Geert Wilders, leader of the Dutch far-right Party for Freedom, has called for Spain to be kicked out of the Schengen area because of its immigration policy.
“If Spain chooses to be the weakest link in Schengen, the only option is to exclude that link, to kick Spain out of Schengen“, he said during a speech at the international Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Budapest, commenting on Madrid's decision to legalize a significant number of illegal migrants.
According to the policy, such measures would have negative consequences for other EU countries due to the lack of internal borders in the Schengen area.
In January, the Spanish government, led by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, approved a decree legalizing approximately 500,000 illegal migrants and asylum seekers in the country.
The measure envisages issuing residence permits and work permits for one year to migrants who have resided in Spain for at least five months, provided they have no criminal record.
The authorities explained their decision with humanitarian and economic considerations, including the need to integrate migrants and fill labor shortages, but the move has drawn criticism from right-wing forces who fear an increase in secondary migration within the EU.