The leader of the PVV, Geert Wilders, was perhaps the one who fought for this the most during the formation of the government, as he later stated. The distribution law for the reception of asylum seekers had to disappear and will disappear. “I am very happy for all those towns and cities that would be forced to welcome asylum seekers and were already anticipating it. That law is being repealed,” Wilders said when presenting the agreement in May.
It now appears that it will probably be years before the dispersion law is finally retired. In the meantime, the law remains in force “normally.” Therefore, provinces and municipalities must present by November 1 their plans by which they fulfill their legal mandate to receive asylum seekers and Minister Marjolein Faber (PVV) for Asylum and Migration must, if necessary, Designating municipalities to receive asylum seekers if this is possible in a province hardly happens.
Faber acknowledged this on Thursday in a confidential conversation with representatives of, among others, municipalities, provinces and the Central Reception Agency for Asylum Seekers (Coa) about the situation of asylum reception.
most important news
This came to light through Mayor Mark Boumans of Doetinchem. The minister said on Radio 1 on Friday that “it may take two to three years before the dispersal law is withdrawn.” This was the “biggest news” of Thursday’s meeting, according to Boumans, who spoke on behalf of the Association of Dutch Municipalities. The VNG is in favor of the dispersal law, because it guarantees a fair distribution of asylum reception and the possibility of small-scale reception.
A spokesman for Minister Faber confirms the news, although when asked on Friday he said that Faber takes on “a term of one to two years.” “We must first identify alternatives before the distribution law can be withdrawn. “The minister is mindful that this will take some time.”
‘There is no alternative plan yet’
According to Jetta Klijnsma, the king’s commissioner in Drenthe, these alternatives do not yet exist. “The minister says she wants to limit the influx of asylum seekers, but she doesn’t yet know how she will do it.”
Klijnsma attended Thursday’s meeting representing the king’s commissioners. The former Secretary of State estimates that repealing the dispersion law will take about two years, due to all the parliamentary steps that must be taken, such as decision-making by the House of Representatives and the Senate. “The minister is very aware of this.”
After the cabinet meeting on Friday afternoon, Minister Faber did not want to anticipate the possibility of forcing municipalities to receive asylum seekers. “There doesn’t have to be coercion and pressure at the same time. You can also move within the province. “I am in favor of doing it in an orderly manner,” Faber told the ANP news agency.
King’s Commissioner Klijnsma also looks to the future with optimism: “If all municipalities simply participated, there would be no such problem. At Drenthe we simply take care of this. “We must give the refugees who come here a good place.”
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The crisis as a political strategy: the erosion of the democratic constitutional State
The government wants to declare an “asylum crisis” and thus apply emergency laws. Critics criticize the creation of a crisis as a government technique. Abuse of emergency laws is looming and, as a result, democracy is even in danger.
