The Dutch government’s different parties have argued for months over draft legislation that tightens asylum law in the Netherlands.
Dutch right-wing lawmaker Geert Wilders has threatened to quit the government coalition and call for fresh elections unless controversial changes tightening the country’s asylum law are adopted.
For months the shaky governing coalition between Wilders’ Freedom Party (PVV), the conservative-liberal People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), the centrist New Social Contract (NSC) and the agrarian, populist Farmer-Citizen Movement (BBB) have bickered over legislation that aims to reduce the number of asylum claims in the country.
On Monday, the draft law was criticised by the Dutch Council of State, who raised issues about its legal viability and concluded the legislation was “sloppily drafted”.
The country’s highest advisory body said the measures were unlikely to lead to a reduction in asylum applications and warned they could instead place further burdens on immigration authorities and courts.
The court — which advises on all Dutch legislation — ultimately recommended against introducing the bill in its current form.
Wilders responded by threatening to resign if the law wasn’t immediately introduced, deriding the court’s recommendation as the opinion of “unelected bureaucrats”.
Wilders’ PVV is the largest party in parliament, and could effectively force a new election by withdrawing its politicians from the coalition.
Dutch Prime Minister Dick Shoof has not yet commented on the court’s recommendation, but said on Friday that its decisions should always “be taken seriously”.
Lawmaker from the NSC, Diederik Boomsma, said the legislation could be “changed”. His suggestion prompted Wilders to write on X: “You are playing with fire.”
“No more changes… otherwise voters may have their say.”
Wilders has previously threatened to trigger political crises in the Netherlands should other parties not comply with legislation on immigration.
In October last year, he sought to declare a nationwide state of emergency in order to push through stricter asylum measures without parliamentary approval.
The four governing parties ultimately agreed on a new set of measures restricting asylum seekers’ right to appeal in court proceedings and limiting the amount of time their status is valid to three years.
Wilders has also previously call for the Netherlands to seek an opt-out from the European Union’s common policy on asylum.
