VVD, CDA, D66 and ChristenUnie did not reach an agreement on measures to limit the influx of asylum seekers during an ultimate consultation tonight. This means that the Rutte IV cabinet has fallen.
During the asylum consultations tonight, the top of the cabinet spoke about, among other things, the option to temporarily stop family reunification. The idea is that refugees who may stay here for a short time would not be able to bring over family when the asylum shelter has become overloaded. But that proposal did not find enough support among the other parties.
Restrictions on family reunification are particularly sensitive for the ChristenUnie. D66 also had serious doubts about such a measure. Doubts are mainly about the legal sustainability.
Also on the table was an asylum system that distinguishes between refugees who are granted status for personal reasons or because of a war situation. It is assumed that the latter group will be able to return to their country of origin in the foreseeable future. They would have fewer opportunities to bring family members over.
The cabinet also put the brakes on family reunification last August. Family members of status holders were only allowed to come to the Netherlands if a home was available for the family. The measures generated a lot of criticism in, among others, the House of Representatives. Lawyers from the Ministry of Justice and Security had also indicated that they doubted the legal sustainability of the measure.
After several status holders went to court and all were ruled in the right, State Secretary Eric van der Burg (Asylum Affairs) asked the Council of State for a final judgement. He made short work of the measure at the beginning of February. The restriction on family reunification for asylum status holders is contrary to national and European law, the highest administrative court ruled at the time. The government subsequently withdrew the measure.
In recent days, crisis consultations have been held several times about the possibilities of limiting the influx of asylum seekers. Asylum policy ultimately turned out to be a divisive issue.