Executive Summary

In late October 2025, CIA Director John Radcliffe travelled to Europe to ease growing concern among European allies about sharing intelligence with the United States. This came on the heels of the Netherlands’ public announcement of a reduction in its intelligence sharing with the U.S., replacing automatic exchanges with a case-by-case system. Dutch intelligence directors cited legal safeguards, politicisation, and human rights concerns as motives behind their decision, representing a subtle but significant turning point in transatlantic intelligence relations and NATO. [source]

Although Dutch cooperation with Washington continues, it now appears to lie on compliance and accountability for legal and ethical norms rather than on operationality. Meanwhile, the Netherlands is reinforcing its coordination with European partners to gain “strategic autonomy” in data and security policy.

The decision is likely to slow intelligence workflows between the two nations, particularly those concerning Russia or information that could be used to execute lethal operations. This shift carries strategic risks, as adversaries such as Russia are expected to exploit the perception of allied friction to attack NATO members and their trust.