News

Asylum crisis: “All Member States must take responsibility within strong European borders”

9 September 2015

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker devoted nearly his entire State of the Union address to the asylum crisis. “Actually, we can only make an assessment of his speech once we know more about the specific elements of the plans that he presented,” says Sander Loones, N-VA vice-chairman …

Asylum crisis: N-VA also advocates for realism within Europe

7 September 2015

The N-VA delegation in the European Parliament has proposed 10 specific measures for more effectively dealing with the asylum crisis. The four Members of the European Parliament want the EU to go back to its basic values: solidarity, but also responsibility. They advocate a system of mandatory …

Additional resources for repatriating asylum seekers who have exhausted all legal remedies

5 September 2015

The government has given the Immigration Service (DVZ) the green light for additional resources. As a result of this, capacity at the Service’s detention centres can be increased: from 452 to 605 places (+34%). However, increased capacity requires increased staffing, and so an additional 97 …

Blocking Syrian fighters’ financial resources

3 September 2015

At the proposal of Minister of Finance Johan Van Overtveldt, the Belgian National Security Council has approved a circular pursuant to which the fight against terrorism is continued. The circular discusses the procedure for blocking the financial resources of people and organisations that commit, …

Secretary of State Francken wants European emergency fund for asylum intake

2 September 2015

According to Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration Theo Francken, the limit of our capacity to take in refugees has gradually been reached. If the fair distribution throughout the various European Member States remains unfeasible, he wants Belgium to be able to receive financial support …

Minister Jambon wants a Belgian passenger screening system: “Let’s not wait for Europe”

1 September 2015

Minister of Security and the Interior Jan Jambon isn’t waiting on Europe to get started on a mechanism for screening and exchanging passenger data. In a few weeks, he wants to have a bill ready that goes beyond what the European Union is currently preparing. At the same time, the minister is …

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