Dutch surveyed: 30 pct want borders closed, many negative on economy

Nearly a third of Dutch residents believe that the Netherlands should close the borders for all forms of immigration, including workers from other European countries. Almost half of the Dutch population believe that the refugees will have a negative effect on the Dutch economy. This is according to a survey done by Ipsos on behalf of broadcaster NOS. Of the respondents, 28 percent wants the government to close the borders, while 52 percent believe the borders should stay open. The rest did not give an opinion. The vast majority of people who voted for the PVV in 2012 - 78 percent - are in favor of closing the borders. Voters for other parties feel much less strongly about this - 28 percent of VVD voters, 31 percent of SP voters, 21 percent of Pvda voters, 20 percent of CDA voters and only 9 percent of D66 voters are in favor of closed borders. Almost half of respondents, 47 percent, think that the refugees will have a negative impact on the economy, while 22 percent believe this will not be the case. The increasing number of refugees arriving in the country makes 44 percent of respondents pessimistic about the future of the Netherlands. 29 percent indicated that it is not making them pessimistic. 43 percent expect that the Netherlands will become less safe because of the refugees, 23 percent disagree. 35 percent responded yes to the the statement "the influx of refugees in Europe scares me", and about an equally large group answered no. Half of the respondents support the European Commission's plan to fairly distribute refugees across the European Union member states. Half believe that the Netherlands should take in less than 6,000 refugees in the short term, the minimum number in a fair distribution. 19 percent do not want the Netherlands to take in a single refugee. When it comes to a long term solution, 69 percent think that the Dutch government should invest in creating safe shelters for refugees in their own regions. There is also a lot of support for development aid and international military forces preventing people from fleeing their regions, with almost two thirds wanting the government to invest therein. Almost half of the respondents also think that the Netherlands should invest in additional asylum shelters in the Netherlands.