New Dutch government wants an opt-out from EU migration policy. But is it possible?

The Netherlands has a new government and, with it, new ideas.

Dick Schoof, a 67-year-old independent, has taken over as prime minister, backed by a coalition of four parties: the far-right, nationalist PVV; the conservative-liberal VVD; the populist, pro-farmers BBB; and the upstart, centre-right NSC.

Due to the PVV's dominant weight in the unexpected alliance, their joint programme comes with a strong focus on migration, a hot-button issue that caused the collapse of the previous government and dominated last year's electoral cycle.

The agreement spells out an exhaustive string of proposals to reduce migratory flows, which, the parties say, "put pressure" on housing, healthcare, education, financial resources and social cohesion. The initiatives include stricter admission procedures, reversal of the burden of proof to decrease the number of positive decisions, deportation, "even forcibly", of people without valid residence permits, and immediate return of irregular migrants apprehended at the Belgian and German borders.

Then, on one crucial point, the programme reads: "An opt-out clause from the European asylum and migration policy will be submitted to the European Commission as soon as possible."

The ambitious request, which is yet to be formally presented, quickly caught the attention of Brussels, as it emerged the same week that member states gave the final approval to the New Pact on Migration and Asylum, an all-encompassing overhaul that envisions collective, predictable rules to manage the arrival of asylum seekers.

The reform took almost four years to negotiate and concluded an energy-draining political undertaking that stretched back to the 2015-2016 migration crisis. The news that the Netherlands, a founding member