THE HAGUE - Geert Wilders and his far-right PVV party wants to work on “putting the Netherlands first” in the European Parliament, and will not include its position to leave the European Union in its election manifesto. The party pleaded for a so-called Nexit in its campaign for the last European elections in 2019, and even had a section about it in its manifesto released ahead of the Dutch parliamentary election last November. 

“We will work very hard to change the EU from the inside,” the PVV wrote. They also added that “intensive economic cooperation” benefits the country. 

Before the elections for the Dutch Parliament last November, the PVV called for a binding referendum about a Nexit. This is not mentioned in the program for the European elections that will be held at the beginning of June. 

The PVV did state that they want to “cherish and protect” the Dutch sovereignty by, for example, keeping the veto right that the members of the EU have. A spokesperson for the PVV could not be reached on Friday for further comments. 

In the program, which consists of seven pages of text, Geert Wilder’s party pleads for “cooperation with like-minded people” and an end to “Europhile dreams.” 

The PVV also wants to change the European rules so that the member states can make their own decision on how many migrants they take in. 

The party is supporting Ukraine in its battle “against the Russian aggressor” but would not say how much money it will invest in helping the country in its war with Russia. 

The PVV supports European Defense cooperations, something the party had not commented on before. However, the PVV remains opposed to a European army or a European Commissioner for Defense. 

Wilders party does not criticize Islam in its program. In 2019, the party included a paragraph about the religion even though the program was only the size of one A4 paper. 

They claimed that the EU was guilty of “Islamization” and added that the existence, people, and national identity of the Netherlands had to be the first priority. 

The PVV also criticized the religion last year in the national elections program. 

The European climate policy needs to be based on “common sense,” according to the PVV. The parties want to raise the dikes and make more space for rivers.