After two days of intensive debate in the House of Representatives on the Budget Day documents, it has become clear that Prime Minister Dick Schoof has managed to keep his coalition together for the time being.
The PVV, VVD, NSC and BBB factions have expressed their support for the policy of the Prime Minister and his team of ministers, but the debate has also painfully exposed that there are great tensions within the coalition, especially between the PVV and the NSC. Although the four parties have reached an agreement in which they agreed that they may take different positions on certain points, it became clear during the debates, especially in the area of asylum policy, that the PVV and NSC are diametrically opposed.
Where the PVV is committed to much stricter asylum legislation and stronger border controls, the NSC opts for a more humane policy with more focus on European cooperation and reception in the region. This difference in vision is causing an ever-widening gap within the coalition, and a conflict about this seems inevitable.
unanimously
Asylum policy is one of the most charged topics within the Schoof cabinet. The opposition was unanimous in its criticism of the cabinet's plan to invoke the asylum emergency law. One of the most important points that emerged was that the official advice clearly states that there is no legal basis to use the state emergency law for a long-term problem such as the asylum crisis.
“This is a problem that has been going on for a long time and that requires solutions through regular legislation, not through emergency legislation,” the advice states. According to the cabinet, this law would make rapid and strict measures possible, but the officials warned that there is no question of a sudden, acute emergency situation, a condition that is essential to justify the state emergency law.
Frans Timmermans, leader of the joint faction of GroenLinks and PvdA, was fierce in his criticism of the government's intention. "What the government is doing here is constitutional vandalism," said Timmermans. "By invoking the asylum emergency law, the government is trying to implement far-reaching measures through the back door, without sufficient democratic control. This is a dangerous trend."
Other opposition parties, including D66 and the SP, also joined the criticism. They warned that the emergency law would allow the cabinet to take decisions without the House of Representatives having to give its prior approval. This would seriously undermine parliamentary control, the warning read.
Despite the strong criticism from the opposition, Prime Minister Dick Schoof stuck to the plan to invoke the emergency law. According to Schoof, the emergency law is necessary to limit the influx of asylum seekers in the short term and to reduce the pressure on the reception capacity. He referred to the overcrowded asylum seekers' centres and the increasing unrest in various municipalities about the placement of new reception locations.
