Dutch government led by far-right PVV asks EU for opt-out from asylum rules

Move by coalition headed by Geert Wilders’ Freedom party is unlikely to get a positive reception in Brussels

The new Dutch coalition government headed by Geert Wilders’ far-right Freedom party (PVV) appears to be on a collision course with the EU over immigration after formally asking Brussels for an opt-out on asylum rules.

“I have just informed the European Commission that I want a migration ‘opt-out’ on migration matters in Europe for the Netherlands,” the asylum and migration minister Marjolein Faber, a member of the PVV, said on X on Wednesday.