PVV leader Geert Wilders no longer sees the Netherlands leaving the European Union, which was one of his party’s key priorities until recently. He is also pleased to note that the PVV has become a significant factor in Brussels after the European elections, also thanks to the collaboration with other radical right-wing parties such as Fidesz of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and the French Rassemblement National of Marine le Pen.
FVD leader Thierry Baudet, who failed to win a seat in the European elections in June with a tough Nexit campaign, wanted to know during the debate on Wilders’ budget whether he still supports leaving the EU. This point disappeared quite quietly from the PVV’s election manifesto this spring, which instead wrote that it wanted to change the EU “from within”.
Wilsders wants to change the EU from within
“I don’t think it’s going to happen anymore,” Wilders says now about the chances of a Nexit. He sees that there is too little support for it in the Netherlands. That’s why he is happy with his party’s seats in the European Parliament. According to him, this gives the PVV “more influence than if you’re not in it or if you’re shouting from the sidelines: give me a Nexit.”
Regarding the opt-out on asylum in Europe, Wilders said: “If we manage to get an opt-out on asylum, that would be a kind of mini-Nexit.”
PVV minister Marjolein Faber sent a written request to the European Commission on Tuesday. In an initial response, a spokesperson for the European Commission already indicated that the EU rules for asylum and migration remain binding for the Netherlands.
