The Hague, 21-22 June 2025
Dear friends of peace, pacifists, anti-militarists, and comrades,
Today, with over 400 participants from 20 countries, we have sent a powerful international signal for peace and justice. While NATO leaders gathered here to prepare for further militarization, our Counter-Summit marks the starting point for developing concrete alternatives that promote justice, peace, and social progress worldwide.
These are our conclusions and principles for future cooperation:
1. No militarization; no 5%, no 3.5% for Defense. We will resist NATO-imposed military spending plans and the disastrous consequences of this militarization for our societies: a warfare state, repression, and the erosion of social security.
2. We demand full control over our future—it must not be left to Donald Trump, Mark Rutte, or Ursula von der Leyen. We reject attempts to divide us through fearmongering, the dismantling of our rights, and the increasing repression of social protests.
3. Work to strengthen anti-militarist and peace movements, and build a broad front against militarization in the Netherlands.
4. We must work toward building a European, or better yet, a global peace movement that opposes imperialism and militarism while fostering mutual cooperation.
5. Promote global cooperation beyond political and cultural differences. We challenge the logic of the “new Cold War,” which threatens the survival of humanity and our planet. We demand the abolition of nuclear weapons and an end to policies of blockades, sanctions and intervention.
6. Launch campaigns in our countries to demand reduced military spending and increased investments in social security, education, healthcare, and social justice.
7. We are convinced that NATO leaders are facing an internal crisis over the direction of their joint militarist project. The anti-militarist and peace movement must engage in this debate with alternatives.
8. Seek alternatives to NATO. It is clear that the discussion has already begun. Today and in the coming period, we will continue this work. For the record: replacing NATO with a heavily armed EU is not what we want. The debate on what we *do* want, which we started today, will continue.
– Foremost, we demand a guarantee of a good and dignified life, under a comprehensive concept of security: public investments in housing, healthcare, and education, dignified pensions, and a decent standard of living.
9. The conference has laid the groundwork for a European campaign against ReARM EU—the EU’s militarization project to spend an additional €800 billion on defense.
10. The anti-militarist and peace movement must consciously align with other struggles for justice—from climate action to human rights, from social equality to feminism. Together, we strengthen the fight against the underlying systems of exploitation and violence. We stand in solidarity with the climate movement, the Palestine solidarity movement, feminist organizations, and migrant rights groups.
11. We commit to actively condemning and opposing all aggressive military interventions by NATO and other major powers. We stand in solidarity with all peoples suffering under war and aggression. Not in our name!