Netherlands wants to leave asylum system

The Dutch right-wing government wants to withdraw from the EU asylum system. Today, Migration Minister Marjolein Faber announced on the X platform that she has applied to the EU Commission for an exemption for the Netherlands to take tougher measures against unwanted immigration.

The government, in power since July and led by the right-wing populist PVV party led by Geert Wilders, wants to declare a national asylum crisis, which would allow it to carry out checks without parliamentary approval. Faber also belongs to the PVV.

The Dutch government is moving away from the principle that EU governments accept the decisions of their predecessors. The Netherlands has also agreed with the old government to reform the EU-wide asylum system (CEAS) in December 2023.

According to EU data, two initial asylum applications were filed per 1,000 inhabitants in the Netherlands in 2023, which is in line with the EU average. However, after years of budget cuts in the Netherlands, the country’s only registration centre for asylum seekers has become overcrowded, forcing hundreds of people to sleep outside.