Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email

       Please enter a valid email address

       Please enter a valid email address

       SIGN UP

       I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice

       Thanks for signing up to the

       View from Westminster email

       {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

       The four parties that make up Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte's ruling coalition are in tense talks over ways to rein in migration amid speculation the thorny issue could bring down the administration and force a general election.

       Rutte, the Netherlands’ longest serving premier, presided over late-night meetings Wednesday and Thursday that failed to result in a deal. More talks were planned for Friday.

       “Everybody want to find a good, effective solution that also does justice to the fact that this is about human lives,” Finance Minister Sigrid Kaag, a member of the centrist D66 party, said.

       The discussions have underscored ideological divisions in the coalition between the partner parties that do not support a strict crackdown on migration - D66 and fellow centrist party ChristenUnie, or Christian Union - and the two that favor tougher measures - Rutte's conservative People's Party for Freedom and Democracy and the Christian Democrats.

       The coalition has tried for months to hash out a deal to reduce the flow of new migrants arriving in the country of nearly 18 million people. Proposals reportedly include creating two classes of asylum — a temporary one for people fleeing conflicts and a permanent one for people trying to escape persecution — and reducing the number of family members who are allowed to join asylum-seekers in the Netherlands.

       Recommended Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide

       “We've been working at this for a long time, and all the information is on the table. We have to look together to see if we can make something of it,” Justice Minister Dilan Ye？ilg？z-Zegerius, a member of Rutte's party, said.

       Last year, hundreds of asylum-seekers were forced to sleep outdoors in squalid conditions near an overcrowded reception center as the number of people arriving in the Netherlands outstripped the available beds. Dutch aid agencies provided assistance.

       Just over 21,500 people from outside Europe sought asylum in the Netherlands in 2022, according to the country’s statistics office. Tens of thousands more moved to the Netherlands to work and study.

       The numbers have put a strain on housing that already was in short supply in the densely populated country.

       Rutte’s government has worked for a law that could compel municipalities to provide accommodations for newly arrived asylum-seekers, but the legislation has yet to pass through both houses of parliament.

       The prime minister also has promoted European Union efforts to slow migration to the 27-nation bloc. Rutte visited Tunisia last month with his Italian counterpart and the president of the EU’s executive commission to offer more than 1 billion euros in financial aid to rescue the North African nation's teetering economy and to stem migration from its shores to Europe.

       Rutte's coalition government, the fourth he has led, took office in January 2022 following the longest coalition negotiations in Dutch political history.

       If the four-party coalition collapses, there likely would be an election for the 150-seat lower house of the Dutch parliament later this year amid a polarized and splintered political landscape. Rutte's Cabinet would likely remain in office as a caretaker administration until a new government was formed.

       During provincial elections earlier this year, a populist pro-farmer party put Rutte’s party into second place. The defeat was seen as a possible incentive for Rutte to do his utmost to hold together his coalition until its term ends in 2025.

       Recommended The leaders of the Netherlands and Luxembourg tell Kosovo and Serbia to normalize ties for EU hopes Jens Stoltenberg’s term as Nato chief extended after Ben Wallace’s hopes dashed Happy with a safe pair of hands as the war drags on, NATO again extends Stoltenberg's mandate

       ___

       Follow AP’s coverage of migration issues at https://apnews.com/hub/migration

       More about Mark Rutte AP Netherlands Europe Christian Democrats Cabinet Tunisia European Union Italian

       1/ 1How to rein in migration to the Netherlands is dividing the Dutch government

       How to rein in migration to the Netherlands is dividing the Dutch government Netherlands Politics

       Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

       ？ Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article

       Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.

       Subscribe

       Already subscribed? Log in