Van der Burg's disappointment ends in tears: I had promised an asylum agreement

A tearful State Secretary Eric van der Burg (Asylum Affairs) is disappointed that there is no asylum agreement. He finds it particularly galling for all those who have been working for months to find enough reception places for asylum seekers. "I had promised them an asylum agreement," he said.

Van der Burg feels that "everything has been pulled out" to reach a migration agreement. He also made proposals on Friday to bridge the gap between the four coalition parties. "But I realize that this has not been achieved," he said. There has been no unwillingness, but an "unbridgeable gap," he stressed. Furthermore, the state secretary is disappointed. "I am disappointed that there is no agreement."

However, van der Burg declined to comment on whether his own VVD party leader Mark Rutte had put unnecessary pressure on the negotiations. "I stay out of party politics," he said.