Dutch government collapses over migration row

THE HAGUE: Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte´s coalition government collapsed after just a year and a half in office on Friday in a row over measures to curb the flow of migrants, local media said.

Rutte, the Netherlands´ longest-serving leader, presided over crisis talks between the four coalition partners but failed to reach a deal, broadcasters NOS and RTL and the Dutch news agency ANP reported.

There was no immediate statement from Rutte or members of the coalition. They did not immediately leave the venue for the talks in The Hague to speak to waiting media, an AFP reporter said.

Rutte, 56, the leader of the centre-right VVD party, had wanted to tighten curbs on reuniting families of asylum seekers, following a scandal last year about overcrowded migration centres in the Netherlands.