The new hard-right Dutch coalition pledges stricter limits on asylum

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The new hard-right Dutch government pledged Tuesday to launch stricter policies to hold back or kick out migrants who don’t qualify for asylum, as the king laid out the administration’s plans in a speech to open the parliamentary year.

Dutch King Willem-Alexander, a mostly ceremonial monarch, summarized the wide-ranging policy blueprint for the coming year and beyond a day after members of the hard right-led coalition publicly bickered over its plans to slash migration, underscoring divisions even within the four-party coalition over how to push through the reforms.

The speech was a formal expression of the country's sharp turn to the right after last year's election victory by the populist anti-immigration Party for Freedom led by Geert Wilders, which echoed a sentiment that is spreading across Europe.

Among a long list of policy priorities, the king — in a speech written by the government — said that “problems are particularly urgent in the asylum chain” and that the government will urgently do all in its power “to reduce the number of asylum applications.”

"Key words are faster, stricter and more frugal,” the king said as anti-immigration leader Geert Wilders and other lawmakers looked on.

The speech was surrounded by pageantry, patriotism and even a smattering of republicanism, as the royals were driven through The Hague in ornate horse-drawn carriages past cheering spectators and a small group of protesters seeking an end to the monarchy.

It also ushered in the first major test of a technocratic new government chosen by the right-wing parties that triumphed in last year's elections.

The speech also pledged to tackle issues like chronic housing shortages, a cost of living crisis and pollution caused by the country's huge agriculture sector, while also keeping government spending in check.

“Nobody will be forced to close their farm,” the king said as Caroline van der Plas, leader of the Farmer Citizen Movement that is part of the coalition government, nodded her approval.

On foreign policy, the king said the traditional Dutch open outlook on the world will not change.

“After all, cooperation within the European Union and NATO is our main guarantee of prosperity, stability and security. The decision to continue supporting Ukraine serves direct national interests, both military and economic,” he said.

On Monday, a senior member of a party in the coalition said she would oppose the government's plans to rein in immigration if a key political advisory panel rejects them.

The comments Monday by Nicolien van Vroonhoven of the New Social Contract party triggered angry reactions from Wilders ’s populist anti-immigration Party for Freedom, which won national elections last year, and the conservative People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy.

As if addressing the question head on, the speech said that government policy “will be logical, explicable and above all feasible. Naturally the government will stay within the bounds of the rule of law,” while also cautioning that plans could be limited by “spatial, environmental or financial constraints, or by personnel shortages.”

The spat underscored the fragility of a coalition that was pulled together after months of negotiations. Prime Minister Dick Schoof was eventually chosen to head a Cabinet made up of politicians and civil servants because the leaders did not want the outspoken Wilders as prime minister.

While the government seeks consensus on a deal to drastically dial back immigration, a town in the northern Netherlands opened a sports hall overnight to accommodate asylum seekers who otherwise would have been forced to sleep outdoors because of a shortage of space at a reception center.

The local mayor accused Marjolein Faber, the minister responsible for asylum seekers and migrants, of allowing an accommodation crisis to escalate.

“The minister is shunning her responsibility. She is responsible for people who come to the Netherlands for asylum. She has had enough time and sufficient opportunity to accommodate people in a decent way. She consciously does not do this,” Mayor Jaap Velema said in a statement Monday.

The government is planning to declare an “asylum crisis” to pave the way for tougher measures including reining in visas for family members of people granted asylum and making it easier and quicker to deport migrants who are not eligible for asylum.

The government also plans to apply for an opt-out from European Union migration rules and step up border check following similar moves implemented Monday by neighboring Germany. It remains unclear how many of the Dutch government's plans can be enforced.

Dutch King Willem-Alexander, seated next to Queen Maxima, outlines the new government's policy plans and budget for the coming year in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Housing Minister Mona Keijzer, Social Affairs Minister Eddy van Hijum, Climate and Green Growth Minister Sophie Hermans, Health Minister Fleur Agema, Prime Minister Dick Schoof, from left to right, listen to Dutch King Willem-Alexander outlining the new government's policy plans and budget for the coming year in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Dutch King Willem-Alexander, seated next to Queen Maxima, outlines the new government's policy plans and budget for the coming year in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Three women wait for Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima to arrive, prior to the King outlining the new government's policy plans and budget for the coming year in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Dutch police, foreground and background, monitor the crowd waiting for Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima to arrive, prior to the King outlining the new government's policy plans and budget for the coming year in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Dutch King Willem-Alexander, seated next to Queen Maxima, outlines the new government's policy plans and budget for the coming year in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders arrives for a ceremony where Dutch King Willem-Alexander outlines the new government's policy plans and budget for the coming year in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Dutch King Willem-Alexander, seated next to Queen Maxima, outlines the new government's policy plans and budget for the coming year in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Dutch King Willem-Alexander outlines the new government's policy plans and budget for the coming year in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Dutch King Willem-Alexander, seated next to Queen Maxima, outlines the new government's policy plans and budget for the coming year in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

View of the governments buildings under renovation and the skyline of the Hague, Netherlands, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh, local officials said Sunday.

A young woman died overnight in a hospital intensive care unit after debris from a drone fell on a house during the attack on Saturday, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said on Telegram.

Three other people were wounded and more than 10 apartment buildings, private houses and a high school were damaged, he said, adding that air defenses shot down 17 drones over Voronezh. The city is home to just over 1 million people and lies some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The attack came the day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.

For only the second time in the nearly four-year war, Russia used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in a clear warning to Kyiv and NATO.

The intense barrage and the launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile followed reports of major progress in talks between Ukraine and its allies on how to defend the country from further aggression by Moscow if a U.S.-led peace deal is struck.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday in his nightly address that Ukrainian negotiators “continue to communicate with the American side.”

Chief negotiator Rustem Umerov was in contact with U.S. partners Saturday, he said.

Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia targeted Ukraine with 154 drones overnight into Sunday and 125 were shot down.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

This photo provided by the Ukrainian Security Service on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, shows a fragment believed to be a part of a Russian Oreshnik intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missile that hit the Lviv region. (Ukrainian Security Service via AP)

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second left, listens to British Defense Secretary John Healey during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)