The new government is striving for the strictest asylum law in Europe. The Netherlands should become “as unattractive as possible”. The radical right-wing asylum minister wants to pull the emergency brake.
The Netherlands want to declare a state of emergency in order to severely limit the entry of asylum seekers. The radical right-wing asylum minister Marjolein Faber announced in The Hague that parts of the asylum law would be repealed “very quickly”. The Netherlands would have the “strictest” asylum and immigration rules in Europe, she explained. In addition, Germany’s neighboring country also wants to introduce stricter border controls.
The asylum minister plans to restrict family reunification, increase the deportation of criminal and rejected asylum seekers, and reduce the opportunities to challenge court decisions. The government also wants to submit an application to the EU Commission to be allowed to deviate from European asylum and migration policy. It is time for a drastic change of course, said Faber. “We are taking measures to make the Netherlands as unattractive as possible for asylum seekers.”
Tightening asylum law is one of the priorities of the new right-wing government in The Hague, in which the radical right-wing Party for Freedom (PVV) of right-wing populist Geert Wilders is also involved for the first time. The four-party coalition, headed by non-party Prime Minister Dick Schoof, has now presented its government program.
Number of new asylum seekers relatively constant
The Netherlands has had problems with accommodating asylum seekers for years – the number of new arrivals is quite stable. Every year, around 40,000 asylum seekers come to the country with around 18 million inhabitants.
The government can use a royal decree to declare a state of emergency in the event of a crisis and then take measures without the prior approval of Parliament. This happened, for example, during the Corona pandemic. However, such a decision must be legally justified.
Lawyers warn that the measures planned by the new government could violate international rules. The opposition reacted indignantly and called it an undemocratic step. Experts also doubt the legality of the emergency measures, as there is no unexpectedly high influx of asylum seekers. The current accommodation crisis is a result of austerity measures.
Source: Stern
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