The European Commission has condemned the Dutch anti-immigration website that encourages people to report nuisance caused by Polish, Rumanian and Bulgarian citizens. The so-called anti-Pole site, run by the Dutch far-right party PVV, has taken in more than 30000 complaints since it launched.
Geert Wilders, the outspoken head of the PVV party known for his anti-muslim positions, responded to the criticism by saying that the website only aims at finding facts and doesn't instigate discrimination. "Europe can get stuffed", Wilders said earlier on this week.
So far, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has refused to comment on the controversy. Asked to react to the initiative during a Thursday evening debate on the European Union, Rutte said it is not up to him to comment on positions taken by individual political parties.
On Thursday, Rutte told Dutch media that he will discuss the EU complaints in a meeting on 1 March with European Parliament President Martin Schulz. It was not clear yet if Rutte was going to accept an invite by the EPP group to explain his reluctance to condemn the PVV website in a plenary debate with the European Parliament in Strasbourg on 13 March.
Guy Verhofstadt, leader of the ALDE group, which includes Mark Rutte's VVD party, said the website was "scandalous" and said the silence of the Dutch government was "unacceptable".
