"We withdraw!"/ The Netherlands wants to leave the EU asylum system

The four-party right-wing coalition in The Hague has launched a campaign for a much stricter asylum policy. But the request submitted to the EU Commission does not have many chances of success.

The Netherlands has asked the EU Commission to withdraw from EU asylum rules. The Minister for Asylum, Marjolein Faber, made this known on the X platform. "We have to decide for ourselves again about our asylum policy." - she writes. According to Faber, the right-wing government wants to "drastically reduce" the entry of asylum seekers and irregular immigrants.

According to the minister, this is necessary "to fulfill our constitutional duties such as providing housing, health care and education".

"Pressure on our way of coexistence"

Even the king of the Netherlands, Willem-Aleksander, announced on behalf of the new cabinet under Prime Minister Dick Schoof a "faster" and "stricter" asylum policy in his country. Immigration is putting "pressure on our way of living together," Willem-Aleksander said during the traditional royal speech, in which he outlines the government's priorities for the coming year.

However, according to experts, it seems unlikely that the Netherlands will succeed with its request to Brussels to withdraw from EU asylum rules. For the so-called opt-out, all 27 EU states must agree, which in 2023 have agreed on a reform of the EU-wide asylum system (CEAS). Therefore, it is expected that the EU Commission will take a critical stance towards the plans of the Dutch government, because the departure of a certain country from joint decisions can endanger the stability of the entire European Union./DW