The difficult reception of asylum seekers has been declared a national crisis. The cabinet announced this on Friday. A special crisis organization team will also be set up to ensure the faster reception and better flow of refugees in the right direction. “We must now take our responsibility,” says Mayor Theo Weterings of Tilburg as a member of the crisis team.
These are poignant images that we have seen more and more recently: asylum seekers who have to sleep on chairs and are given too little food and drink. And all because the application center in Ter Apel is overcrowded and other reception places are scarce.
National crisis
The government now wants to change that quickly. Friday morning, before the start of the Council of Ministers, there was consultation with various mayors.
This also included the mayor of Tilburg, Weterings. He is chairman of the Asylum and Migration Committee at the Association of Dutch Municipalities (VNG). In that role, he is now involved in the crisis team, which must ensure that asylum reception runs smoothly.
“We must all try to prevent the problems that we have been seeing in Ter Apel for weeks,” says Weterings. “There is such a large influx of refugees that they cannot all be settled there. One registration center for the entire country is also far too little. We have known that for years and we now have to take responsibility for it.”
Faster housing
In addition to additional registration centers, the crisis team has more items on the agenda, Weterings explains. “Asylum seekers must move on much faster and not stay in an asylum seekers’ center for too long. In addition, people with residence status must be able to be accommodated much faster.”
Not an easy task in the current housing market, admits Weterings. “That is why new facilities must be created quickly for all target groups. Think of asylum seekers and labor migrants, but also students and young people who no longer want or can no longer live with their mom and dad.”
Crisis team
The national crisis organization team will be led by the National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism (NCTV). The team includes various ministers, including Prime Minister Rutte, Minister Yesilgöz of Justice and Security and State Secretary Van der Burg for Asylum and Migration. They meet for the first time on Friday evening.
According to Minister Yesilgöz, the new approach is of great importance. “We are going to see what needs to be done now to ensure that we no longer see those images from Ter Apel,” said Minister Yesilgöz after the Council of Ministers. “We want to be able to make quick, clear decisions under great time pressure.”