The parliamentary party of the VVD will talk to critical members about their criticism of asylum policy. Those critical local members blame the weak asylum policy with which municipalities are now being forced to provide reception places. While the faction verbally pleads for measures for the umpteenth time, VVD State Secretary Van der Burg saddles municipalities against their will with asylum seekers.
coercive measures
“Coercive measures are and remain undesirable and not a structural solution,” says Brekelmans in response to the harsh criticism. That is what the party of the VVD has been saying for some time. In the meantime, it is VVD minister Eric van der Burg under whose administration municipalities have to provide shelters against their will.
“The inflow has to go down, the outflow has to go up”, argues Brekelmans. “There are no taboos for the VVD. We are discussing the ‘how’. And of course I also have that conversation with our members, especially when they express criticism and concerns.”
Safelanders
And it is precisely that ‘how’ that is a problem. The VVD MP proposed, among other things, a temporary asylum stop, but according to Van der Burg that is not legally possible. The minister does say that he is looking at ways to limit the influx of asylum seekers and accelerate the return of ‘safe immigrants’.
VVD members do not like that their party colleague Van der Burg accommodates asylum seekers in various places in the country, while municipalities do not want that. For example, there will be a forced asylum hotel in Tubbergen and dozens of asylum seekers will be accommodated in a hotel in Nieuwerkerk aan den IJssel, while the municipality was not aware of this.
In addition, a bill is in the pipeline to make it even easier to enforce reception places with municipalities. The big question is whether the VVD as the largest party will put a stop to this after this criticism. Brekelmans said earlier that he did not like such a law. According to The Hague sources, support for this far-reaching proposal is currently being negotiated.
About four hundred people slept outside at the registration center in Ter Apel during the night from Sunday to Monday. This is reported by the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA). Never before have there been so many.