Ter Apel’s reception centre for asylum seekers has exceeded its legal maximum capacity for over a week. The Central Agency for Asylum Seekers (COA) is now calling for greater input from municipalities.
The current state at Ter Apel does not come as a surprise. Last month, the COA was able to keep the number of people at its reception centre below its maximum capacity of 2,000 people. But the agency had already alerted for an incoming shortage of around 5500 places for asylum seekers throughout the country by the end of March.
In addition to a higher influx of asylum seekers, the closing down of emergency shelters has contributed to the shortage of space. This week, for example, the shelter at Biddinghuizen for 1,200 asylum seekers will be closed down, as previously agreed with the municipality, according to the COA.
Moreover, the COA also struggles with a high number of permit holders in asylum reception centres. Almost 18,000 people who have been granted a permit to reside in the Netherlands are yet to receive a home. This is the responsibility of local municipalities. To address this, permit holders are now being placed in hotels, close to other COA locations, as an emergency measure to alleviate overcrowding. Despite some municipalities being engaged in the asylum crisis, the efforts aren’t always equally distributed
“Local governments in the North and Flevoland do a lot. But there are some regions in the Netherlands that stay behind. That is why the government passed the spreidingswet,” COA Spokesperson Laura Bossink, told The Northern Times earlier this month.
However, the Spreidingswet, or Spreading Act/Distribution Act in English, is not expected to take full effect until 2025, according to the COA. The agency is thus putting out an urgent call on the local governments to increase their efforts to alleviate the situation until then.
“The need for shelters is greater than ever. The COA can only achieve this with the help of municipalities. That is why the COA is once again appealing to municipalities and provinces to urgently set up reception locations in anticipation of the Distribution Act,” said COA’s chairperson Milo Schoenmaker in a press release.
Back in January, a penalty of €15,000 per day that Ter Apel’s centre exceeded its legal capacity of 2,000 people was imposed on the COA. This was a result of a ruling in favour of the municipality where the reception centre is located, Westerwolde, which took the COA to court to address Ter Apel’s overcrowding. The COA was able to comply with the ruling between February 24th to March 8th.
[Photo credit: Inge van Mill]
