Erik-Jan Oosterhout’s visit to the NATO council
By Anna Delmas
Five months from now, the NATO summit will be held in the World Forum, where today’s delegates debate. In honor of this summit, the Dutch political counselor of the NATO mission stationed in Brussels, Erik-Jan Oosterhout, appeared as a guest speaker in front of THIMUN’s NATO delegates. Working in the political department of NATO, he makes sure that the decisions taken in counsel align with Dutch politics, and if not, works on adjusting them so that they can be adopted by consensus.
Erik-Jan Oosterhout reiterated the importance of having “young people giving us ideas about how to do things.” He designated the delegates in his audience as the “future” of international relations. He hopes the NATO delegates will be able to show him “how a summit should be done or not be done” while he introduces them to the inner workings of NATO’s summit in The Hague.
As part of his speech, Erik-Jan Oosterhout reminded the delegates of the impact of the war in Ukraine on Europe and international relations worldwide. NATO was not spared from the effects of this war, as The Hague summit used to happen every four to five years, but has become an “almost yearly event” since the beginning of the war. “I have the impression it has disappeared from the media”, he explained, “but the situation is not good, it is a very bloody war”. As the delegates listened, he presented some facts on the effects of the war, internationally and within NATO, and how his role has changed with the war.
To conclude his presentation, Erik-Jan Oosterhout expressed his gratefulness and happiness to be at THIMUN this year, wishing the delegates “a great time” and a “fruitful debate”, hoping they will continue to engage in international relations back at home.
