Dutch government led by hard right asks for formal opt-out from EU migration rules

The new Dutch government dominated by the far-right party of Geert Wilders has officially asked the European Union for an exemption from its migration obligations

BRUSSELS -- The new Dutch government dominated by the far-right party of Geert Wilders officially asked the European Union for an exemption from its migration obligations on Wednesday, seeking to fulfill a campaign promise to drastically reduce the number of immigrants in the nation.

Dutch Migration Minister Marjolein Faber of Wilders' party wrote to the European Commission that the Netherlands wants out of regulations for accepting refugees.

“I have just informed the EU Commission that I want a migration opt-out within Europe for the Netherlands. We need to be in charge of our own asylum policy again!” Faber wrote in a letter Ylva Johansson, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, posted on social media.

On Tuesday, the government, which came to power in July, announced its policy blueprint for the coming year, including stricter policies to hold back or kick out migrants who don’t qualify for asylum.

The announcement came just a day after party leaders were publicly bickering over their plans, underscoring divisions within the four-party governing coalition.

Even before the plan was made public, the European Commission warned the Dutch government that its approach wouldn't work. “We have adopted legislation. It’s adopted. You don’t opt out of adopted legislation in the EU,” spokesman Eric Mamer said last Friday.

Earlier this week, the Dutch refugee settlement agency COA announced it was expecting a shortage of beds at the overcrowded asylum center in the tiny village of Ter Apel in the northeastern Netherlands.

The government is planning to declare an “asylum crisis” to pave the way for tougher measures, including reining in visas for family members of people granted asylum and making it easier and quicker to deport migrants who are not eligible for asylum. That plan must first be reviewed by a key political advisory panel, and at least one party in the governing quartet has said it will reject the emergency measures if they do not receive the panel's approval.