PVV leader Geert Wilders will vote for the asylum laws now that they have been tightened by the House of Representatives on Tuesday. Despite this tightening, it remains uncertain whether a majority of the House of Representatives will support the laws: former coalition partner NSC is still considering.
“It is a step in the right direction and so we support the laws,” says Wilders on X. He would prefer the plans in the area of asylum to be even stricter, and refers to his ten-point plan on which he dropped the Schoof cabinet.
Wilders’ support for the laws of his own former asylum minister Marjolein Faber was uncertain after the debate last week. PVV MP Marina Vondeling indicated that her party would not agree to a “weakened version” of the laws.
Other parties in the House of Representatives had submitted dozens of amendments. The PVV also came up with three plans, including making illegality and aiding it punishable.
The laws in brief
PVV amendment also causes uncertainty
That amendment was adopted quite unexpectedly due to a mistake in the House of Representatives. Several opposition members were absent due to Ketikoti. Normally, an agreement is made with an ‘opponent’ in the House of Representatives that he or she will also stay away from the vote. This way nothing changes in the outcome.
But that went wrong around GroenLinks-PvdA, Party for the Animals and NSC. As a result, PVV’s plan suddenly gained a majority and must be incorporated into the asylum emergency measures law. To the satisfaction of Wilders, who also announces that he will give the other law, the two-status system, the green light.
With the approval of PVV, a majority in the House of Representatives seems in sight. Former coalition partners VVD, NSC and BBB have also been advocating the laws in recent times.
At the same time, it remains uncertain. The PVV amendment has created doubt at the NSC. The party supports the laws, but is against making illegality punishable. They are therefore still considering their choice tomorrow.
Laws seem to strand in Senate
If the laws do get a majority in the House of Representatives, it remains to be seen whether they will make it in the Senate. The former coalition partners do not have a majority there.
In order to get that anyway, attention was mainly focused on the CDA. But CDA leader Henri Bontenbal announced on Wednesday that he would not agree to this. He also has difficulty with the adopted PVV amendment. As a result, the asylum emergency measures law has become “impassable” for the CDA. The party already had major objections to the two-status system anyway. In the video below he tells more about his choice.
Without the CDA, it will be difficult to find a majority in the Senate. All other right-wing opposition parties and some center parties in the Senate must then vote in favor, but it is still unclear whether that will happen.