This post will discuss some recent developments in Dutch and European politics that may soon change foreigners’ options for traveling in the Netherlands and Europe. This is a great chance to work on place names in Dutch, which can sometimes differ greatly from their English equivalents. Don’t worry — there’s a vocabulary list at the end!

In the wake of the vluchtelingencrisis and more recently the Paris attacks, some members of the Dutch regering are suggesting new ways of addressing the current state of affairs in Europe and the world. The decisions they make will affect not only refugees, Dutch citizens, and others in the EU, but also people like you and me who may want to travel to Nederland or in and around Europa.

Travelers around the world know and love the Schengen agreement, the policy of open borders between most European countries. It allows European citizens to move freely around the continent, boosting commercial and cultural exchange throughout Europe. Even better for Dutch learners abroad, Schengen permits residents of certain countries to travel 90 days visa free around all of Europe, regardless of where you fly in or out from. This makes for not only the ideal backpacking trip, but also a good opportunity to spend a few months immersing yourself in a language.

Dutch Finance Minister and Eurogroup Chairman Jeroen Dijsselbloem at a conference. The sign behind him reads “samen werkt beter“, meaning “together works better.”
Photo by Partij van de Arbeid via Flickr under CC BY 2.0.

Jeroen Dijsselbloem of the Partij van de Arbeid (PvdA) is both the Minister van Financie in the Netherlands and the voorzitter van de Eurogroep, making him a powerful man not only in the Dutch financial world but also in the European Union. Minister Dijsselbloem has recently proposed a new solution to the refugee crisis in Europe: a “mini-Schengen“. Dijsselbloem’s proposal includes a similar border-free zone with België, Duitsland, Oostenrijk, and, curiously, Zweden. Outside this “harde kern” of European countries, normal grenzen would be restored and maintained.

Minister-President Mark Rutte of the Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie (VVD), the neoliberal center-right party and majority party in the Tweede Kamer that governs the Netherlands, supports this idea. Leftist and centrist parties, like the pro-Europe D66, strongly oppose what they call “EU-defaitisme” and the establishment of a mini-Schengen zone.

Such a mini-Schengen agreement would allow member countries to instate grensbewaking to keep refugees from Syrië and other countries out.

The reason Minister Dijsselbloem and his supporters cite as justification is the irresponsibility of other EU countries — particularly in Oost and Zuid Europa — in taking in asylum-seekers. The entire European Union is legally required to work under the same asielbeleid, which specifies that refugees must remain in the land van aankomst, where they originally arrive in Europe. This means that, according to the law, Southern Europe and the Balkan countries should be receiving nearly all asylum-seekers, and Noord and West Europa none.

A map of asielaanvragen in the EU. The colors show the asylum requests per country as a proportion of those countries’ native populations.
Image via Maximilian Dörrbecker via Wikimedia Commons under CC BY-SA 2.0

The law is on Dijsselbloem’s side, and it is true that Eastern European countries like Polen and Tsjechië aren’t receiving as many refugees from the Middle East and North Africa. However, there has been so far little mention the burden of Ukrainian refugees and Eastern Europe’s lack of suitable refugee infrastructure. The crisis in nearby Oekraïne has in many ways consumed such resources in Eastern Europe.

Similarly omitted are discussions of the responsibilities of the oil rich Golfstaten who have accepted zero refugees to date.

Image via Wikimedia Commons under CC BY-SA 4.0

Dijsselbloem and the VVD say they mean business, but journalists are skeptical. Duitsland reportedly wants nothing to do with a mini-Schengen zone, and Dijsselbloem has also said more than once that open borders with Belgium and Germany are crucial to the economy. Similarly odd is the inclusion of Zweden in this group — separated geographically from the rest by Denemarken, it seems an impractical inclusion.

In all likelihood, we can rest assured that our summer backpacking trips through the Schengen zone will remain unhindered. The general consensus is that Dijsselbloem and his supporters are only threatening their Eastern neighbors. Even if Dijsselbloem is actually serious, it appears at the moment that opposition from Germany and others will foil his plans.

You can listen to a clip from BNR Nieuwsradio discussing the issue here.

Woordenlijst:

Plaatsnamen or place names:

• Nederland — the Netherlands
• België — Belgium
• Duitsland — Germany
• Oostenrijk — Austria
• Zweden — Sweden
• Denemarken — Denmark
• Polen — Poland
• Tsjechië — Czech Republic
• Oekraïne — Ukraine
• De Balkan — the Balkans, or Southeast Europe. Note that in Dutch de Balkan is a singular noun, unlike the English plural ‘Balkans’
• Syrië — Syria
• De Golfstaten — the Gulf States, the oil-wealthy nations of the Persian Gulf. These include Bahrein (Bahrain), Koeweit (Kuwait), Qatar, de Verenigde Arabische Emiraten (United Arab Emirates or UAE), Saoedi-Arabië (Saudi Arabia), and Oman. Qatar, Kuwait, and the UAE are among the ten wealthiest countries in the world per capita, and all are among the top 25.
• Europa — Europe. Sometimes used to refer to the European Union in political discussions of “meer of minder Europa” (“more or less Europe/EU)

Government and political terminology:

• de vluchtelingencrisis — the refugee crisis
• de regering — the government, typically formed by multiple parties in the Tweede Kamer
• de grens (grenzen) — the border (borders). Grenzen can also be used as a verb: Nederland grenst aan België.
• de Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal — the second house of parliament and de facto the ruling body of the Dutch government. The Minister-President is the leader of the largest party in the Tweede Kamer.
• het asielbeleid — asylum or refugee policy. All EU countries are legally required to follow the EU asielbeleid.
• de grensbewaking — border patrolling or border security; the maintenance of borders