The austerity program of the new Belgian government, led by the Flemish nationalist Bart de Wever, includes a chapter on immigration which was, like others, strongly denounced by the left opposition, Wednesday, February 5, during the Parliamentary debate which followed the inauguration speech delivered the day before by the Prime Minister. The coalition led by M. de Wever believes that the country has “Do more than its share” for the reception of migrants in the past ten years, but that its reception centers can no longer face the “Disproportionate number of asylum seekers”. Belgium therefore intends to apply in the future “The strictest policy” in this area.
Some 39,000 asylum applications were filed in 2024, an increase of 12 % in one year, but a notable drop had been recorded between 2022 and 2023. Centers is also largely caused by the delays accumulated for the 'Examination of the files, which earned the State to be sentenced thousands of times by justice. “We have, in fact, deliberately created the situation which today makes it possible to justify the tightening of a repressive and polarizing policy, which is similar to that carried out in other European countries”judge Sotieta Ngon, director of Ciré, a migrant aid center.
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Source: Lemonde