The Dutch government said on Friday it plans to introduce measures aimed at curbing migration in the coming months, including a moratorium on all new asylum applications. The measures are part of the published program statement of the new Dutch government.
Photo: SITA/AP, Aleksandar Furtula
Election poster of the leader of the ultra-right Freedom Party Geert Wilders in the city of The Hague
The government, whose main coalition party is Geert Wilders’ far-right Freedom Party (PVV), said in a manifesto that it would declare a national asylum crisis, allowing it to take measures to limit migration without prior approval from parliament. The PVV won last year’s parliamentary elections with a promise to introduce the strictest migration rules in the EU.
Opposition parties criticize this move and question its legality. However, Minister for Asylum and Migration for the PVV Marjolein Faber pointed out that the Migration Act allows such a step. “We are taking measures that will make the Netherlands the least attractive country for asylum seekers,” said Faberová.
The government is also planning a number of other measures, including stricter border controls, restrictions on the admission of family members of asylum seekers and deportations of migrants who have been denied asylum. At the same time, the government’s goal is to negotiate an exception for the Netherlands from EU migration rules.
According to Eurostat data, the Netherlands received an average of two asylum applications per thousand inhabitants in 2023, which corresponds to the EU average. Ten European countries had a higher number of asylum applications last year.
Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said that limiting the influx of migrants is necessary to solve problems in the housing market, as well as to improve access to health care and education. However, Schoof declared that migration is not the only factor causing problems in these areas.
Source: spravy.pravda.sk
