A new law will make it obligatory for every municipality to take in asylum seekers, and those who voluntarily take in at least a hundred of them will receive an additional €2500 reward per person.
In 2022, 48,210 to 55,170 asylum seekers are expected to come to the Netherlands. To manage the large influx of people, municipalities will be obliged to receive them.
And, now that the VVD (People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy) has given the green light for the new “asylum law”, it will soon come into effect, reports RTL Nieuws.
After weeks of debate, the Dutch governing party hopes to solve the problem of unequal distribution of asylum seekers by ensuring that every municipality participates in the asylum procedure.
EU guideline
According to EU law, every member state must help asylum seekers with a fair procedure and provide them with a safe place to live.
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Due to the large number of asylum seekers in the Netherlands, the cabinet introduced the new law to encourage municipalities to receive asylum seekers on their initiative.
The Hague may also oblige municipalities to receive asylum seekers if there are still insufficient places. The Secretary of State for Justice and Security will be responsible for the coercion for the first four years.
“The reward makes it more attractive for municipalities to invest in sustainable reception locations,” said Van der Burg, the State Secretary for Justice and Securit.
Drama in the VVD
Several prominent figures of Mark Rutte’s party openly criticised his promise to manage the high influx of asylum seekers and the new law:
“It looks like a lot of rush work. There are still so many questions and ambiguities, and yet the VVD group suddenly changes,” says Paul Slettenhaar, VVD member from Amstelveen, to RTL Nieuws.
READ MORE: Residents of Dutch town want to buy hotel to stop reception of asylum seekers
Klaas Kwint, another critical VVD member, says, “The group does not think carefully. This is not the solution. It is mop with the tap open, goes against the principles of freedom, and it is also not good for asylum seekers.”
In two weeks, there will be a party congress for the VVD. According to Bert Homan, VVD councillor in Assen, “many VVD members are critical and will stir during the congress.”
What do you think of the new “asylum law”? Tell us in the comments below!
Feature Image: Directie Voorlichting/Flickr/CC2.0
