The Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) has terminated its partnerships wiht commercial intermediaries for hotel accommodations and confirmed that no current contracts remain with such entities.
As the beginning of 2024,the COA has been directly arranging hotel accommodations.The organization has declined to disclose the current expenditure for emergency reception facilities.
‘No gun to their head’
In a May 2024 interview with the FD, René Derksen addressed the pricing agreements, stating, “We started in 2022 with 325 euros per room per night, excluding VAT. In the summer of 2023, the COA found that too high.”
“I then asked what they considered feasible rates, and three prices were renegotiated: from 290 euros for reception up to 6 months, to 210 euros for 3 years or longer. That was all no problem; I didn’t put a gun to their head for a signature,” he recounted last year.
Public Prosecution Service launches inquiry
The Public Prosecution Service has initiated an investigation into the contracts between LCHD, the COA, and the involved hotels, examining potential unlawfully obtained benefits.
The COA itself has previously raised concerns about the high costs associated with emergency reception. A spot in a regular reception location costs an average of over 30,000 euros per resident annually, while emergency reception facilities cost nearly 70,000 euros. Consequently, the COA spent 1 billion euros on regular reception and 2.5 billion euros on emergency reception last year. The urgent need for numerous accommodations became especially apparent at the outset of the war in Ukraine.