THE HAGUE, Feb 17: The Dutch parliament approved plans on Tuesday to expel up to 26,000 failed asylum seekers, a move that would be unprecedented in Europe and that has triggered large protests and threats of hunger strikes.

The plans, which still have to be endorsed by parliament's upper house, would force the failed applicants, many of whom have lived in the Netherlands for years, to leave over three years, while some 2,300 others would be granted amnesty.

Immigration has been a hot topic across Europe recently, with far-right parties exploiting fear of foreigners to win votes in countries from France to Austria, putting pressure on more mainstream politicians to introduce tougher policies.

The Dutch lower house of parliament rejected a series of motions on Tuesday intended to soften the plans by the centre- right government, which a spokesman for Immigration and Integration Minister Rita Verdonk said meant the policy had been approved.

"We have given status to about 2,300 asylum seekers and we have said that others have to leave our country. She (Verdonk) wants a better, stronger approach. She wants to bring into effect that people return to their country of origin," he said.

The spokesman said the policy tightened asylum legislation from 2001 to ensure that those whose applications have been rejected - many who have been in the country long enough to raise families and take jobs - are helped to return home.

They would be given eight weeks to leave the Netherlands voluntarily and then taken to special departure centres where they would be given assistance to leave voluntarily or be forcibly repatriated after another eight weeks, he said.

Long renowned for their tolerant and open society, the Dutch have become more hostile towards foreigners in recent years and voted in droves in May 2002 for the anti-immigration party of populist Pim Fortuyn, just days after he was shot dead. But voters later abandoned it in a fresh election months later after infighting prompted the coalition government to collapse. -Reuters