The government that takes office in the Netherlands, which will be led by Geert Wilders’ nationalist PVV party, will try to obtain an exception to EU immigration rules, the agency said on Thursday. Reuters.
Wilders, who won the elections about six months ago, was only able to reach an agreement on Wednesday to form a coalition with three partners from the Dutch right. The government plan now presented by the four-party coalition sets as its main goal the creation of “the toughest asylum system ever”. To this end, “the derogation clause for European asylum and migration policies will be submitted as quickly as possible to the European Commission,” and stronger border controls and stricter rules for asylum seekers arriving in the Netherlands must be established.
Geert Wilders believes that the new plan will reduce the attractiveness of the Netherlands for immigrants. “People in Africa and the Middle East will start to think they could be better off elsewhere,” he says.
Under the agreement between the four right-wing parties, labor migration will also be controlled, and the admission of foreign students to Dutch universities will be more stringent.
Non-EU workers who do not have specific knowledge or skills will need a work permit. Recruitment agencies will also be subject to stricter rules. The coalition also wants to limit the free movement of people from countries that join the European Union in the future.
In the European Union, the common migration policy was only challenged by the previous nationalist governments of Hungary and Poland. Since the bloc’s countries have recently reached an agreement on a migration pact, and since exclusion options are generally discussed at the negotiation stage, Brussels is expected to oppose the Netherlands’ initiatives.
European Commission spokesman Eric Mamer said at a press conference in Brussels: “We have a new agreement on migration and asylum, which has been voted on and confirmed and must therefore be implemented.” “This legislation will be implemented and the committee will do its part to ensure that this is the case,” he added.
The new Dutch governance agreement brings together Wilders’ Party for Freedom, the center-right party led by outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte, the new National Security Council Party, and the BBB Farmers’ Protest Party. The coalition will have a strong majority of 88 seats (out of 150) in the House of Representatives. Establishing the Cabinet will take at least another month. Wilders has not yet announced who he will nominate for prime minister, but he has already acknowledged his resignation from the position.
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