News item | 07-02-2025 | 14:15
A Netherlands in which everyone can be freedom in full and newcomers get started. These are the government’s ambitions for the Integration and Open and Free Society Action Agenda that was shared today with the House of Representatives. The action agenda is aimed at a society in which everyone endorses the values and norms of the Dutch rule of law, and where there are language and work conditions for successful integration.
The action agenda supervises a wide range of goals: starting courses for status holders to more individual freedom and self -determination in closed communities, and from a Dutch imam training to better rules for reinforced prayer calls. The elaboration of the plans is expected to be presented before the summer of 2025.
State Secretary Nobel (Participation and Integration): “This cabinet is working on a less free integration policy, in which freedom and participation are central. As a government, we have to take a stronger position. Because although a lot is going well, we should not look away from serious problems that are there. We cannot accept that there is still freedom in a free country like the Netherlands. Think of marriage enforcement, LGBTI people who feel unsafe, honor -related violence or girls who are mutilated genital. The Netherlands should be an open and free country for everyone. There are also too many newcomers on the side and depend on the assistance. Everyone has to participate. We will get started with the action agenda. ”
Monitoring and promoting our freedoms
The first pillar of the action agenda is aimed at monitoring the Dutch values and norms of openness and freedom. In a free country like the Netherlands there is still too often there. Girls and women who are limited or suppressed. For example through marriage, genital mutilation or honor -related violence. To ensure that the Netherlands is and remains an open and free society for everyone, the commitment is aimed, among other things, to strengthening the approach to these harmful practices and change from communities themselves.
Equal opportunities and living together
The government emphasizes the importance of equal opportunities for women and men. That is why extra attention will be paid to the support of female status holders towards work and independence. The cabinet also continues to commit itself to racism and discrimination, including on the labor market, so that everyone can fully participate. In addition, the focus is on strengthening social cohesion and promoting contact and conversation between different communities.
Language and Work: Preconditions for Success
The second pillar of the action agenda is focused on language and work. Too many newcomers depend on the assistance. This cabinet attaches great importance to the command of the Dutch language so that everyone can participate. The action agenda is also aimed at improving language education, with a view to the language requirement in social assistance that the government now wants to retain. To allow status holders to integrate faster and better, the cabinet looks at the widest possible use of ‘starting tracks’ for status holders. This means that status holders are offered a job immediately when the assistance is applied for when applying for assistance. Refusing generally appropriate work, such as a runway, is a violation of the obligations associated with social assistance benefits and may mean that the benefit is reduced.