close
access" operations, in which laptops and smartphones belonging to
journalists, senior officials and technical specialists are copied
physically or wirelessly.

"People really need to be aware that their devices are vulnerable,"
he said, adding that even encrypted data can be stored and later
decrypted using artificial intelligence.

Both intelligence chiefs said the Netherlands needs broader powers to
act faster against Russian and Chinese cyberattacks. "We want to be
able to act more quickly when we see an attack. The procedure is now
too time-consuming," Akerboom said.

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