New Belgian state secretary for Asylum and Migration revealed

Nicole de Moor will be the new Belgian state secretary for Asylum and Migration. This was decided by the CD&V party council on Monday evening. De Moor was chief of cabinet under her predecessor Sammy Mahdi, who became party chairman last weekend. 

De Moor has a lot of experience in Asylum and Migration. She once worked for the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons (CGRS). In addition, she has already worked in several CD&V cabinets. Before Mahdi, she worked for, among others, former minister of Justice Koen Geens and minister of Employment Nathalie Muylle. 

On Monday evening Mahdi called her "experience and innovation in one person". "We sometimes call her the warm Margaret Thatcher of Flanders. She is strict, but fair and able to position the party correctly, also in the coming years."

The topics of asylum and migration have frequently appeared in the news. In the last few months, Belga reported on rising suicide attempts in Belgian reception centres, lengthy waiting lists for asylum seekers, and the continuous inflow of Ukrainian refugees, among others.

(TOM)

Newly elected CD&V chairman Sammy Mahdi, newly appointed state secretary Nicole De Moor and minister of Finance Vincent Van Peteghem. - © BELGA PHOTO ERIC LALMAND