The Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) is critical of the new asylum law of State Secretary Eric van der Burg (Asylum and Migration, VVD). In a letter to the Secretary of State informs the implementing organization that the law “must be better and sharper in parts”. The asylum law, which is expected to come into effect in February next year, is currently being discussed. During this period, the organizations involved have the opportunity to respond to the bill, which was approved last month by the parliamentary party of the VVD after initial opposition.
The COA wants a large part of the reception locations to be available for all asylum seekers for a longer period of time (‘twenty-five to thirty years’). The organization currently works a lot with temporary reception locations that are closed or opened depending on the number of asylum applications. The COA also has concerns about the reception of special target groups such as unaccompanied minor refugees (amv’ers). They are often taken care of in small-scale locations and the COA wants more attention to be paid to this in the new law. The COA also notes that more staff will be needed with the so-called distribution law, while there is a shortage on the labor market.
With the bill, Van der Burg wants to distribute asylum seekers “more fairly” across the country. Municipalities receive 2,500 euros for each extra reception place offered, if they make a reception location of at least 100 places available for a period of at least five years. Next year, a total of about 55,000 reception places will be needed. According to the COA, the new law will not lead to relief from the current pressure on the reception situation until 2024.
The Association of Netherlands Municipalities (VNG) was also critical of the distribution law in a reaction to the bill. According to the umbrella organization, this will not contribute to a stable reception landscape. The provinces and the Security Council have also expressed doubts about the effectiveness of the law.