Unemployed foreigners under threat

“Unemployed Poles will have to leave country,” headlines De Volkskrant in its report on new measures to regulate workers from other EU countries proposed by the Minister of Social Affairs and Employment, Henk Kamp of the liberal VVD party. According to the daily, the rules “will be reinforced. Those who cannot provide for themselves will have to leave.” If the proposals are accepted “immigrants who have been out of work for more than three months will have to leave” and there will also be stricter sanctions against foreign criminals. The mayor of The Hague, who has spoken of a “tsunami of Eastern workers,” and his counterpart in Rotterdam both voiced their support for the measures. However, the polish ambassador has said that the plan “is a subject for concern.” De Volkskrant also announces that migrants from Europe and also from Turkey and Morocco who apply for welfare benefits “will have to demonstrate a mastery of the Dutch language.” However, the daily also notes that these measures will require the modification of a number of European directives.