Wilders to stop pushing for Nexit: Wants "Netherlands first" agenda in EU Parliament

Geert Wilders and his far-right PVV party wants to work on “putting the Netherlands first” in the European Parliament, and will not include its position to leave the European Union in its election manifesto. The party pleaded for a so-called Nexit in its campaign for the last European elections in 2019, and even had a section about it in its manifesto released ahead of the Dutch parliamentary election last November.

“We will work very hard to change the EU from the inside,” the PVV wrote. They also added that “intensive economic cooperation” benefits the country.

Before the elections for the Dutch Parliament last November, the PVV called for a binding referendum about Nexit. The nationalist party won the most seats in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Parliament, as a result of the election. A week later, it emerged that only 36 percent of its voters were actually in favor of withdrawing from the European Union, a possible by-product of luring voters from other parties.

The issue was debated in the Tweede Kamer last week, with current coalition and opposition parties noting that a Nexit would have a destructive impact on the Netherlands, and would weaken the country's international standing. Further, it called into question the motivation of those pushing for Nexit, as a divided Europe and political chaos benefits Russia in its ongoing standoff with the EU, NATO, and with the Netherlands on a bilateral basis..

Withdrawal from the European Union is not mentioned in the PVV's program for the European elections that will be held at the beginning of June. The PVV did state that they want to “cherish and protect” Dutch sovereignty by, for example, keeping the veto right that EU Member States have. A spokesperson for the PVV could not be reached on Friday for further comment.

In the election manifesto, which consists of seven pages of text, Geert Wilders’ party pleads for “cooperation with like-minded people” and an end to “Europhile dreams.” The PVV also wants to change the European rules so that the Member States can make their own decision on how many immigrants, labor migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers they accept.

The party is now more clearly supporting Ukraine in its battle “against the Russian aggressor” but would not say how much money it will invest in helping the country in its war with Russia. The PVV supports European defense cooperations, something the party had not commented on before. However, the PVV remains opposed to a European army or a European Commissioner for Defense.

Wilders' party also did not criticize Islam in its program. In 2019, the party included a paragraph specifically about the religion even though the program was only the size of a single A4 page. They claimed that the EU was culpable for the “Islamization” of its population, and added that the existence, people, and national identity of the Netherlands had to be the first priority. The PVV also criticized the religion last year in its national elections program.

The European climate policy needs to be based on “common sense,” according to the PVV. The parties want to raise the dikes and make more space for rivers.