D66 tries bringing all parties together on new asylum plan

Politicians must abandon contradiction in the asylum debate and work towards a common goal, according to D66 leader Alexander Pechtold. He will be presenting a "National Action Plan Asylum Seekers" on Tuesday night. Pechtold wants all political parties to work together on this issue. "Only this attitude can take us further. But it is precisely this attitude that I miss in The Hague politics. And I include myself", he said in an interview with NRC. "A commonly heard complaint is: politicians does not have the solution. I would say: politicians have too many solutions. There is no shortage of ideas. What we need now is political will. The willingness to see the good in others' ideas. The courage to let their own go." A national action plan is born from willingness to take joint action, according to the D66 leader. His plan states that asylum seekers "learn our norms and values from day one" and that barriers to find work needs to be removed. The plan also demands proper arrangements with Turkey on the rapid return of non-war asylum seekers, but also with countries like Morocco and Albania. Better reception in the region is needed, which will mean financial support. And this not only to Turkey, but also to Lebanon, Jordan and Greece. And "strict border controls with European partners at our external borders" is another requirement in the plan. "Reception in the region was never merely a VVD-hobby. Strict control of European borders does not have a CDA-patent. And quickly teaching asylum seekers to speak Dutch and helping them find work is not an exclusively D66 point", Pechtold said.