Nine parties in the Den Bosch municipal council want an emergency debate on Tuesday with councilor Pieter Paul Slikker (GroenLinks-PvdA) about the reception location for asylum seekers in Engelen. They want to know why the council was only informed about the plans in April of this year, while COA already announced to the council in October 2024 that it had this location in mind.
In the request, the parties cite a statement that Alderman Slikker made just before the elections. In response to a motion by the PVV, the councilor said that agreements have been concluded with the COA “for first Pettelaarpark, later the Kruithoorn and in the long term that permanent high-quality asylum center at Groot-Meerendonk, and that there is no need or desire to look at this differently in the coming period, so I can reassure you on this point.”
The parties want to know from Councilor Slikker how his statement and reassurance relate to the facts that subsequently became public: namely that preparations for reception in Engelen had already been underway for months.
Necessary for trust
“Answering this question is necessary for the trust between the municipal council and the council and for the careful fulfillment of the council’s supervisory task,” said the nine faction leaders.
Last week, after questions from council members, the municipality published documents related to the way in which the decision was made to accommodate minor asylum seekers at De Beverspijken in Engelen. This consists of emails and studies into environmental and noise aspects.
The nine opposition parties emphasize that Tuesday’s emergency debate is not about a substantive judgment on reception policy, but about the provision of information to the municipal council.
Protests
There have been several protests against the shelter in Engelen recently. The mobile unit had to intervene several times. The adjacent A59 was also blocked once and an explosive device went off at the building where the shelter is to be located.