Prime Minister Mark Rutte last week promised the VVD party to limit the influx of asylum seekers. In return, the group had to accept State Secretary Eric van der Burg’s asylum law, which wants to spread asylum seekers among municipalities. However, a majority in the House of Representatives sees more in curbing labor migration. Tonight Van der Burg will discuss the asylum and migration crisis with the Chamber.
According to political journalist Leendert Beekman, there will be no clarity tonight on how the cabinet will limit the influx of asylum seekers. “The cabinet hasn’t decided yet, but Prime Minister Rutte has a list of measures in mind. What I am is still completely obscure.’
A sort of working group has been set up within the cabinet discussing limiting the influx. According to Rutte, now they have to come up with ideas first. “They include Ministers Yesilgöz of Justice and Security, Jetten of Climate, De Jonge of Housing, Schouten of Poverty Policy and of course Secretary of State Van der Burg for Asylum and Migration,” says Beekman.
Stop in kindergarten
While there is still no clarity from Rutte on how he will fulfill his promise to the VVD party, he has already made it clear that a complete “asylum freeze” is not an option in any case. Beekman: ‘Parties like PVV, BVNL, FvD and JA21 want it. But this is impossible, according to Rutte and Van der Burg, due to the international treaties with the European Union».
Ahead of next Saturday’s VVD party congress, where a large part of the grassroots wants to see a tougher party policy in the field of migration and the influx of asylum seekers, the VVD desperately needs its coalition partners. However, Beekman notes little enthusiasm. “The road is still long.”
Cynical
PvdA Member of Parliament and migration spokesperson Kati Piri regrets the approach that the VVD group appears to be taking. ‘I find it very cynical that the discussion focuses on the most vulnerable people, namely refugees. We check whether refugees are entitled to asylum. Those people come from war situations, 85 percent obtain a residence permit. My party is in favor of examining the impact of labor migration on our society. If you want to do something to limit migration, you’ll need to look at that particular group.’
Piri also doubts that integrating migrant workers is a good solution to the huge shortage in the Dutch labor market. ‘People are exploited here for very low wages. Labor migration has become an income model for many employers and shady employment agencies involved. As a decent country, you shouldn’t treat migrant workers like this.’
Come on
Discussions in the House of Representatives on migration too often concern asylum seekers, says Member of Parliament and migration spokesman Don Ceder of Christenunie. ‘Migrant workers are the largest group, asylum seekers are 10 to 12%. If the Netherlands wants to have control over migration, then the honest story is that you should be talking mostly about labor migration.’
Within Europe there is a proposal for the fair distribution of asylum seekers. “We think this is the way to go, the other parties in the coalition know it too,” says Ceder. ‘I find it disappointing that we are wasting time with measures that are not possible or that we know will not help. Getting the European proposal through is the solution, and I see too little urgency from the Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister and the Undersecretary of State for Asylum and Migration’.
Few options
Piri also underlines that the European plan does not completely solve the migration problem. ‘The Netherlands is not among the top countries in terms of host countries for refugees. So even if Europe-wide agreements are made on fair distribution, many will still come to the Netherlands.’ Piri thinks the Netherlands can do it. “But let’s look at the other group, who are being treated badly here.”
According to Beekman, Rutte has few options left to reduce migration to the Netherlands. “The family reunification has already been postponed. A suspension of asylum is not possible, nor is the Danish opt-out option possible. She then she stops for a bit. The big knob you have to turn, after all those are the migrant workers.’
Source: BNR
Fernando Dowling is an author and political journalist who writes for 24 News Globe. He has a deep understanding of the political landscape and a passion for analyzing the latest political trends and news.
