asylum law on the spread of reception next week in the House

Secretary of State Van der Burg aims to submit a bill to the House of Representatives at the end of next week to better disseminate asylum seekers in the Netherlands. The autumn break starts next Friday.

In a parliamentary debate, Van der Burg acknowledged that he was unable to have the bill ready by October 1, but still wants the law to go into effect on January 1. This will happen soon, because both houses have yet to agree. The secretary of state said the law has not yet been approved by the Council of Ministers and that he is “perfecting” the law to get enough consensus in the House.

Lately it has been clear that the delay is mainly due to resistance within Van der Burg’s party, the VVD. The discussion focuses on whether municipalities can be forced to accept asylum seekers. Opposition parties have asked Van der Burg if he thinks the law should contain something on coercion.

The Secretary of State did not want to use that word, but said there must be a law that works. Van der Burg wants to get rid of the situation where emergency care always has to be organized at the last minute. He also doesn’t like the fact that there are municipalities that say, “Just do it to the neighbors.”

Van der Burg stressed that the law must ensure that there is reception capacity for asylum seekers in more municipalities. “Otherwise that law makes no sense.” This does not necessarily mean that every municipality will have a center for asylum seekers, “but there must be sufficient capacity, for which every municipality in the Netherlands feels co-responsible in one way or another”.

VVD spokesman Brekelmans was called from several sides in the parliamentary debate to clarify the position of his group. He replied that he will evaluate the law if he is examined by the House. He added that the VVD also wants a better spread of reception in the Netherlands, but that it is about the way this is done.

Brekelmans cited the example of Tubbergen, where the government forced a municipality to take in asylum seekers, which caused a lot of resistance: “We have seen what it causes locally, how much resistance it causes. We have to look for a way that leads to greater diffusion, but at the same time maintaining asylum support throughout the Netherlands “.