The Hague: Europe and the Arabs

Chris Stoffer, leader of the right-wing Christian Democratic Party (SGP) in the Netherlands, strongly criticized the parties in the governing coalition: the Democratic Party (D66), the People's Party for Democracy (VVD), and the Christian Appeal (CDA). According to him, the ruling coalition has failed to implement a stricter asylum policy, as he stated during his speech at the party conference over the weekend. Stoffer also called for slowing down the acceptance of people who are religiously and culturally different from Dutch society, according to the Dutch news site Nieuwrechts. The conservative Christian Democratic Party met in Nieuwegen over the weekend. It holds three seats in the House of Representatives, two in the Senate, and one in the European Parliament. Party leader Chris Stoffer did not hesitate to express his opinion clearly. He said: “The ruling coalition has missed a crucial opportunity to finally give the Netherlands what it has long demanded: a stricter asylum policy, something neighboring countries have long since adopted. And it seems the coffee meetings with the Senate were a complete flop,” referring to the Senate’s rejection of stricter asylum laws.

Stover emphasized that the reception of asylum seekers is under immense pressure due to “decades of foot-dragging in The Hague.” “Whether previous governments were left-wing, centrist, or right-wing, they have effectively failed to stem the flow of migrants.” The leader of the Alliance for Peace and Democracy (SGP) party described the Netherlands’ need for a European migration pact to tighten its asylum policy as “a clear and deeply shameful indicator.” He added: “The Hague seems to listen more to Brussels than to its own people and municipal councils. Ignoring the Dutch people and suppressing local democracies is generating considerable resentment among many Dutch citizens.”

In his speech, the SGP leader also condemned the violent protests, calling them “completely unacceptable.” He described the current asylum policy as "unsustainable," and therefore his party is calling for a different approach: "We advocate for considering the cultural and religious differences from our society when distributing and receiving asylum seekers. It may be more appropriate for an asylum seeker from an Islamic country to find a new home in a safe and different Islamic country. Conversely, a persecuted Christian would be closer to a society where Christianity was established."

In other words, the party seems to be suggesting that people who differ significantly from Dutch society due to their religious and cultural background will have less chance of being accepted here.

This came just days after the Dutch Senate approved the Dutch version of the European Pact on Migration and Asylum, meaning that a new set of stricter laws regarding asylum seekers will come into effect on June 12.

The approval was granted by a majority in the Senate, with support from the CDA, SGP, D66, VVD, PVV, BBB, JA21, and 50PLUS parties, as well as other independent groups. The European Pact, agreed upon after years of negotiations within the European Union, aims to harmonize asylum and migration policies among European countries and speed up the processing of applications and the deportation of those who do not have the right to stay.