Anti-EU & "Nexit" remarks (2016–present)

Key Dates & Statements

• 7 April 2016 – Following a Dutch referendum rejecting the EU-Ukraine association agreement, Wilders tweeted that it was "the beginning of the end of the European Union."


• 22 June 2016 – Wilders called for a referendum in the Netherlands on exiting the EU ("Nexit"). He said that if the UK’s United Kingdom vote to leave were "successful," the Netherlands should follow.


• 24 June 2016 – After the UK’s Brexit vote, Wilders said:Hurrah for the British! Now it is our turn. Time for a Dutch referendum! #ByeByeEU


• 29 June 2016 – The Dutch House of Representatives rejected a motion by Wilders for an EU-membership referendum; only 14 of 150 MPs supported it.


• March 2017 – Ahead of the Dutch general election, Wilders was quoted as calling Nexit "the best thing that could happen to the Dutch people."


• April 2024 – Wilders signalled a tactical shift: acknowledging that a Nexit referendum was unlikely, he said the aim should now be to reform the EU from within, rather than immediate exit.


• 9 September 2024 – In an interview, Wilders described the EU as a "monster" demanding ever more power and argued for returning powers to national capitals.

Key Themes in His Position

• Sovereignty & National Control: Wilders repeatedly emphasises the need for the Netherlands to have “its own money, its own borders, its own immigration policy.”


• Economic Argument for Exit: In his party’s website, the PVV claimed that leaving the EU (NExit) would boost the Dutch economy by ~10% by 2024, arguing Dutch households would on average gain about €10,000 over two decades.


• Critique of EU Integration: Wilders has framed the EU’s trajectory as one of ever-closer political union, which he rejects:If you give it more power they only want more and they won’t give it back.


• From Exit to Reform: Although early on he pushed hard for immediate exit, more recently he has accepted that the public and political conditions for Nexit aren’t favourable, and shifted toward reforming the EU’s powers instead.


• Opposition to EU Enlargement & Migration: Wilders opposes further enlargement of the EU and has linked the EU’s migration and border rules to loss of national control.