The four-party coalition in the Netherlands, led by Prime Minister Dick Schoof, has promised to build up the “strictest asylum regime ever.”
The new Dutch government has fulfilled its promise and submitted a request to the European Commission to secure an opt-out clause from the EU’s migration and asylum system, an unprecedented move from a founding member state.
“We need to be in charge of our own asylum policy again,” Marjolein Faber, the Dutch minister for asylum and migration, said on Wednesday morning.
Faber belongs to the Party for Freedom (PVV), the far-right, ultra-nationalist party led by Geert Wilders, who is the main force behind the new ruling coalition promising to build the “strictest asylum regime ever.”
“Faber makes history,” Wilders said on social media, cheering on the move.
The opt-out plan, previewed in July and confirmed last week, is considered far-fetched and symbolic, with little to no chance of succeeding as it would require re-tweaking highly sensitive legislation and could open the floodgates for similar demands.
In fact, in her letter to Ylva Johansson, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Faber admits the opt-out clause could be achieved only in the event of a revision of the EU treaties, a long-winded, politically fraught process that is nowhere on the table.
“This government aims to drastically reduce the volume of migration to the Netherlands, in order to continue to fulfil our constitutional duties – providing for public housing, healthcare and education,” Faber wrote in her letter.
“With this letter I wish to inform you that in order to ensure that the Netherlands can achieve this aim, the Dutch government will call for an opt-out from the European asylum and migration acquis in case of Treaty amendment.”
The Commission quickly seized on Faber’s admission to implicitly reject the Dutch request, saying “There’s no Treaty change upcoming.”
“We do not expect any immediate changes on the EU rules on asylum and migration, which continue to be binding in the Netherlands,” a spokesperson said.
Besides the EU executive’s evident opposition, it is unlikely that other capitals will ever be willing to accommodate The Hague’s wish: excluding the Netherlands from the bloc’s migration system would inevitably cause a wave of asylum seekers towards neighbouring countries, creating a crisis scenario and bitter recriminations.
The request, however, represents a new brazen attempt by an EU country to challenge established laws in a desperate quest to curb irregular migration. It comes on the heels of Germany’s decision to re-establish border controls on all of its nine land borders, casting doubt over the functioning of the passport-free Schengen Area.
In her letter, Faber indicated that “as long as” this opt-out clause is not granted, the country will focus on implementing the New Pact on Migration and Asylum, the vast reform the EU completed in May after almost four years of hard-fought negotiations.
The Netherlands voted in favour of all the laws that make up the New Pact.
The overhaul’s main novelty is a system of “mandatory solidarity” that will give countries three options to manage asylum seekers: relocate a certain number of them, pay €20,000 for each one they reject, or finance operational support. (The Netherlands has already said it would choose financial support over reception.)
ADVERTISEMENT“We also welcome the fact that the minister says the Netherlands will continue to implement the Pact and this will be prioritised,” the Commission spokesperson said.
The reform will take two years to enter into force. Member states have to submit implementation plans before the end of the year, detailing the administrative, operational and legal steps they intend to take to make the laws a reality.
This story was updated to correct the day to Wednesday and add more details.
