Senate rejects gov't plan to circumvent parliament and declare asylum crisis

The Eerste Kamer, the Dutch Senate, has rejected the Schoof I Cabinet’s plan to use state emergency law to declare an asylum crisis and implement measures without parliament and the Senate’s approval. A majority supported a Groenlinks-PvdA proposal calling this plan “undesirable” and asking for a plan B - using urgent legislation instead that passes through the typical political channels at an accelerated pace, NOS reports.

The proposal got support from GroenLinks-PvdA, CDA, D66, SP, ChristenUnie, PvdD, Volt, SGP, and OPNL. The coalition of PVV, VVD, NSC, and BBB does not have a majority in the Senate and needs opposition support to get plans and laws passed. The coalition is mainly looking toward the right-wing Christian parties for this support. All three of them - CDA, ChristenUnie, and SGP - voted against the coalition on Tuesday.

By declaring an asylum crisis with the state emergency law, the government can take measures without first getting approval from parliament and the Senate. These two bodies only get to vote on measures taken three months after the fact, when the government presents its legal substantiation for the measures it implemented.

The Cabinet doesn’t need the Tweede Kamer or Eerste Kamer’s approval to take these steps but risk that they’ll have to reverse their measures three months later when parliament and the Senate do get to have their say.

It is not yet clear what this means for the coalition. PVV leader Geert Wilders has said that an asylum crisis is a hard agreement for him and hinted that the coalition could fall on this topic.

During the debate in the Eerste Kamer, Prime Minister Dick Schoof made clear that he did not really have an option here, pointing to the coalition agreement and Wilders’ vehemence about the measure. PVV Minister Marjolein Faber of Asylum and Migration is currently working on legal substantiation. It is not clear when the next step will be taken