Following the example of other European Union member states, Freedom Party (PVV) leader Geert Wilders called for parts of Syria to be also designated as “safe” by the Netherlands, in order to further reduce the intake of migrants from the Middle East—while increasing deportations.
While other EU leaders equivocate on deporting Syrians, even ones who commit horrific crimes, Wilders is working on a solution. In a post on X, he argued that since other countries have changed Syria’s designation as well, there’s no reason for the Netherlands to continue automatically granting asylum to Syrians either.
A German court … recently ruled that Syria is now safe enough. Sweden and Denmark previously found that parts of Syria are safe … Why are we still letting in Syrians en masse?
European rulings mean that, as leader of the largest party in the Dutch Parliament, Wilders could announce that he would be submitting a proposal during the next session to declare Syria (partially) safe, so that automatic asylum is no longer given to those coming from the country.
It would also permit the deportation of Syrians who are already in the Netherlands but do not have a permanent residence permit.
“This would be an important step because Syrians are the largest group of asylum seekers here,” he said. “It would substantially alleviate both our security and asylum crisis—and the huge shortages on the housing market and elsewhere!
The housing crisis is largely seen by voters as one of the most important political challenges in the Netherlands right now, and most of them regard it as a clear consequence of the previous Rutte government’s failed asylum and migration policies—hence the monumental shift to the Right during last year’s Dutch elections.
Yet for the PVV’s proposal to be implemented, it must also be agreed upon by the rest of the coalition members, including the former ruling party VVD, the center-right NSC, and the farmers’ party BBB. That may not be that hard after all, as the technocrat prime minister, former intelligence officer Dick Schoof, promised voters that his cabinet will implement the “strictest ever” migration policies the country has seen so far upon being sworn in last month.
Syrians also comprise the largest group of migrants in most other European countries, including Germany, where the recent ruling by the Münster High Administrative Court (referenced by Wilders) creates an important precedent for the entire continent.
Due to the Syrian Civil War—which nominally has been ongoing since 2011, although major violence has declined recently—migrants who are from the country (or managed to convince the authorities they were) have been given automatic protection that could not be revoked even in cases when they committed serious offenses, including violent crimes such as murder and rape
The German ruling at the end of last month followed a series of knife attacks throughout the country, all perpetrated by Syrians. According to the court, the fighting in Syria “no longer reaches a level at which civilians face a high probability of being killed or wounded.” Therefore, convicted Syrians can be stripped of their asylum status and deported back to their home country.
