Anti-immigration immigration minister Marjolein Faber has informed parliament that her planned 3.5 billion euro cut from the refugee and asylum budget is not possible, according to the Volkskrant.
The PVV minister was providing an estimation of spending ahead of the spring budget talks.
Faber has pressed forward with the reduction despite repeated warnings her budget was not realistic. Last year the Court of Audits, the independent body that evaluates government spending, said it was doubtful Faber’s plans would be possible.
Multiple sources told the Volkskrant that Faber had backtracked from her planned 80% reduction when she gave her estimations to finance minister Eelco Heinen.
Under what Faber has called the “harshest immigration plan ever,” she expected a substantial drop in the number of people seeking asylum in the Netherlands.
The Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) has been chronically underfunded. Hundreds of people were left sleeping outside in the summer of 2022 because the reception centre had no beds. Access to water, toilets and showers was also extremely limited.
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