Netherlands faces “asylum crisis,” says cabinet minister

THE HAGUE, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) — Dutch Asylum and Migration Minister Marjolein Faber on Wednesday described the asylum situation in the Netherlands as a “crisis,” with the country facing an influx of tens of thousands of applications.
“The Netherlands is in an asylum crisis,” Faber said before a meeting in The Hague about next year’s government budget, adding that the Netherlands is “fully packed.”
The minister explained that there are problems with the reception of refugees as there are nearly 40,000 family members of refugees recognized by the Netherlands waiting for a residence permit.
The reception centers of the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) are full and many people still have to be deported, she said.
But the minister later clarified that she is not yet ready to declare an asylum crisis legally.
“Legally speaking, there is no asylum crisis yet,” she said. “But it is felt that way in our society.”
The minister said she wants to have an asylum crisis law as quickly as possible and this law should be ready by the end of September this year. Faber added that her ministry is busy preparing it.
On July 2, the new Dutch government, which consists of the Party for Freedom (PVV), the New Social Contract (NSC), the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and the Farmer-Citizen Movement (BBB), was sworn in.
One of the agreements of the new government was the plan for a temporary asylum crisis act with measures to “combat the acute asylum influx and reception crisis,” such as suspending the processing of asylum applications.
The position of the Dutch government is in potential conflict with the European Commission. In July, European Commissioner Ylva Johansson said that the Dutch government cannot declare an asylum crisis without the permission of the European Commission. ■