The Dutch cabinet will today discuss deputy prime minister Wouter Bos's call to reject a Nato request to extend The Netherlands' military mission in Afghanistan, which has put the two largest coalition parties at odds.
Parliament met last night in an emergency session to discuss the demand by Mr Bos, who is also the Labour Party finance minister, to deny the request for Dutch troops to remain in the Afghanistan province of Uruzgan.
Christian Democratic Alliance foreign minister Maxime Verhagen backs Nato's call to keep the troops in the region.
"I find all the comments related to decision-making by the Cabinet premature, because we don't decide here, but in the council of ministers," Christian Democratic Alliance prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende told lawmakers in The Hague.
"I won't comment on the contents of what has been said this week by the finance minister on this subject."
The government promised parliament last year to decide on the military stay before March 1st, two days before municipal elections.
Both the government and parliament will be on recess next week, making this afternoon's cabinet council the last regular meeting before the March 1st deadline.
Nato asked The Netherlands to prolong its military presence in Uruzgan, which is scheduled to end this year, with fewer than the current 2,000 troops.
Nato wants The Netherlands to help train Afghanistan security forces and secure the transfer of power to the country's government.
Twenty-one Dutch soldiers have died in Afghanistan since an initial contingent of 220 infantry troops was deployed in Kabul in 2002.
Bloomberg