“The Great Divide: Cabinet Parties at Odds Over Asylum Influx”

• Guus Dietvorst

  Political editor

A new phase has begun in the asylum consultations within the cabinet. At least that sounded in front of the screens today, but behind it it was heard that it is “solid and rock solid” and that the parties do not agree on what the problem is.

The cabinet consultations on “getting a grip” on the increasing migration flow have been going on for months and will be stepped up in the run-up to the summer. Today, the ministers involved spoke for the first time with the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers. “A next phase”, said State Secretary Eric van der Burg afterwards.

The cabinet has not yet decided, but is moving “in the direction of choices”. This is how the State Secretary for Asylum and Migration explained the state of affairs. But it was also heard that no result can be expected for the time being, because the coalition is hopelessly divided.

VVD and CDA are diametrically opposed to D66 and especially ChristenUnie on this theme. The first two parties want to reduce the influx because it is “unsustainable”. But the other two parties don’t think so.

Recent forecasts show that the influx appears to be increasing. Many more people will apply for asylum here in the coming years than the Dutch system can handle. And it squeaks and creaks already – think of the scenes in Ter Apel a year ago.

Reason enough to tackle the influx here in the Netherlands, think VVD and CDA. And on top of that, for the liberals, party leader Rutte has promised his supporters to do “something” about the influx. There will be a VVD party congress in a few weeks, and it would be nice if he could show results.

But coalition partner ChristenUnie doesn’t want to know anything about the fact that the influx would be too high. “The malleability that we can determine how many people will flee…”, says Member of Parliament Don Ceder. “The world doesn’t work that way.” He therefore argues for more and better reception in the Netherlands with the help of the distribution law (which is not in place for the time being) and by expanding the registration capacity.

Furthermore, ChristenUnie and D66 have set their sights mainly on Europe. They believe that the distribution of asylum seekers should be better regulated there. “The way forward is European,” said Ceder.

In the meantime, officials have already drawn up a document with ideas on how the Netherlands can reduce the influx. Incidentally, this was not even discussed during today’s meeting, say those involved. And the matter is so sensitive that no one wants to say what the options are at all.

An obvious option on the list is a CDA plan (which VVD agrees to) that has been recurring in recent months. Namely the introduction of a so-called two-status system, in which a distinction is made between refugees who are allowed to stay permanently and people who need temporary protection.

Our two neighboring countries do have that distinction. The reasoning is that the Netherlands does not have that, which makes our country more attractive to asylum seekers. “We have to see what makes the Netherlands so much more attractive than other countries,” says VVD MP Ruben Brekelmans.

Incidentally, our country already had an asylum system with two categories until the turn of the century. At the time it was abolished, partly because it led to a flurry of lawsuits from people with temporary status who wanted to become ‘permanent’.

The other two coalition parties are therefore not cheering. “I don’t see how this would fit. It creates more pressure on the implementation,” says Ceder, who uses the word “bullying measures”. D66 is less firm in the rejection, but believes that the plan should first be tested against laws, international treaties and feasibility.

The division is exemplary for the division in the coalition, which will therefore not come to an end for the time being. That also turned out to be between the lines, when the consultation was finished today. “We are taking our time,” said State Secretary Van der Burg. “We will speak intensively in the coming weeks,” said CDA minister Hugo de Jonge. Prime Minister Rutte avoided all questions and only shouted that “we are having very good discussions”.