The Cabinet has before it a long and arduous parliamentary debate on the asylum crisis on Thursday. The problem is huge, and both the coalition and the opposition are critical of cabinet solutions. Some parties find the proposals too harsh and inhumane, while other groups find them far too weak and continue to press not to welcome asylum seekers at all. State Secretary Eric van der Burg (Asylum) and Minister Hugo de Jonge (Public Housing) must report on the problems and explain the solutions envisaged.
The asylum crisis started long before the summer but has rapidly worsened in recent months. The situation at the Ter Apel registration centre, in particular, was dramatic and untenable. Hundreds of asylum seekers had to sleep outside. Hygiene conditions were appalling and security was at stake. Médecins Sans Frontières began providing medical assistance to asylum seekers in Ter Apel. It was the first time that the organization intervened in the Netherlands.
One of the biggest problems is that the flow from asylum centers to ordinary accommodation has been stagnating for some time. Refugees – former asylum seekers allowed to stay in the Netherlands – occupy around 16,000 of the approximately 40,000 places in asylum centers because they cannot find accommodation. State Secretary Eric van der Burg has been looking for new asylum centers for some time, but the municipalities do not want to cooperate. Emergency shelters have also struggled to take off.
Last month, Van der Burg and De Jonge therefore decided to use force. They said the need was so great there was no other way. The ministers bypass Tuberrgen and authorize the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) to open an asylum center in a hotel it bought in Albergen. This sparked anger in the municipality and in The Hague politics.
After an unusually long Council of Ministers recently, the Cabinet presented a package of measures to contain the asylum crisis. One of these agreements limits family reunification – family members of asylum seekers will have to wait much longer to be reunited. The government has also suspended the deal with Turkey, meaning the Netherlands will take in fewer Greek asylum seekers until the end of 2023.
The independent Meijers Committee, which includes experts in international immigration law, has concluded that limiting family reunification goes against EU law. The advisory body expects the EU to intervene and “remind the Netherlands if the proposed measures are actually implemented”.
The Committee pointed out that under the new rules, asylum seekers will have to wait 2.5 years to be reunited with their families. The structural postponement of family reunification, especially when it comes to children, is contrary to the Family Reunification Directive and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, the committee said. The government must not forget to take into account the interests of children.
The agreements have caused unrest, also within the coalition parties. Many VVD members find the provisions too weak and want the Cabinet to stop taking asylum seekers altogether, as do some far-right opposition parties. ChristenUnie and D66 find the measures too harsh and inhumane. The CDA was somewhere in between.
The government is also trying to open a second asylum center in Bant, Flevoland. But residents of Bant believe they are already doing enough for asylum seekers. One application center with 300 other asylum seekers is too many, they told a briefing.
COA director Milo Schoenmaker tried to explain what had happened so far to angry residents. The COA recently bought a farm on the Oosterringweg, next to an existing asylum center, which could serve as a second application center and relieve some pressure on Ter Apel. “At our own risk,” Schoenmaker said. “We asked the municipality to cooperate.” The city council of Noordoosterpolder, which covers the village of Bant, will decide in October.
One participant called the explanation a “dick story.” Several others pointed out that in 2016 the government had promised that no more than a thousand asylum seekers would be welcomed in Bant. “They have to stick to it,” said a woman from Luttelgeest. “We have fully accepted the asylum center. We believe we have done enough. Opening the application center would make residents feel unsafe, she said.
Schoenmaker had expected to hear many concerns. “We already do a lot in the Noordoostpolder, I often hear. People think it’s not fair. The fact is that there is a significant problem with the reception of asylum seekers in the Netherlands. “We are not doing this to intimidate the people of Bant.
Van der Burg called the meeting a “good evening,” during which we had a good chat. The message from locals came through loud and clear, he said. “They say a thousand is enough.” And they don’t want an application center.
The state secretary hopes to consult the Noordoostpolder city council next week on “how to proceed”. He said nothing about the use of coercive measures like in Tubbergen. “First consultation, then we will go further.”
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