BRATISLAVA, 27/10/09 - The cabinet will probably take a decision before Christmas on whether the Netherlands will make a military contribution in the Afghan province of Uruzgan after 2010, sources close to the cabinet have revealed.

The present mission in Uruzgan ends in August 2010, after which dismantling operations should last until December of that year. The Lower House recently demanded in a motion that no new mission be sent to the same region. The MPs also demanded that a decision be made before 1 March 2010.

It will be clear in December who the new Afghan president is and whether the United States will send extra troops. The Foreign Ministers of the NATO countries will also meet then. The Netherlands will be able to reach a decision shortly after that, according to the sources.

Defence Minister Eimert van Middelkoop has said that the units in Kabul (staff) and in Kandahar (F-16s) will stay on. This involves between 200 and 300 troops altogether. There has been no deadline for this contribution.

Van Middelkoop had already made it clear in diplomatic wording on Friday, on the fringe of NATO talks in Slovakia, that the Netherlands is considering extending the mission. He said that the NATO partners would regard the departure of the Dutch after 2010 as a "remarkable Alleingang (unilateral move) that raises questions on the developments in the alliance."

The issue is extremely sensitive, as the Christian democrats (CDA) wish to stay and coalition partner Labour (PvdA) does not. The cabinet could decide to extend the mission without parliamentary approval, although this would be an extremely unusual step.

The House motion urging the Dutch mission to be halted was put forward by the government parties Labour (PvdA) and small Christian party ChristenUnie, and supported by all opposition parties except centre-left D66 and the smallest Christian party SGP. According Van Middelkoop, himself a member of ChristenUnie, "it is now open" and "then it becomes important what NATO thinks".