The deputy of the Christian Union would have preferred to see it differently, for which ‘anyone who knocks on the doors of Europe is assigned a place in one of the 27 countries, equally’. “After all, we have 27 countries,” he adds. ‘Also, the Netherlands has always said that there is room for refugees and we have to organize together. We’ll get right in front of that.’
Take responsibility
Volt MP Laurens Dassen hopes the same, but doubts the Netherlands will give refugees a place. “I hope we in the Netherlands take our responsibilities, but that opens doors. When things get a little tougher, we can start paying that money and we’re done. Plus, we have a right-wing House of Representatives, so I can’t say for sure that we won’t buy into it.”
Moral lower limit
Dassen is not at all satisfied with the new asylum pact. ‘I am ashamed. We will detain children and families on the border with Europe who we are not sure if they are eligible for asylum. Behind the barbed wire. This is a disgrace,’ says the deputy.
“Surely these are not the European values we stand for together and the way we want to welcome people fleeing war and violence, are they?” It’s presented as a jubilant bargain, but I really think it’s a moral lower bound,’ says Dassen.
Member of Parliament Don Ceder continues to think it is a “crucial step forward for an asylum and migration policy that we have been trying to solve at the national level for years, and the parties say it can be done at the national level, but it is not possible” . To make migration and asylum manageable and to move to a fair system, they need to be regulated at the European level, he stresses. ‘Yesterday a very important piece was laid for this. Not perfect, but a compromise of 27 countries. I see good progress in the proposal,’ says Ceder.