Thousands of people took to the streets of The Hague on June 22 to protest against a looming increase in NATO contributions by European member states. A day before, activists gathered for a counter-NATO conference, while European leaders prepared to arrive in the Netherlands for the alliance’s meeting. Their aim, according to the European Left, one of the event’s co-organizers, was to envision “a peaceful and just Europe rooted in cooperation – not confrontation.”
“As world leaders prepare to meet behind closed doors on June 24-25, voices from across the globe came together in the streets to demand a different future,” the European Left stated. That future, they explained, requires slashing military budgets, ending perpetual wars, and prioritizing diplomacy over destruction.
Hundreds of international activists joined the protest, bringing their respective struggles to the streets of The Hague. Students from the Collettivo Autorganizzato Universitario (CAU) joined the mobilization just one day after mass protests in Rome had called for an end to war, militarization, and Italian complicity in the genocide in Palestine.
“After the United States bombed Iran overnight, the need to call for an exit from NATO has become even more urgent,” CAU said from the march. “We denounce NATO and US complicity in driving us toward a permanent war economy and a climate of conflict. For this reason, we must continue to organize and mobilize.”
The protests came only hours after US President Donald Trump bragged about airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites, drawing even more criticism of US influence over NATO and Europe. “They [the US] have joined the illegal attack on Iran, killing Iranians, illegally attacking nuclear sites,” MEP Marc Botenga of the Workers’ Party of Belgium (PTB-PVDA) told Peoples Dispatch. “If you bomb nuclear sites, you risk provoking a nuclear catastrophe, killing mass numbers of civilians.”
So far, European politicians and institutions have failed to condemn the US attacks on Iran, with some even voicing support, once again revealing their unwillingness to break from Trump’s agenda. In contrast, The Hague demonstrations called for a decisive change in direction and for Europe to take action to prevent further attacks. “The people from Palestine, the people from Iran, these innocent civilians that are being hurt today, they have our full solidarity,” Botenga said. “We will continue to mobilize here to stop EU complicity in these crimes.”
