Nearly six months after sweeping electoral success, Dutch nationalist Geert Wilders and three other party leaders have made a provisional agreement to form a right-wing government that would see the Netherland’s asylum seeker numbers slashed and green policies discarded.
A decision on the next Dutch prime minister has not yet been made, the only certainty being that it will not be Mr Wilders, who gave up the opportunity to make a bid in order to secure a deal.
The 2023 general elections in the Netherlands saw Mr Wilders’ Party for Freedom (PVV) become the largest party in the country’s House of Representatives, winning a quarter of the national vote.
“We have a negotiators’ agreement and we will now put it to our [parliamentary] factions,” Mr Wilders told journalists. If his party agrees, it will go into government with the conservative-liberal VVD, the centrist New Social Contract and the Farmer Citizens Movement (BBB).
Dutch media reports that the four coalition parties have agreed on wide-reaching measures that would heavily curb immigration to the Netherlands, row back on green policies implemented under previous governments and shift the country’s approach to international institutions such as NATO and the EU.
PRESS CONFERENCE
We’re making history today!
Joining the Dutch government.#Wilders #PVV pic.twitter.com/XvN2ldxGN5
— Geert Wilders (@geertwilderspvv) May 16, 2024
Migration
Dutch publication AD’s journalists Hans van Soest and Elodie Verweij report that on the migration front, foremost among the coalition’s measures is a temporary ‘Asylum Crisis Act’ that will last a maximum of two years.
During that period, the processing of asylum applications will be suspended and the reception of asylum seekers will be ‘greatly reduced’.
As well as this, the asylum permit for an indefinite period will be abolished and the Netherlands will ask the EU for an ‘opt-out’ from existing migration rules in favour of formulating its own migration policy.
Refugees from Ukraine will be required to pay higher personal contributions as part of the measures, while employers hiring foreign staff will become more responsible for said staff, including the provision of shelter if their workers cannot find a home.
A ‘brake’ will be applied on the number of international students allowed to study in the Netherlands while the call to prayer from mosques will be governed by tighter rules.
Agriculture and environmental policy
The new coalition would see “no forced expropriation of farmers,” and the end of efforts to shrink the livestock population. Farmers will also pay less tax on fuel.
After current Prime Minister Mark Rutte cut motorway speed limits to 100km/h, the coalition will return to 130km/h speed limits where possible. Better public transport outside of cities is on the agenda.
In a significant development, the new government would also aim to build four nuclear power stations.
Government expenditure
The new government would cut civil service spending by €1 billion, while there would be no pay increases for government workers, politicians included. AD reports that “the knife goes into the unemployment benefit,” which will be reworked by the coalition parties.
International development spending would be cut by €2.4 billion and budget deficits will be kept below the EU’s 3% limit, national debt below a 60% limit.
Meanwhile, it’s reported that with fewer asylum seekers, the Netherlands would save an additional €100 million on social assistance expenditure.
Electric car subsidies are to be scrapped by 2025, while homeowners with solar panels will no longer receive money for selling energy back to the grid. Legislation requiring the installation of a heat pump in some homes from 2026 will no longer apply.
Defence
The Dutch armed forces would receive an additional €3 billion over the next four years, which would see it meet its NATO spending target of 2% of GDP, while the police and the judiciary will receive an additional €300 million.
Business
Businesses will receive an effective tax cut, while the tax rate for directors and major shareholders will decrease from 33 to 31%.
Other measures include changes to the electoral system before the next elections, a new constitutional court and the movement of the Dutch embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
The deal came just hours before the latest deadline imposed by the current coalition negotiators, which led Mr Wilders to warn that adjustments may still be made to the deal.