Internal e-mails obtained by NRC show officials in the justice ministry complained that the foreign affairs ministry was failing to co-ordinate efforts to identify and seize Russian-owned assets in the Netherlands.
The revelations are likely to lead to further questions about Hoekstra’s suitability for the post of European commissioner, after he was put forward as the replacement for commission vice-president Frans Timmermans.
He was already expected to face some tough questions over his record on the environment, after he called last year for the cabinet to relax its deadline on cutting nitrogen compound emissions, therefore, his future as a Dutch Foreign Affairs Minister is very much in question.
