MP calls for extra €800 million in asylum reception budget

ChristenUnie parliamentary Joel Voordewind is calling on the government to push an extra 800 million euros into the budget for asylum seeker reception. Sheltering refugees is turning out to be nearly a billion euros more expensive than expected, and it is eating a hole in Minister Lilianne Ploumen's Development Cooperation budget, the MP said to BNR. According to Voordewind, this is happening at the expense of fighting poverty elsewhere in the world and should not be allowed. "We need to humanely accommodate asylum seekers. We are a civilized country, so taking care of refugees should not happen at the expense of actual poverty reduction." The ChristenUnie Parliamentarian thinks that at least part of the extra money should come from the 5 billion euros the government set aside for tax cuts. "I'd find it reasonable to look at that amount, at least for a few hundred million, to help with the extreme hardship", he said to the broadcaster.