The Netherlands must become much tougher at dealing with people who claim to be asylum seekers but are actually economic refugees, immigration minister Gerd Leers says in an interview with the Telegraaf.

Leers wants to ensure asylum seekers get an early indication about the likelihood of their application succeeding and to speed up procedures. An appeal against rejection at which no new facts are submitted can be heard within a day, the minister is quoted as saying.
He also plans to cut payments to lawyers specialising in asylum requests.
The minister hopes that all the measures will reduce spending by €25m.