Migration undermining EU’s cohesion
Just days after Germany’s unilateral move to enhance border restrictions, the new Dutch coalition government, led by Geert Wilders’ far-right Party For Freedom (PVV), has asked the EU for an opt-out from the asylum rules in a letter to the Commission.
Dutch Migration Minister Marjolein Faber declared, “We must take back control of asylum policy.”
This time, the Commission’s response was immediate, categorically ruling out such a possibility.
The move, only a few months after the formation of a coalition government in the Netherlands, was a campaign promise made by the PVV. While Wilders did not manage to become prime minister, Faber is a member of his party.
The pursuit of an opt-out clause from the European asylum system had been discussed since last July, but was only confirmed last week by the Dutch government.
European officials, however, believe that it has no chance of being implemented, as it would require a new amendment of the highly sensitive legislation and would open “Pandora’s box,” as they put it.
Faber noted in the letter, which she published on X, that, among other things, her government seeks to drastically reduce the volume of migration to the Netherlands so that it can continue to meet its institutional duties to provide social housing, health and education.
The truth is that the other member-states are unlikely to see the Dutch government’s efforts positively as a crisis with asylum seekers in neighboring countries will inevitably occur if the Netherlands is excluded from the common asylum ruling.
However, the issue has once again highlighted the EU’s “Achilles’ heel” of migration. Until the complete adoption of the bloc’s new Migration and Asylum Pact in two years, in 2026, member-states will continue to seek their own solutions to irregular migration, as Germany just did.
