The purpose of this study was to determine if and to which extent there has been a shift in the position of the Netherlands in European Union coalition-building, focusing on the pre-Brexit phase that began with the Brexit referendum in the United Kingdom (23 June 2016) and finished with the UK’s formal withdrawal (31 January 2020). The UK’s departure from the EU has ensued an economic and demographic shift towards the EU’s south and east. This raises questions about the position of the Netherlands in a post-Brexit EU. Using the lenses of Liberal Intergovernmentalism and Constructivism, we found a more assertive attitude of the Netherlands towards the EU as a direct result of the loss of an important liberal and heavyweight partner. We have witnessed an increase in networking events during the pre-Brexit phase, aimed at enhancing diplomatic relations with other Member States, as well as in political discourse and events in which visions for (the future of) the EU were explicitly addressed. It was shown that the Netherlands has come to the fore by undertaking an active leadership role in forging new coalitions to secure its interest in a post-Brexit EU. A prime outcome of this is the New Hanseatic League, comprised of small and medium-sized northern EU Member States. A second result is the apparent Dutch leading role within the so-called Frugal Four. These findings corroborate the assumptions that the Netherlands primarily partakes in ad-hoc, theme-specific coalitions. ; O objetivo deste estudo consistiu em determinar se, e em que medida, houve uma mudança na posição dos Países Baixos no processo de formação de coligações da União Europeia, centrando-se na fase pré-Brexit, com início no referendo Brexit no Reino Unido (23 de Junho de 2016) e desfecho na retirada formal do Reino Unido (31 de Janeiro de 2020). A saída do Reino Unido da UE resultou numa reorientação económica e demográfica para o sul e leste da UE. Isso suscita algumas questões sobre a posição dos Países Baixos numa UE pós-Brexit. Sob as lentes do ...