The restriction on family reunification that the government introduced to temporarily limit the influx of family members of admitted asylum seekers has no legal basis. This is the conclusion of the Haarlem court. Political journalist Mats Akkerman talks about a political setback.
It was a hot topic in the media last summer: the refugees in Ter Apel who had to sleep outside because there was simply no room. “The cabinet has therefore taken a number of measures to limit the influx of visitors,” says Akkerman. “One of these measures was a temporary ban on family reunification until 2023.”
According to Akkerman, this meant that people without housing would not be eligible. “Or just after fifteen months, but now the judge has put an end to it,” he says. The reason is that a Syrian woman was granted asylum in the Netherlands, after which the court ruled that her family members do not have to wait six months to continue their journey. “The judge ruled that the interests of those children and their partner outweigh what Secretary of State Van der Burg actually wants.”
Setback for Rutte
Akkerman also dares to speak of a serious setback for the VVD and Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who two weeks ago during his party conference said he wanted to limit the influx. “But now we can draw a line through that,” Akkerman says. And this is not surprising according to him. ‘When the plan came out, many lawyers were quick to say the plan was unworkable – there’s no legal basis for that. And now they were right.’
D66 party chairman Jan Paternotte talks good news. “Firstly for the woman who brought the action, because it probably means that she will soon be able to reunite with her family.”
Preliminary injunction
Paternotte immediately qualifies the sentence: it is a provisional measure. ‘This means that the court has yet to give a final ruling on what this means for the future and whether the Netherlands can definitively not take this measure with regard to family reunification. So we will have to wait and see, but it is clear that those agreements must be respected.’
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.
