The new Dutch government plans to declare an asylum crisis for two years

The Dutch government is planning to declare what it calls a two-year asylum crisis without seeking prior consent from Parliament. With this measure, which allows for extraordinary decisions, the government says it wants to curb the influx of applicants for international protection arriving on its territory. Next week, the new government headed by the far right will formally ask Brussels for the Dutch to voluntarily exclude themselves from the common migration policy. It will also advocate strengthening border controls. “We will have the strictest asylum policy ever,” wrote Marjolein Faber, Minister of Asylum and Migration, on her X account. The plan is one of the star measures of the government programme presented this Friday by the new Prime Minister, Dick Schoof. Former director of the General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD), he is an independent at the head of the country’s first coalition, which has the extremist party of Geert Wilders as its majority force.

In addition to Wilders’ Party for Freedom (PVV), the ruling quartet also includes the People’s Party for Democracy and Freedom (VVD), the New Social Contract (NSC) and the Peasants’ and Citizens’ Movement (BBB). The coalition was formed after the November 2023 elections and all its members agree on the goal of controlling the flow of migrants and asylum applications. By declaring an asylum crisis, Minister Faber can activate the so-called Emergency Law, which will allow her to deviate from the current Foreigners Act. This will allow her to take measures without the prior approval of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Both Dutch and European regulations can act as a brake on these provisions, which is why Faber – a member of the PVV – wants to have the backing to declare an asylum crisis. In this way, she hopes to ignore the current legislation, at least temporarily.

For the opposition parties, led by the alliance of Greens and Social Democrats (GL-PvdA), this approach goes beyond the limits of the rule of law. “Decisions being taken by decree, with parliament only being able to judge after the fact, is unacceptable,” said one of their MPs, Kati Piri. “With the financial means we have, we need to decide on priorities. We want to work with everyone in society and we need to start as soon as possible,” said Schoof when officially presenting the programme on Friday.

Limits on family reunification

The Dutch government wants to limit family reunification for adult children of asylum seekers, and the concept of “family unit” will be interpreted restrictively. It will be possible to turn away asylum seekers who do not show up for an official appointment, and there will be a more austere reception. In addition, people without a residence permit can be forcibly deported if necessary. “The voters have given us a clear mandate,” Faber also wrote in X. “We must turn the tide and reduce the influx immediately,” he concluded.

According to her plans, asylum seekers will no longer automatically receive an open-ended refugee permit after five years, as is currently the case. This means that they can return to their countries of origin when it is considered safe to do so. Faber also plans to repeal the Distribution Act, which allows asylum seekers to be distributed among municipalities. This is a highly controversial issue because, instead of small reception centres, the minister wants to see if it is possible to open larger ones. These are cheaper, she says, but they generate greater public rejection.

The government programme elaborates on the framework agreement reached in May by the four coalition parties. This consisted of a series of proposals on health, migration and asylum, housing, infrastructure, energy, education and foreign policy, among others, which have now been outlined. As the leaders of the four formations have declined to join the Executive and remain as leaders of their factions in Parliament, the various ministers have spent the last few months preparing the programme. Prime Minister Schoof has also taken to his X account to assure that the Government “wants to regain the trust of the people by ensuring that they feel heard”. Geert Wilders, for his part, has used the same platform to say that “new winds are blowing in the Netherlands: 2.5 million people voted for the PVV and we are making it a reality”.

Another point of contention is the future of the countryside. The new government is leaving the improvement of the environment largely in the hands of farmers. The Minister of Agriculture, Femke Wiersma (BBB), has sent a letter to Parliament explaining that she plans to reduce livestock numbers and contain the crisis caused by the volume of manure spread, which contaminates the land and water. The voluntary sale of farms is encouraged, a plan that adds to the existing plan to buy intensive farms, the major emitters of nitrogen. This type of reduction is unpopular in the agricultural sector, but the amount of the adjustments is not yet known.

The discussions within the coalition have been intense and have led to the temporary withdrawal of Pieter Omtzigt, leader of the New Social Contract. The politician, a former Christian Democrat, has called himself the constitutional compass of the government, ensuring that all its decisions fit within the rule of law. Shortly before the presentation of the programme, he retired for a while. The tensions have not been limited to the PVV’s proposals on asylum. The crisis in the Middle East has also played a role because Wilders’ party was against the two-state solution for Palestine and Israel. The new government, however, supports “the search for such a solution.” It also supports Ukraine “politically, militarily, financially and morally” against Russian aggression. On the other hand, the Netherlands proclaims itself a constructive partner in the EU, in order to achieve its “own objectives.” And it wants to start building 100,000 more homes a year as soon as possible, to alleviate the current shortage. “There is an inspired pragmatism,” said Prime Minister Schoof, illustrating the different perspectives of the coalition that had to be harmonized.