Several candidates running in the Netherlands’ March 3 local elections have published campaign material in languages other than Dutch, sparking criticism from other campaigners. Turkish and Arabic-language election posters have appeared at various places in the country, as Labour (PvdA), the Christian democrats (CDA), centre-left D66, the Socialist Party (SP) and the leftwing Greens have…
The integration of immigrants into Dutch society is improving but segregation is increasing in some neighbourhoods and in schools, integration minister Eberhard van der Laan told MPs on Tuesday. The minister (Labour) sent an annual report with integration statistics and a letter with the government’s vision to parliament. Claiming immigrants should have the desire to…
Geert Wilders’ PVV party is an ‘extreme right-wing’ grouping and a threat to social cohesion and democracy, according to a report leaked by Volkskrant. The report, which has yet to be finalized, was created by three academics for the home affairs ministry and looks at polarization and radicalism in the Netherlands. Ministers and the researchers…
Debate continues in Dutch parliament regarding the request by the Freedom Party (PVV) to undertake a study of the impact of non-Western immigrants on the nation’s budget. Integration Minister Eberhard van der Laan refused, saying the government does not compile figures on specific groups in society. Van der Laan is accused of making his refusal…
The Dutch government has decided to deny the Freedom Party (PVV) request to calculate the precise cost and benefit of immigration. The party requested accounts from each ministry regarding the cost and benefit of immigrants, but Minister of Integration Eberhard van der Laan says ministers will only give figures that are already available in the…
