Mayor Eric van Oosterhout of the municipality of Emmen is disappointed and indignant that the special facility in the asylum center in Ter Apel is not really running. Next week he will consult with his colleague Jaap Velema from the Groningen municipality of Westerwolde. The two mayors plead with the Ministry of Justice and Security and the COA to step up their efforts.
Van Oosterhout responded to questions from Martin Hornis (50PLUS). He asked about the effect of the process availability location (pbl), as the name of the new reception location is, and whether the nuisance caused by safelanders had noticeably decreased. Ter Apel and the neighboring village of Nieuw-Weerdinge are more than fed up with the nuisance caused by this group.
Part of the current asylum seekers’ center has been converted into a PBL. This is where the asylum seekers come whose applications are seen as underprivileged. Safelanders receive a rapid procedure within a PBL. With the expectation that they will have to return to their country of origin within a week.
At least, that was Van Oosterhout’s expectation. “Things are not going well,” he responded to Hornis’ questions. The mayor was under the assumption that 95 percent of the safelanders within the PBL would be told to turn around. “But the pace is much, much too slow. If we continue at this pace, we will still be busy for a long time.”
According to Van Oosterhout, there are currently 100 to 150 safelanders in the asylum center. But they pass through the system piece by piece. He has therefore already contacted the responsible State Secretary Eric van der Burg and the COA. “We agree that it has to be faster.”
The delay is partly due to the number of employees. But Van Oosterhout still wants to exert extra pressure together with Velema. “We have made a promise to the residents.”
According to Van Oosterhout, the nuisance is currently going up and down. It is not yet really quiet in both villages, he reports. Van Oosterhout was under the assumption that the PBL would run during the summer. “But I am disappointed and outraged that things are not going well.”
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice and Security reported at the beginning of last month that the PBL had ten positions at the time. Ultimately there should be fifty to a hundred.