Relationship dossier
Turkey
Kingdom of the Netherlands
Relationship assessment
Active ties marked by economic and security cooperation, with recurring political disputes
Turkey toward Kingdom of the Netherlands
+15Turkey has pursued bilateral engagement and economic cooperation with the Netherlands, while Turkish officials have protested Dutch restrictions on Turkish ministers' political campaigning in 2017 and criticized Dutch positions on related disputes.
Kingdom of the Netherlands toward Turkey
+10The Netherlands has maintained bilateral and NATO cooperation with Turkey, while Dutch authorities restricted Turkish ministers' campaigning in the Netherlands in 2017 and have raised concerns over Turkey's domestic political developments.
Overall relationship
+10The relationship combines sustained economic and security engagement, including cooperation within NATO, with recurrent disputes over political activity and Turkey's domestic policies. The 2017 diplomatic crisis illustrates that tensions can disrupt high-level relations without displacing the broader bilateral relationship.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Turkey and the Netherlands maintain substantial diplomatic and economic links, alongside recurring political friction. Dutch authorities have restricted some Turkish political campaigning among Turkish-origin residents, while Turkey has objected to Dutch actions and statements. Cooperation continues through NATO and bilateral engagement, but relations have experienced notable strains, including the 2017 diplomatic crisis.
Areas of tension
- The 2017 dispute over Turkish ministers' political campaigning in the Netherlands and the resulting diplomatic crisis.
- Dutch criticism of Turkey's domestic political developments and Turkey's objections to Dutch positions.
Key developments
Dutch authorities barred Turkish foreign minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu from entering the Netherlands amid a dispute over campaign events, prompting a diplomatic crisis.
Turkey and the Netherlands restored ambassador-level relations after the 2017 diplomatic crisis.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of current bilateral cooperation agreements are unclear.
- The extent to which political disputes continue to affect routine government cooperation is uncertain.