Labour proposes taking another 30,000 refugees from Turkey

Europe must be prepared to take in "substantial" numbers of asylum seekers from Turkey on an annual basis. The Netherlands should take in about 30 thousand a year, PvdA leader Diederik Samsom said on radio program Met het Oog op Morgen on Radio 1. Samsom hopes that this will put a stop to the illegal migration flow between Turkey and Europe. He calls 30 thousand asylum seekers a year a "stable amount". "That's a lot less than last year, when there were 60 thousand", the PvdA leader said, pointing out that the Netherlands also took in tens of thousands of people a year in the 90's. According to Samsom, the VVD also supports this plan. "This coalition of VVD and PvdA are in complete agreement on this approach: getting a manageable flow going that is less than that of the past year. In exchange for stopping the illegal flow." The PvdA leader believes that some will support this plan, because it means that no more people will enter Europe through Greece. "I mainly think it's good because no more children will drown, but both are good reasons to say. let's stop the illegal flow." Last week Samsom proposed an test in which Europe takes in at least 400 asylum seekers from Turkey a day for a month, "as a sign of goodwill". He believes that if Europe shows it is willing to take the first step, the asylum agreements made with Turkey will be implemented faster. He is currently in Brussels, where EU leaders will meet with Turkish leaders to discuss implementing these plans.