Henk Kamp, a prominent figure in Dutch politics, says the number of migrants and asylum seekers in the Netherlands is so high that the situation has become “untenable” and extraordinary measures need to be taken.
Advising a denouncement of international treaties, he suggests an opt-out be made available on rules regarding migration issues in the European context, similar to that which Denmark has in place. Going further, he says – in a worst-case scenario – even an exit from the European Union should be on the table.
Former Dutch Minister of Defence Kamp said the number of asylum seekers stuck in the Netherlands “cannot be accommodated responsibly”.
The People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) member would prefer to see the Netherlands, as with Denmark, receive an opt-out on certain European regulations. Denmark negotiated the Maastricht Treaty in the 1990s, part of which enables it to avoid certain asylum rules other EU countries must abide by. Referring to that, Kamp said: “And you see that at the moment they do have the ability to have a proper asylum and migration policy.
“So the Netherlands should also say: ‘then we also want an opt-out when it comes to migration’ and Europe should cooperate on that. If that is not the case, then the Netherlands should even consider leaving the EU but that is not the goal,” he added.
“The goal is to get the problem under control and solve it. Then you can ask and expect cooperation, that is the goal.”
Due to what Kamp regards as the severity of the situation, he recommends denouncing the Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), if necessary.
“Those treaties should not stand in the way of solving a very real problem that threatens the quality of Dutch society,” he said.
“Today there is a massive influx of economic refugees coming to the Netherlands under the UN Refugee Convention, and they are then given residence permits here,” Kamp said, adding: “That is not what the Refugee Convention was meant for.”
Therefore, he believes, the Netherlands should ask itself whether it still wants to be and can be part of it. “If denouncing the Refugee Convention is the decisive factor for solving the asylum influx in the Netherlands, it should be done,” he said.
The same applies to the ECHR and other European rules, according to Kamp, which implies he feels membership of the EU should be put under scrutiny. “I’m not hoping to step out,” he stressed, “but the whole complex of European rules ultimately leads to us getting deadlocked in the Netherlands.”
However, he does not underestimate the importance of EU membership. “That is also in the interest of the Netherlands,” he said. “But it is also in the interest of the Netherlands that we stop immigration to the extent that the situation in the country is deteriorating every year.”
The VVD is part of the Renew Europe Group in the European Parliament, and Kamp has served as a minister in different governments between 2002 and 2017. In 2021 he was installed as a minister of defence for a second time to assist the then outgoing government. His stand on what is seen by many as an EU migration crisis echoes similar sentiments to those expressed by the EU conservative phalanx the ECR and the right-leaning ID-Group.
Kamp stelt dat het EU-lidmaatschap, als het in de weg staat van het beperken van de asielinstroom, een groot probleem wordt.. "Ik zit niet te wachten om eruit te stappen", benadrukt hij. "Maar het hele complex aan Europese regels leidt er uiteindelijk toe dat we vastlopen." #WNL pic.twitter.com/qHUZDkFPi6
— Sven op 1 (@Sven_op_1) May 31, 2023
