Latest blog articles

  • Quota system for 'risk countries': is Saxion crossing the line?

    To counter misuse of student visas the Saxion University of Applied Sciences applies a so called ‘quota system’ for students from ‘risk countries’. The question is whether a quota is an appropriate instrument and if it is not in conflict with (European) law. This blog is only available in Dutch.

    Saxion_Deventer_Wikimedia
  • Leftist science?

    How diverse is Dutch science? According to a majority in the Second Chamber, perhaps not quite diverse. Last week, the Chamber adopted a motion that calls upon the government to clarify whether Dutch university staff is made up too much homogeneous. (Dutch only)

    Science left-wing_social-media
  • Extraterritorial human rights obligations to protect refugees

    It took quite a while before the European countries realized and recognized that the influx from asylum-seekers via the Mediterranean Sea and Turkey into the European Union is not just a matter of controlling the outside borders of the Union, but also a humanitarian and human rights issue. Some...

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  • How I stopped worrying about asylum seekers

    In a short memo, published on 22 March, the Dutch Liberal Party (VVD) expressed its view on how to handle the increasing number of asylum claims in the Netherlands, and more broadly in the EU, as well as the continuously tragic events concerning refugees that occur at the external borders of the EU...

    Trapped in despair: ‘The Great Escape’ in the Mediterranean