THE HAGUE – Every person receiving benefits must speak Dutch. This was stated by the VVD in a government proposal which will be submitted by Member of Parliament Cora van Nieuwenhuizen next Tuesday.
The VVD is of the opinion that people on social security should be able to speak Dutch at least as well as those integrating into Dutch society. According to the proposal, social security payment will be reduced to 80 percent should there be a reasonable suspicion that the person involved does not speak Dutch. After 6 months that percentage becomes 60 percent and if, after a period of one year he or she still has not reached a certain level of Dutch, benefits will be stopped completely.
Joining in
According to Cora van Nieuwenhuizen “people are on benefits because they cannot find work. An import reason for this is the fact that they speak little or no Dutch”. “This is bad news for tax payers but also for these people themselves because their insufficient command of the language stops them from taking part in Dutch society”, according to the Dutch politician. Cora van Nieuwenhuizen also states that these rules will apply to everyone, “also for fellow Europeans who do not have a civic integration duty and Turks”. “We will not prescribe in which way they will have to learn Dutch as long as they meet the set requirements”. The MP hopes that the proposal will be reviewed even before the summer. She is expecting support from other parties because “people are expected to take an active part in Dutch society more and more. This also means that they will have to be able to speak Dutch. This is the only way to make sure this will actually happen.” Cora van Nieuwenhuizen hopes that the law will be passed before 2013.
Source: ANP