Depraetere (Vooruit): ‘Those who do not want to integrate will lose their money’

‘We would replace the living wage for newcomers with integration support. Those who do not want to integrate will lose their money.’ This is what Melissa Depraetere, the chairman of Vooruit, says in De Zondag.

Newcomers who do not want to integrate will lose their money, says Vooruit chairman Melissa Depraetere in an interview in De Zondag. ‘That’s about rights and obligations. We would replace the living wage for newcomers with integration support. Those who do not want to integrate will lose their money.’

“For example, if you want social housing, you have to learn the language and look for a job,” Depraetere continues. “Those are our conditions.” At the same time, she wonders how many people would not want to integrate. ‘Very little. The problem is that newcomers often feel abandoned, that no one cares about them. We want to change that. We want to encourage them. For example, we do not think it is good that the Flemish government has made language courses chargeable. In this way you make integration more difficult.’

Vooruit will only join the next federal government if there is a tax reform, according to Depraetere. This should widen the difference between working and not working.

‘500 euros is a good target,’ says Depraetere. ‘We want to reduce the burden on labor and shift it to capital, because the money has to come from somewhere. But that won’t be enough. At the same time, the VDAB must become much more persistent. You have to encourage and activate people from day one. That still happens far too little. Many unemployed people are being left behind.’

Depraetere does not want to know about a limitation in the duration of unemployment benefits. She does repeat the plea for the basic job, as her predecessor Conner Rousseau did last year in the run-up to May 1. “If someone really cannot find work after two years, the government wants to offer a basic job, of course with full wages and social rights,” says Depraetere. Anyone who refuses will face a financial penalty. “But that won’t affect many people,” says Depraetere.

The Vooruit chairman also puts forward better education as a priority for the next Flemish government. ‘One measure will be our breaking point: free hot meals for all children in primary education. Anyone with an empty stomach cannot study. That is the basis of everything.’