Forum, a Dutch institute for multicultural development, confirmed on Friday it is to carry out a cost benefit analysis of immigration in the Netherlands, ANP reports. The Amsterdam-based multicultural institute will conduct the study following the government’s refusal to do so. The investigation follows considerable political controversy, as earlier this summer the right-wing Freedom Party (PVV) demanded a calculation of the costs of immigration, which Integration Minister Eberhard van der Laan refused on “matters of principle”.
Radio Netherlands Worldwide reports that Forum director Sadik Harchaoui says he does not want to stray into a political minefield, but rather to get the facts out in the open. That would keep the discussion unbiased and “prevent navel-gazing and strained debates” in the lower house, Mr. Harchaoui told Trouw.
