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MEP Tineke Strik calls opt-out request ‘illusion’

by AI | 18.Sep 2024 | Europe in brief AI

STRASBOURG (ANP) – MEP Tineke Strik (GroenLinks-PvdA) calls the Dutch request for an opt-out on asylum and migration policy “an illusion”. PVV Minister Marjolein Faber (Asylum and Migration) officially submitted a request for an exemption from the usual asylum rules to the European Commission on Wednesday.

MEP Tineke Strik. Photo: FENA/European Union

“Minister Faber wants to exit a new migration pact after years of negotiation. Pure symbolic politics and unrealistic,” says Strik in a statement.

Strik was the rapporteur for the European Parliament on the European migration pact that was adopted earlier this year after years of difficult negotiations. The stricter asylum rules agreed upon will take effect in two years. In that role, she negotiated on behalf of the European Parliament with the European Commission and the asylum ministers of the EU member states. “Only with a joint approach can we conduct a humane and effective asylum policy,” says the MEP.

“The first trial balloon of the Wilders cabinet has already been punctured,” says D66 MEP Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy. “The only solution to migration problems is European. With this kind of antics, the real solutions are increasingly falling out of sight.” Various opposition parties in the Netherlands, but also in the European Parliament, refer to the cabinet after PVV leader Wilders, because they believe he has the reins of the Schoof cabinet in his hands.

The European PVV faction considers an opt-out “essential to drastically reduce asylum intake, so that we can meet our constitutional obligations to the Dutch citizens,” the faction told ANP.

The SGP is also in favor of an opt-out, says MEP Bert-Jan Ruissen. The SGP has a preference to get a grip on migration within the European Union. “But if insufficient effective measures are taken at the European level, member states should also be able to obtain an opt-out,” says Ruissen. He believes that the capacity of the Netherlands should also be considered at the European level, and this has not happened in recent years. An opt-out offers member states the space to pursue their own asylum policy and can be a useful instrument for the Netherlands.

To arrange an opt-out for the Netherlands, the European treaty must be amended. This is a difficult and time-consuming exercise. Moreover, all member states must agree to it. The chance of that is small.

(September 18)