Belgium: Vlaams Belang, a Flemish Right-Wing Party, Inaugurates “Fortress Europe” Campaign

Wednesday morning, Belgian right-wing party Vlaams Belang (Flemish Interest) presented its new campaign, “Fortress Europe.”  The campaign lists fifty policy proposals designed to assuage the pressure affecting European countries that are experiencing mass migration. 

Party Chairman Tom Van Grieken pointed to the latest figures from Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, which indicate the beginnings of a new migration crisis in the EU, comparable to if not worse than the one of 2015. Echoing former American President Donald Trump, Van Grieken stated that “we have to build a wall around Europe: legally and, in some places, physically.” 

Some of the most notable proposals include the construction of physical barriers at Europe’s external borders, implementation of high-tech controls at internal borders, monetary guarantees (deposits) to be paid by asylum seekers awaiting approval, and withdrawal of subsidies for NGOs that facilitate illegal practises.  

“This is not out of hatred for people outside our borders, but out of love for the people within our borders,” Van Grieken stressed.