Free Republic

The Netherlands will have the option to deviate from strict adherence to European asylum and migration policies, following a decision by the House of Representatives on Wednesday. Geert Wilders, leader of the PVV party, hails this as a “historic motion.”The motion, submitted by PVV, NSC, BBB, and VVD on Tuesday, advocates for an opt-out arrangement similar to Denmark’s, which has effectively managed mass immigration for two decades. The opt-out scheme allows a Member State to withdraw from a specific area of EU policy if it chooses not to participate, the Dutch press reported.

As the leading article in The Spectator this week pointed out, thousands of people are fleeing war and anarchy in Africa and setting sail across the Mediterranean bound for Europe. The latest tragedy comes today, after a boat carrying between 500 and 700 migrants from Libya capsized. So far, only 28 people have been rescued. Coaxed by traffickers who demand huge sums, refugees have been piling into rickety boats which often disintegrate en route. Aid groups, human rights activists, the pope and the EU itself all say the EU-funded rescue operation Triton is inadequate. Well, they’re right in a way,...