'No Dutch, no benefits', new law

Whoever does not speak Dutch, and does not want to learn the language, will lose their allowances within a year. This is what state secretary for Social Affairs and Employment Jetta Klijnsma has added to a bill that has been sent to the Council of State, RTL Nieuws reports. Klijnsma believes that a willingness to speak the language is a basic prerequisite for receiving benefits in The Netherlands. This means that an applicant should be able to have basic conversations about everyday topics. Municipalities would have the ability to test this, and could order a language course. Whoever rejects this, will have 20 percent of their benefits claims cut. If, after a year, it appears that the applicant has still not progressed in their grasp of the language, will have 40 percent cut. After a year, if an applicant is still not able to speak Dutch, their benefits will be taken away entirely.