News item | 14-01-2026 | 4:20 PM
As part of the Asylum and Migration Pact, Minister Van Weel of Asylum and Migration has made agreements with Greece and strengthened existing migration cooperation. As a result of these agreements, the Netherlands will soon have to contribute less financially to the part of the Asylum and Migration Pact that must ensure a better distribution of the pressure on the influx into EU member states. Both countries have also made agreements to ensure that the Netherlands can soon send asylum seekers back to Greece.
Thanks to these agreements, the Dutch contribution to the mechanism will be several million euros lower. This will be subject to further negotiations with the European Commission in the near future. In this way, the Netherlands is compensated for asylum applications that were processed in the Netherlands while this should have been handled by Greece.
It has not been possible for the Netherlands to return asylum seekers to Greece for some time under the Dublin Treaty. In recent years, partly thanks to Dutch investments, Greece has taken important steps to improve the asylum and reception situation in the country. With the implementation of the Pact, it has been agreed that we will again start returning asylum seekers to Greece under the Dublin Treaty. We will be preparing the legal steps for this in the near future.
During his visit to Greece, the minister will also visit a Dutch-funded shelter for young Greek status holders. In addition, a visit will be made to the Evros border region. There he will talk to employees of the European border control service Frontex and visit the Fylakio registration and reception center to see with his own eyes how Greece is preparing for the new border procedure under the Pact.
Minister Van Weel: “Greece is an important partner and plays an important role at Europe’s external border. That is why it is good to further strengthen migration cooperation. It is crucial that the introduction of the Asylum and Migration Pact is also properly implemented here. The external borders belong to all of us. What happens here also affects us in the Netherlands.”