Education minister Eppo Bruins has told MPs he is “concerned” about the way two researchers at Wageningen University were sent questionnaires from the US Geological Survey containing politically charged questions about their work.

In the email, first reported on by the NRC, the researchers were asked if their organisation collaborated with groups affiliated with communist, socialist or totalitarian parties, or with any other party that holds anti-American views.

They were also asked to confirm that their research project was not about climate or environmental rights, whether it took “appropriate measures to protect and defend women” against gender ideology, and if it would “combat Christian persecution”.

The scientists are working with the US Geological Survey on a project that uses satellites to monitor the condition of forests, the paper said.

Warning

Leiden University sent out a memo warning academics not to fill in the questionnaire, and Dutch universities association chief Caspar van den Berg said the questionnaire was emblematic of “the worsening climate” for free science in the US.

“This is also affecting Dutch universities and researchers, which makes it crucial to stand together for free science,” Van den Berg said.

Bruins told MPs he had asked UNL to draw up a list of how many researchers had been approached. He has also asked the economic affairs ministry to find out whether companies involved in research have received similar questionnaires.

“In general, every research funder has the right to verify the legality, efficiency and effectiveness of the funds they provide,” he said. “However, asking questions must not lead to restrictions on academic freedom or violations of scientific integrity.”

The minister said he expected universities to take legal steps if there was a breach of contract between a Dutch institution and an international funder.

“If it emerges that another country, in its international cooperation with Dutch institutions, imposes requirements that put academic freedom in the Netherlands under pressure, I see a role for myself as the minister responsible for the system to enter into dialogue with representatives of the country concerned,” Bruins said.

Funding

A spokesman for the UNL told Dutch News they were not aware of any other cases apart from the Wageningen researchers. However, he said the impact of the changing US policy towards science and academia is clearly being felt, and some funding for joint projects has already disappeared.

In April, it emerged that the US embassy in The Hague has contacted its suppliers, asking them to declare whether their diversity policies align with US president Donald Trump’s so-called “anti-diversity decree”.

The letter includes a form asking companies to state whether their policies are in line with the Trump administration and specifically refers to the anti-diversity decree signed by the president on the first day of his second term.