Wednesday,
28 May 2025 - 13:40
https://nltimes.nl/2025/05/28/asylum-minister-marjolein-faber-lashes-coalition-parties-nsc-vvd
Asylum
minister Marjolein Faber lashes out at coalition parties NSC and VVD
Asylum
minister Marjolein Faber lashed out at the coalition parties NSC and VVD before
her weekly Council of Ministers meeting after the two parties had stated
earlier this week that the results she has produced have been insufficient thus
far. Faber said that the NSC “lives in a paper reality” and that after more
than ten years in government, the VVD is making promises that they cannot keep
regarding migration.
The leader
of the PVV, which is also Faber’s party, Geert Wilders, pushed for extra
measures against asylum migration on Monday. This led to tension within the
coalition.
Wilders has
threatened to step out of the Cabinet if preparations for a freeze on the
treatment of asylum seeker applications do not begin “within a few weeks.” This
led to the VVD and the NSC responding by referring to the previous agreements
regarding the asylum measures and pointing out that it is Faber’s
responsibility to get these agreements into legislation.
Faber
repeated her comments on Wednesday morning that it is not her fault that there
have not been more results during her term as minister. NSC was one of the
parties pushing against the usage of an emergency law, which has led to the
minister having to develop legislative proposals. Faber added that she wanted
to see these proposals be treated quickly, but she was forced to answer
hundreds of written questions from MPs before this was possible.
“I have
never seen that before, that there are 700 questions in the first round for a
law of this size,” Faber said. “So I think that is very peculiar.” She
concluded from this, while not naming any names, that not everybody is working
together on the issue. “In any case, it is not going quickly in this way.”
Faber also
criticized her predecessor, Eric van den Brug, who is now a parliament member
of the VVD. “We had a state secretary who was saying: the more asylum seekers,
the better.”
The minister
also repeated previous comments that she is still trying to fix the ruins that
the former prime minister, Mark Rutte, left behind.
Faber
admitted that the effects of her strict asylum laws are “not predictable with
scientific certainty,” She said in response to the 700 questions from MPs that
this would not change with more research into the laws.
The minister
has repeatedly said in the past during debates and in response to questions
from journalists that she is convinced that her asylum laws will reduce the
number of asylum seekers coming into the country.
Although she
cannot find conclusive evidence for this, she draws hope from the example of
Sweden. The Scandinavian country has implemented strict asylum measures in the
past, and this led to a reduction in the number of refugees that were coming to
Europe going to the country.
Faber feels
that this example proves that strict measures can make a difference. Although
the also admitted that there are significant differences between Sweden and th
Netherlands.
Reporting by
ANP
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