Junior defence minister Jack de Vries is looking for 1,000 extra reservists to take some of the pressure off the armed forces, reports news agency ANP on Wednesday.

This will add €7m to the defence budget.
De Vries needs 300 reservists who can be posted abroad and 200 to take on defence duties in the Netherlands, says ANP. In addition, he wants 400 ‘freelance soldiers’ who can be used for specific tasks at home and abroad, such as IT and construction work in Afghanistan.
These are in addition to the current 5,600 reservists posts available, not all of which have been filled, says ANP.
Last year it emerged that the regular armed forces have a large shortage of manpower and various initiatives are under way to boost numbers.