From Wednesday, Amsterdam-Amstelland, Zeeland, Groningen and Friesland will be the first four security regions to provide crisis emergency shelter for six hundred asylum seekers for two weeks. This is reported by a spokesperson for the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA). This measure should help to alleviate the situation in the application center in Ter Apel.
State Secretary Eric van der Burg of Asiel announced on Tuesday that the security regions will take turns taking in people. These new agreements should be able to prevent the most serious problems until August.
The security regions have agreed that four municipalities will arrange emergency shelter for 150 people for two weeks. In any case, this should provide sufficient reception capacity for the next twelve weeks to prevent people from having to sleep in chairs in the hallway of the application center in Ter Apel again, as has been the case several times in recent times.
On Monday evening there was no bed for 120 people in the shelter. A spokesperson for the COA could not say exactly what the situation was on Tuesday evening. According to him, it is still “very busy” in Ter Apel. According to him, the six hundred beds that the security regions are now arranging will “be a relief” and, as far as COA is concerned, are “a very welcome contribution to the number of available reception places”.
It is not yet clear where the asylum seekers will be received exactly. However, according to the spokesperson, agreements have been made about transport.