Dutch prime minister Dick Schoof is among the European leaders meeting in Paris on Monday for an emergency session to discuss the latest developments in Ukraine.

French president Emmanuel Macron called the meeting following US vice president JD Vance’s controversial speech at the Munich Security Conference on Friday and comments earlier in the week by president Donald Trump and defence secretary Peter Hegseth.

According to The Guardian, Vance’s speech “laid bare the collapse of the transatlantic alliance,” with Vance claiming that Europe’s greatest threat was not Russia or China, but a “danger from within.”

Speaking on the sidelines of the Munich conference, Schoof said on Saturday that he was not ruling out Dutch participation in a peacekeeping force to protect Ukraine after any eventual peace deal with Russia. “I think we need to look at it seriously and graciously,” he said.

I spoke with Ukrainian president @ZelenskyyUa at #MSC2025. I once again reassured him of the Netherlands’ undiminished support, for as long as it takes. We want peace through strength, not war through weakness. For a lasting peace in Ukraine, with robust security guarantees, and… pic.twitter.com/hzUkUCpnq6

— Dick Schoof (@MinPres) February 15, 2025

The US made it clear earlier in the week that it would not contribute soldiers to any peacekeeping effort.

Schoof told news agency ANP that Dutch involvement would hinge on two key conditions: a “completely clear” mission mandate and a guarantee that the US would provide support in an emergency. “If things get out of control, you need to be able to count on the Americans in the face of Russia,” he said.

European leaders have repeatedly emphasised that Europe must play a role in any peace negotiations alongside Ukraine, the US and Russia.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday called for the creation of a European army.  “Things are going to be different from now on, and Europe will have to adapt,” Zelensky said.