 | |
 Netherlands |  Turkey |
|---|---|
| Diplomatic mission | |
| Embassy of the Netherlands, Ankara | Embassy of Turkey, The Hague |
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Dutch–Turkish relations are thebilateral relations between theNetherlands andTurkey. The diplomatic relations widely encompass and span four centuries, beginning in 1612. The first Turkish representative in the Netherlands started activities in 1859.
Before theDutch had their ownconsuls in the Levant, they traded under theFrench Capitulations of 1569 until they sentCornelius Haga as a consul toIstanbul in 1611.[1] TheStates-General was responsible for appointing the consul, but the Levant merchants in these cases were closely consulted. The poor payment system for the consuls disrupted the potential successes of the relationship between consul and merchant community. The merchants requested changing to the Venetian fixed salary payment, but the States-General went against their wishes and tried to find other means of income.[2] This posed problems for the Dutch consuls, and there are many reports of cases where consuls exerted their authority over the nations members who did not want to pay consulate and embassy dues.[3] Despite internal struggle within the Dutch nation, it had a good relationship with the Ottomans and in 1804 SultanSelim III (1789–1807) appointed the first resident representative to Amsterdam.[4]
Turkeye is a village ofSluis, a municipality located in the west ofZeelandic Flanders, in the south-western part of the Netherlands. In 1604, Prince Maurits changed the name of the village in Turkeye to thank the Turkish sailors for their support to the Dutch during thebattle with the Spaniards in theDutch War of Independence.
The history of Turkey and the Netherlands stretches back to the 17th century, when the first representative of the States-General was sent to the Sublime Porte. Relations between the two have continued ever since, further cemented by Turkish guest workers in the '60s and '70s, and today by strong economic ties. There was adiplomatic crisis between the two countries in 2017. After a year of diplomatic crisis, in 2018, the two countries reached an agreement on all issues to normalize their diplomatic relations.[5]Both countries are members of theCouncil of Europe andNATO. the Netherlands is anEUmember and Turkey is anEUcandidate. the Netherlands opposes Turkey's accession negotiations to the EU, although negotiations have now been suspended.
The Netherlands and Turkey are both members of theCouncil of Europe, theNorth Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), theOrganisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), theOrganization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), theWorld Trade Organization (WTO) and theUnion for the Mediterranean.
In January 2013, The Netherlands sent twoPatriot missile batteries along with troops to help Turkey defend against the missile threat from Syria.[6] This was the third time Dutch Patriot missiles have been deployed in Turkey, after 1991 and 2003, in which they helped against possibile attacks from Iraq.[7]
During a state visit to the Netherlands In March 2013, Prime MinisterErdoğan criticized the placement of theTurkish-Dutch foster child Yunus with lesbian foster parents.[8] Deputy Prime Minister of the NetherlandsLodewijk Asscher considered the involvement of Turkey "totally inappropriate" and called it "presumptuous" when a foreign power expresses an opinion on the policy of Dutch foster care.[9] Erdoğan proposed that the Turkish Ministry of Family Affairs and the Dutch Ministry of Security and Justice consult each other about the care of children of Turkish origin, but Prime MinisterMark Rutte rejected this proposal. Rutte said that placement of a child in a foster family always involves trying to match the child's background to that of the foster family. Failing that, the interest of the child comes first, and no distinction is made on the basis of religion or sexual orientation.[10] Erdoğan intended to turn to theEuropean Court of Human Rights to enforce Yunus to be reunited with his biological parents.[11]
In the wake of theTurkish constitutional referendum, events featuring Turkish Ministers were scheduled to be held in the Netherlands in March 2017 in order to promote the proposed amendments to theConstitution of Turkey. The Dutch Government underMark Rutte prohibited Turkish Ministers from entering the Netherlands for rallies, stating "We are of the opinion that Dutch public spaces are not the place for political campaigns of other countries".[12] Turkish PresidentRecep Tayyip Erdoğan sharply condemned the decision, calling the Netherlands a "Nazi remnant".[13] Overseas election campaigning, even in diplomatic missions, is illegal under Turkish law; yet most political parties in Turkey including the ruling AKP have flouted the law.[14][15] On 13 March 2017, Deputy Turkish Prime MinisterNuman Kurtulmuş announced the suspension of high-level diplomatic relations between the Netherlands and Turkey and barred the Dutch ambassador from returning to Ankara.[16]
The countries normalized the relations and appointed ambassadors in 2018.[17]
Netherlands criticized the2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria. On 10 October 2019, a large majority of Dutch MPs backed the introduction of sanctions against Turkey.[18][19] the Netherlands imposed an arms embargo on Turkey in 2019 due toTurkey's military operation in northeastern Syria.[20] In July 2023, the Netherlands lifted its embargo on weapons exports to Turkey.[21]
In October 2021, in the wake of the appeal for the release of Turkish activistOsman Kavala signed by 10 western countries, Turkish presidentRecep Tayyip Erdoğan ordered his foreign minister to declare the Dutch ambassadorpersona non grata, alongside the other 9 ambassadors.[22] Following a statement by the ambassadors, reiterating their compliance with Article 41 of theVienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations regarding the diplomatic duty not to interfere in host states’ internal affairs, President Erdoğan decided to not expel the ambassadors.[23]
In April 2024, Turkey announced that they decided to support the candidacy of Dutch Prime MinisterMark Rutte, who announced that he would be a candidate for NATO Secretary General.[24]
Trade volume between Turkey and the Netherlands has increased remarkably over the years. In 2008, the Netherlands exported for almost 4 billion euros worth of goods to Turkey. This amount is doubled compared to 2000. Turkey exported in the same year 1.6 billion euros worth of goods to the Netherlands, with a share of 32 percent for garments.[25]
Turkey is a very popular holiday destination for Dutch tourists. In 2009, more than 1.1 million Dutch tourists visited Turkey.[26]
As of February 2011, 1894 Dutch companies have invested in Turkey, declared the Foreign Minister of TurkeyAhmet Davutoglu,[27] making the Netherlands the country with the biggest investment in projects in Turkey.
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