ANPA asylum seekers arrive at the registration center in Ter Apel
In association with
RTV North
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 18:17
For the second day in a row, more than 2,000 people spent the night in the registration center in Ter Apel. Last night the counter stood at 2021 people, the night before at 2002. This means that the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) must once again pay a penalty of 15,000 euros to the municipality of Westerwolde, where the center is located. The fine now amounts to a total of 60,000 euros.
The judge ruled at the end of January that the COA must pay a penalty of 15,000 euros as of February 22 for each day that the occupancy in the registration center exceeds the maximum of 2,000. This happened for the fourth time last night, so there is now 60,000 euros in the fine pot. The COA must continue to pay until the maximum of 1.5 million euros has been reached.
“We are doing everything we can to adhere to the administrative agreement with the municipality of Westerwolde and to avoid penalty payments,” said COA. “Due to the high occupancy and the slightly higher influx, this is not always feasible.”
Because reception locations will soon close due to expiring leases, the pressure on Ter Apel is expected to increase again in the near future, writes RTV North. Several locations in the country have space available, but due to agreements with the municipalities, this is currently not being used.
No longer acceptable
The maximum occupancy in Ter Apel has been structurally exceeded by hundreds of people for some time now. The municipality of Westerwolde went to court in December to reduce the number of asylum seekers in the reception location. According to the mayor, the situation in the center was no longer acceptable, both for the asylum seekers and for residents of the registration center.
The dispersal law was passed in the Senate in January. The premise is that asylum seekers are better distributed among the municipalities in the Netherlands, which should eventually alleviate the situation in Ter Apel.
2024-03-10 17:17:42
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