Latest news with #GeertWilders'

Dutch lawmakers pass controversial bills tightening asylum rules

Euronews

04-07-2025

Politics
Euronews

Dutch lawmakers pass controversial bills tightening asylum rules

Dutch lawmakers on Thursday approved two controversial bills aimed at tightening restrictions on asylum-seekers, despite concern from some MPs that the new measures could criminalise those offering humanitarian assistance to undocumented migrants. The legislation, passed by the lower house late Thursday evening, reduces the duration of temporary asylum residency permits from five years to three, halts the issuance of new asylum permits indefinitely, and imposes new restrictions on family reunification for recognised asylum recipients. The Dutch Red Cross estimates that between 23,000 and 58,000 people currently reside in the Netherlands without legal status. Although the bills cleared the lower chamber, they may still face rejection in the upper house following the summer recess. If the Senate blocks the measures, they will return to the lower house for revision. Tighter migration controls were a central pledge of the now-collapsed governing coalition, led by Geert Wilders' far-right Freedom Party. The four-way government dissolved last month after just 11 months in office, with migration expected to dominate the upcoming snap election on 29 October. Wilders blamed the coalition's collapse on delays in pushing forward with migration reform. While his coalition partners disputed that claim, all parties had previously voiced support for stricter migration policies. Wilders' party currently leads opinion polls by a slim margin over a newly merged centre-left alliance. The Christian Democrats withdrew their support for the legislation following the last-minute addition of an amendment introduced by a member of Wilders' party. The clause, which narrowly passed due to the absence of some opposition MPs, would criminalise individuals and organisations that assist undocumented migrants, as well as those residing in the country without valid visas or asylum rulings. The vote marked the final parliamentary session before the summer break. The upper house is expected to debate the bill upon its return.

Time of India

13-06-2025

Politics
Time of India

Far-right parties surge across Europe

AI- Generated Image Germany's domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), has classified the Alternative for Germany (AfD) as "confirmed right-wing extremist. " Germany's other political parties want mostly nothing to do with it. Some politicians have even called for it to be banned. What does the situation look like in the rest of Europe? The Netherlands: Partij voor de Vrijheid Geert Wilders' Party for Freedom (PVV) recently caused the four-party coalition that it led to collapse because it had not cracked down hard enough on migration in its view. "I proposed a plan to close the borders for asylum seekers, to send them away, to shut asylum shelters. I demanded coalition partners sign up to that, which they didn't," Wilders told reporters. "I signed up for the strictest asylum policies, not for the demise of the Netherlands. " New elections are now planned for autumn. Although his party became the strongest force in the parliamentary elections, Wilders did not become head of government because he was deemed too radical by his coalition partners. Instead, independent politician Dick Schoof was nominated prime minister of the Netherlands. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch vàng CFDs với sàn môi giới tin cậy IC Markets Tìm hiểu thêm If it were up to Wilders alone, he would ban all new mosques and the Quran. He is also a vocal critic of green strategies to tackle climate change, and he views the European Union as being too overbearing. Wilders is in complete control of his party, of which he is the sole registered member; even deputies and ministers are officially only supporters of the PVV. This allows Wilders to decide on the party program alone and appoint all election candidates himself. Poland: Prawo i Sprawiedliwosc The Law and Justice party (PiS) was defeated in the parliamentary elections at the end of 2023; Donald Tusk, the liberal former European Council president, has governed Poland as prime minister since then. But the PiS holds the presidency, and can use a veto to put the brakes on government policy. This has not changed since the presidential election at the end of May 2025, which was narrowly won by PiS-backed Karol Nawrocki, who ran an anti-European, and anti-German, campaign. Generally, however, as a party the PiS is rather cautious in Brussels, since it knows that the funds from the EU are important for Poland. It has also positioned itself on Ukraine's side in the war with Russia and advocates a strong Nato presence against its powerful neighbour. In terms of migration policy, however, the party shares the same hardline views of its European allies. On social issues, it is close to the Catholic Church in Poland and opposes the legalization of abortion, same-sex marriage and adoption. Hungary: Fidesz Fidesz-Hungarian Civic Alliance is probably the most successful far-right party in Europe. Thanks to its leader Viktor Orban, the party was in power in Hungary between 1998 and 2002 and continuously again since 2010. Founded in 1988, shortly before the collapse of communism, as a radical liberal force, the party remained on this course for a long time. But Orban and his party has swung to the right since at least 2015, when German Chancellor Angela Merkel proclaimed a "welcome culture" for refugees. Fidesz is now explicitly in favour of illiberal democracy, seeing the "Christian West" as threatened by foreign infiltration and wanting to strongly limit the influence of the EU. In stark contrast to the Polish PiS, the party has sought contact with Russia, despite the war in Ukraine, particularly on energy issues. Orban is also close to Russian President Vladimir Putin on an ideological level. However, unlike similar parties, the party does recognize human-made climate change as a threat. Slovakia : Smer — slovenska socialna demokracia Smer was founded by current Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico. Called Direction-Slovak Social Democracy, the party direction is clearly to the right and the social democracy it advocates has little to do with Germany's style of social democracy. Smer has warned that Slovakia is becoming too "foreign." Fico has said that Muslims are not able to integrate and in 2016 he said that Islam had no place in Slovakia. He has described the Ukrainians that Russia has attacked as "Nazis and fascists" and before the 2023 parliamentary elections, in which Smer emerged victorious, he announced that he would put an immediate stop to arms deliveries to Ukraine. He went on to do this, claiming that Nato and the United States were responsible for Russia's attack on Ukraine. This triggered protests across Slovakia. Fico's government has repeatedly criticized the EU's sanctions against Russia as being "meaningless and counterproductive." Spain: Vox Vox (Latin for voice), whose leader is Santiago Abascal, has risen fast since the party was founded in 2013. In the 2016 parliamentary elections, it won only 0.2% of the votes. This went up to 15% in 2019. Since then, its success has slumped somewhat. The party is nonetheless the third strongest political force in Spain at the moment. However, it has never participated in a federal government. The conservative Partido Popular (Popular Party) might have been willing to form a coalition with it, but instead it was the socialist Pedro Sanchez who formed a government. Vox's main concern is specific to Spain: The party believes that the self-government rights of autonomous communities such as Catalonia or the Basque Country should be revoked and that Spain should once again become a centralized state. There is also a particular Spanish flavour to the party's anti-immigration and anti-Islamic tones: Abascal has called for a new Reconquista. The first, which ended in 1492, was a series of campaigns waged by Christian rulers against Muslim kingdoms that had ruled the Iberian Peninsula for centuries. At the beginning of February, Vox hosted a major event called "Make Europe Great Again" in the Spanish capital Madrid. Participants included Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and French far-right politician Marine Le Pen. Denmark: Dansk Folkeparti The Danish People's Party was founded in 1995 and had its most successful period in the 2000s and 2010s. With its anti-immigration, anti-globalization and anti-EU positions, combined with demands for a strong welfare state, it provided support for several centre-right governments in the Danish capital Copenhagen. Notably, it was able to push through a tightening of the asylum system. But support for the party dwindled after 2019 as Denmark's Social Democrats, led by Mette Frederiksen, not only adopted its anti-asylum demands but also pushed them through. The People's Party only received 2.6% of the vote in the last parliamentary election in 2022. The immigration and asylum policy of Denmark's current Social Democratic government is one of the toughest in Europe.

Dutch prime minister steps down after populist leader Geert Wilders pulls plug on coalition

Irish Independent

05-06-2025

Politics
Irish Independent

Dutch prime minister steps down after populist leader Geert Wilders pulls plug on coalition

Dutch politics was in turmoil yesterday following populist far-right politician Geert Wilders' withdrawal of his party's ministers from the ruling coalition in a dispute over a crackdown on migration.

King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands Forced to Cut State Visit Short Due to 'Situation' at Home

Yahoo

04-06-2025

Politics
Yahoo

King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands Forced to Cut State Visit Short Due to 'Situation' at Home

Dutch King Willem-Alexander has cut his planned visit to the Czech Republic short after his country's government collapsed The Royal House of the Netherlands announced that the King would be returning home early because of "the political situation that has arisen in the Netherlands," but said the Queen would stay a second day The King's quick departure was prompted by populist Geert Wilders' withdrawal of his party from the ruling coalition over the Dutch government's asylum policyKing Willem-Alexander left his visit to the Czech Republic early on Wednesday, June 4, citing "the political situation that has arisen in the Netherlands." A statement shared on Tuesday, June 3, by the Royal House of the Netherlands said the King would return home after the first day of his visit to the Czech Republic, where he was joined by his wife, Queen Máxima. The statement referenced the collapse of the Dutch government, which was prompted by populist Geert Wilders' withdrawal of his party from the ruling coalition, per The New York Times. Wilders, a member of the Netherlands House of Representatives, pulled his party, known as the Party for Freedom (PVV), from the coalition "over a dispute about migration policy," the Times reported. The Royal House of the Netherlands said the King was retuning home after PVV's resignation, but noted that the Queen would remain in the Czech Republic for the second day of the visit as planned. "After the resignation of a government it is customary for the King to consult with his permanent advisers: the vice president of the Council of State and the presidents of the Senate and the House of Representatives," the statement read. PVV left the government in The Hague over a dispute about the Dutch government's asylum policies, according to Politico. On the afternoon of June 3, Netherlands Prime Minister Dick Schoof said he would give the government's resignation to the King after PVV's withdrawal. Although PVV is stepping away, Schoof and other members of the government will oversee the country in a "caretaker capacity" until new leaders are elected, Politico reports. At the start of their visit to the Czech Republic, the King and Queen were greeted by President Petr Pavel and his wife Eva Pavlová at the Presidential Palace in Prague, according to Hello!. While attending a state banquet during their visit, the Dutch royals gave President Pavel and his wife the Order of the Dutch Lion and the Order of the Royal Household. Can't get enough of PEOPLE's Royals coverage? to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more! In a statement posted to X on June 4, the president said The Netherlands was the Czech Republic's "stable partner" and the country's "largest foreign investor." "Our joint efforts in support of Ukraine are crucial for the security and resilience of Europe," he wrote. "We are also linked by historical figures such as Jan Amos Komenský and Minister Max van der Stoel, who supported Czech anti-communist dissent." Read the original article on People

Wilders' far right party set to quit government in new crisis