Open VLD advocates integration course in country of origin | Inland

The liberals organized their last congress in a series of four in Kinepolis on Saturday. The party members were given the opportunity to shape the party program for the 2024 elections on the basis of statements that were refined on the spot. The theme on the agenda was ‘a diverse society’, including statements about integration and civic integration.

“That is a story that we have left for too long to the far right. Open VLD wants to offer its own answer to that,” said Open VLD chairman Egbert Lachaert on Saturday. That answer is on the one hand a “warm story” of diversity, says Lachaert, but the position of the liberals is also that whoever comes here must contribute. “We are opening the gates further for those who want to come here in the context of economic migration, but at the same time we are stricter at the same gate. Anyone who wants to come here has to contribute to society.”

And for Open VLD that means that anyone who wants to come to Belgium in the context of follow-up and marriage migration, if possible, has followed a social orientation integration course in the country of origin and has started an integration course in Dutch. “The rules for family reunification are now too lenient compared to other countries,” says Lachaert. “The conditions for family reunification must be tightened and brought to the same level as in other EU countries, for example in terms of waiting times,” the party members agreed in the statement that was approved. More concretely, these integration courses could be followed digitally via courses that already exist in more than 50 languages.

The party wants to open the door further for economic migration. Non-EU citizens with a valuable economic profile should have easier access to our labor market, was one of the following statements. “Anyone who can convince an employer to conclude an employment contract with correct employment conditions should be able to work here,” says Lachaert, who refers to the many companies and organizations in Flanders that are confronted with a labor shortage.

The party is also in favor of a direct link between the integration process and a residence permit. “Anyone migrating to our country must successfully follow this integration policy. Anyone who refuses to integrate or refuses to recognize our fundamental values ​​and standards will lose their residence permit,” according to the statement that the members gave their approval for on Saturday.

Open VLD also looks beyond Belgian policy when it comes to integration and migration. For example, the party advocates clear agreements at European and national level with countries of origin. Trade agreements with those countries, development cooperation and the issuing of visas depend on their willingness to take back their compatriots effectively. In addition, a distribution key for refugees between the Member States must be established at European level. Sanctions will follow for member states that do not comply with the agreements within the European migration and asylum policy.

The third part of the conference focused on “feeling at home in society”. The statements that were approved in that regard argue, among other things, for “breaking segregation and strengthening the social mix”, but also emphasized the importance of mental health care. “A lot of people don’t feel at home in society because of physical limitations, psychological problems, etc., and too often they don’t find help. Where is the freedom for such a person?”, said Lachaert.

The members therefore endorsed the statements that an efficiency exercise is needed within mental health care and that more should be invested in mental health care within the health budget, with a focus on children, young people and young adults.

The statement that stipulated that the focus should be “on what an individual can (still) do, instead of on what cannot (any longer)”, received the support of the members. “The barriers to getting or staying in work must be lowered. We are working on more flexible work regimes and an updated welfare policy that fully responds to problems such as burnout or the reintegration of the long-term sick.”

Finally, the party also approved a statement to support childcare in initiatives to reach children who are normally not reached.