Asylum min. maintains she will not alter the asylum seeker bill after criticism

The minister of asylum, Marjolein Faber, has maintained that she does not want to alter her legislative proposals that will lead to a lower influx of asylum seekers. This response comes after the Council of State questioned the feasibility and effectiveness of the measures in the critical advice. When the main points of the advice were leaked last week, Faber also said that she would, at most, change "a full stop or a comma.”

Faber recognized that her legislative proposals and the advice that the Council of State gave about this will still need to be discussed in the Council of Ministers' meeting before they are submitted to the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament. "But as a specialist minister, I will not change anything,” said the PVV minister. Her party leader, Geert Wilders, threatened a Cabinet collapse on Tuesday if other coalition partners demanded alterations to the bill.

Coalition party BBB already joined the PVV in this, saying that Faber’s proposals need to be submitted unchanged. The other coalition parties, VVD and NSC, were mainly pushing for the quick implementation of a bill but did not rule out changes to take away the concerns about feasibility. Both parties added that this responsibility is with the Cabinet.

The minister avoided questions about the advice during a debate in the Tweede Kamer on Wednesday. The Cabinet will release an official response to the advice given by their most important advisor when it comes to legislation, said Faber. She is expecting to send this report after the break for the school holidays. "So that is very soon, within a month." The holiday period for the Tweede Kamer begins at the end of next week.

"But as a specialist minister, I will not change anything,” said the PVV minister. Her party leader, Geert Wilders, threatened a Cabinet collapse on Tuesday if other coalition partners demanded alterations to the bill.

By refusing all changes, Faber is also putting the chances of her proposal succeeding in the Senate at risk. The coalition has no majority there and will have to convince other parties to push through the law. The CDA and SGP will play a key role in this. Both parties spoke about their doubts regarding the proposal this week.

The Council of State said in their advice that they are unconvinced about whether the proposed measures will actually lead to fewer asylum seekers coming into the Netherlands.

“You should ask Sweden about this,” Faber said in response, without clarifying which proposed measures had been taken there and what the effect of those measures was.