GroenLinks wants more money for youth- and community projects

GroenLinks wants 330 million euros extra to invest in fighting poverty among kids, and thereby preventing radicalization, according to the counter-budget the party is presenting on Wednesday. Party leader Jesse Klaver believes that more youth- and community work can go a long way in preventing kids from becoming isolated and radicalized, NOS reports. "We must not only defend our freedom, but also continue to develop, strengthen and renew it", Klaver said. "Segregation is the ax to the roots of our shared freedom. We must do everything to prevent young people from becoming isolated from our shared values and radicalized." Klaver wants to allocate another 90 million euros for projects in municipalities and local organizations that prevent extremism and promote social cohesion. To promote social cohesion, the party wants more social workers and more attention to sports. "We do this by creating space in neighborhoods to play sports together", Klaver said, mentioning basketball and soccer fields in neighborhoods as examples. GroenLinks also wants child asylum seekers to start school immediately, like Dutch children. This will help them learn the language from day one and fit into society easier. Finally the party wants to invest more into visible arts and culture in disadvantaged neighborhoods. The party also submitted a climate budget, like last year. This one states, among other things, that speed limits should be decreased and that kilometer taxing should be implemented in 2018.