CDA leader Henri Bontenbal has told the Telegraaf in an interview that his party cannot support two controversial laws aimed at reducing the number of asylum applications, unless key adjustments are made.
“There are a few things we don’t find satisfactory or sound and one of these is the start date,” Bontenbal told the paper.
Support from the CDA is crucial because both houses of parliament must approve new legislation and the caretaker cabinet does not have a majority in the senate.
The draft laws were drawn up by immigration minister Marjolein Faber from the far right PVV, which has now pulled out of the coalition.
The first piece of legislation scraps permanent residency permits for refugees, reduces the primary refugee permit from five to three years and will stop refugees from bringing in their families until they have lived in the country for two years and have a home and income.
The second bill will allow officials to differentiate between people who fled their home country because of their ethnicity, sexual orientation, or religion, and those who fled from war or violence, including natural disasters.
Both bills have been criticised by the Council of State and various other organisations for being over-hasty and ill thought through.
In particular, Bontenbal said, the two‑tier system must come into effect at the same time as the European migration pact, scheduled for June next year. The CDA also wants a transition period for migrants falling under the two‑tier system to allow officials enough time to prepare systems and staffing.
Coalition sources told the Telegraaf that if the laws are softened, Geert Wilders could abandon the package anyway. Wilders said on social media Bontenbal is a “weakling” for turning the asylum proposals into “really toothless laws”.
The BBB, which is still part of the caretaker coalition, has also proposed changes to the draft legislation, telling the Telegraaf it wants illegality criminalised and to strip the right to appeal asylum refusals. It also says an asylum application should only be re‑submitted after the applicant has effectively left the country.
The laws are due to be debated in parliament on Thursday.
The immigration service IND has also said it favours aligning the laws’ start date with the EU migration pact due next year. The IND warns that implementing domestic rule changes first, and then introducing Brussels directives, would be too much work for an already overloaded service.