Spokeswoman for European Commission says opt-out is only possible if there are changes to recently-agreed EU immigration pact

The Netherlands' right-wing government said on Wednesday it would seek to opt out from the European Union's migration rules if and when the bloc next renegotiates its core treaties - even though this is unlikely to happen any time soon.

The Dutch government asked the European Union to opt out of its migration and asylum agreement as the new right-wing cabinet pushes for the country’s strictest ever immigration policies.

The new Dutch government dominated by the far-right party of Geert Wilders has officially asked the European Union for an exemption from its migration obligations

The Netherlands announced Wednesday that it had requested from Brussels an opt-out from the European Union's rules on asylum, days after the coalition government unveiled the country's toughest-ever immigration policy.

The Netherlands submitted a request to the European Commission on Wednesday to obtain an opt-out clause from standard EU asylum rules. Minister of Asylum and Migration Marjolein Faber said, 'The

Right-wing governments in Europe are pushing back against the European Union’s (EU) asylum rules and some are being punished for it. The Netherlands Migration Minister Marjolein Faber of the Freedom Party (PVV) announced Wednesday that she wrote to the EU to officially ask for a “migration opt-out.

The four-party coalition in the Netherlands, led by Prime Minister Dick Schoof, has promised to build up the "strictest asylum regime ever."