‘Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers is on the brink of collapse’ | Inland

Many people drop out at other COA locations as well. Absenteeism is now 9 percent throughout the Netherlands – almost twice as high as the national average. In the meantime, COA is looking for staff: a thousand unfilled vacancies must be filled before the end of this year, in addition to the more than four thousand people who work for COA.

Almost a year ago, COA sounded the alarm with the State Secretary. In October, the COA top wrote in a letter to State Secretary Eric van der Burg (Asylum and Migration, VVD) that the reception ‘threatened to fall below human scale’, a spokesperson confirms, ‘for both residents and employees’.

The application center in Ter Apel is so full that asylum seekers are forced to sleep outside. That is why the Groningen mayor Koen Schuiling (VVD) has urged measures to alleviate human suffering in a meeting with State Secretary Van der Burg. Schuiling wants a second application center to be established as soon as possible. Preferably in a ‘large-scale location’ where newcomers and the hundreds of people who are still waiting for registration can be helped more quickly. He also mentioned the locations in Ede and Budel, but possibly also Zeist. The city council of the latter place does not know anything yet.

The State Secretary wrote to the House of Representatives on Thursday that the cabinet has hired three (cruise) ships for the reception of asylum seekers, now that the asylum reception in the Netherlands has come to a complete standstill. Three cruise ships have already been ordered to set course for the Netherlands and are expected to arrive in our country ‘during the course of August.