What could have been a boring and technical debate about temporary legislation on the reception of Ukrainians in the Netherlands turned Tuesday afternoon into a new test of policy. Regierungsfähigkeit From the party of Geert Wilders. And it was precisely the intended coalition partner (VVD) that put its finger on the sore spot when PVV spokesman Geddy Markuszor said there were “too many” Ukrainians in the Netherlands. Was it not important to continue to support Ukraine militarily and financially, as Liberal Party spokesman Rubin Brekelmans suggested, to prevent Russia from gaining the upper hand and even more Ukrainians being led adrift?
Markuszor cleverly sidestepped the question when he said that, like Brekelmans, he did not have foreign affairs in his portfolio and therefore could not answer. “I’m a simple talker about immigration.”
But this certainly did not remove uncertainty about the Freedom Party’s position on Ukraine. Since the outbreak of war two years ago, the Freedom Party has consistently opposed arms deliveries to Ukraine. Only last weekend, party leader Geert Wilders was upset by the 10-year “security agreement” the outgoing government wants to conclude with Ukraine. But Wilders also tweeted that the Freedom Party “supports” Ukraine and is ready “to talk about any form of assistance.”
This was a major development, and was intended to appease potential coalition partners such as the VVD, the National Security Council, and (to a lesser extent) the BBB – who view support for Ukraine as non-negotiable. “We want to speed up, so we are moving too,” Wilders said on Monday. Less than a day later, the PVV voted in the Senate against the Dutch contribution to the EU aid fund for Ukraine.
Ukrainian refugees
So what about now? This question was raised in a public debate on a temporary law stating that municipalities (not the COA) are responsible for receiving Ukrainian refugees in the Netherlands – who now number around 110,000. Municipalities are currently doing this on the basis of emergency legislation.
In the run-up to a rather technical legislative issue being discussed, there was some uproar afterwards Telegraph It was reported that many Ukrainians are attracted by free housing, health care and jobs. Wilders was furious about this and called Holland “Europe’s village idiot”. BBB MP Mona Keizer announced that she will not approve the temporary law if it is not amended and the facilities provided to Ukrainians are not simplified.
In an amendment to the law, the BBB proposed that Ukrainians who have now found work (a large part of the refugees) should pay for housing, gas, electricity and medical care themselves. National Security Council spokesman Kaspar Feldkamp also submitted an amendment to this effect. During the discussion in the House of Representatives, it became clear that a broad majority could approve a personal contribution for working Ukrainians, although there were questions about the feasibility.
Then outgoing State Secretary Erik van der Burgh (Asylum, VVD) took the sting out of the debate by saying he was already working on a ministerial arrangement for personal contribution. Van der Burgh said the amendments were unnecessary, because she asked for something he “was already planning to do anyway.”
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The most striking moment was the contribution of Freedom Party spokesman Markoszor, who decided to skip parts of his text in the middle of his speech, and then lost the topic. Spokeswoman Katy Perry (GroenLinks-PvdA) then asked directly: If the Freedom Party joins the government, will the party be ready to take in new refugees from Ukraine? Markuszor deflected blame: parties like the PvdA had opened the borders in recent years: “Now our country is full, very full. Now every refugee, whether they come from Ukraine or from somewhere else, is too many.”
This is how the monkey got out of control, Berry concluded. Despite “all of Wilders’ words,” she said, “This party is not ready to bear the responsibility of the government.”
“Nonsense,” Markuszor said. If necessary, we will comply with all laws and obligations.”
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