In recent weeks, the Brabant media have been full of reports about nuisance from asylum seekers from azc Cranendonck, the asylum seekers’ center in the village of Budel. They were about theft, intimidation, violence. NS train drivers asked their employer whether they would use the nearby Maarheze train station from now on to drive past. The operators of the Jumbo supermarket in Maarheze announced to fuses with their store. And there was the message about an azc resident who destructions at a memorial wall at a cemetery.
Nuisance has long been an almost daily problem in Cranendonck. Occasionally there is a peak, such as now and, for example, at the beginning of last year. Then the mayor instituted an emergency ordinance around the azc, after six serious incidents of violence had occurred. Among other things, there were four stabbings in and around the center, which has 1,500 reception places.
According to a spokesperson for the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA), the group of troublemakers includes “a large representation” of people from countries that are regarded as ‘safe’ by the Dutch government. These safe-landers, who often do not qualify for a residence permit, mainly live in the azc in Budel and in the azc in Ter Apel. These locations act as the two ‘reception locations’ for asylum seekers in the Netherlands.
No other option
A majority in the Cranendonck city council now wants to get rid of the reception function of azc Budel, so that safelanders are banned. Last Tuesday, the council adopted an initiative proposal to that effect. He wants the responsible alderman, Hennie Driessen, to continue discussions with the COA and State Secretary Eric van der Burg (Asylum, VVD) with that proposal in hand.
The alderman has been having those conversations since this spring. The reason was one research by research agency I&O Research, which showed that a majority of the inhabitants of the municipality of Cranendonck – 56 percent – want the azc to close. Respondents complained, among other things, about theft, calling after and whistling, and nuisance in public transport.
A motion had previously been unanimously adopted in the city council calling for the closure of the azc as of July 1, 2024. That is the date on which the COA’s environmental permit for azc Budel expires. But last week the COA announced that it has applied for a new environmental permit for azc Budel. The COA and the municipality have a so-called ‘administrative agreement’ for the reception of asylum seekers that runs until mid-2028. The municipality therefore probably has no other option than to issue the new environmental permit.
Much needed
After the COA’s application, part of the council scratched their heads. “That new application says enough: they just want to continue with the azc,” says Paul Coenegracht, CDA party chairman. “We have our backs against the wall,” says Carry van Rooij, party chairman of the largest party, Real Local Attention Now (ELAN). ELAN decided to support the CDA’s proposal, which calls for Budel to no longer be used as a reception location. The other parties did not support it.
The proposal has caused some dissatisfaction in the council. VVD party chairman Jordy Drieman believes that the council should give the alderman “space” in the talks. According to him, the aim should still be to close the azc. “If I am going to open, I will not immediately play my ten of diamonds. I keep that in hand.” He just wants to say: if you let it be known at an early stage with which negotiation result you will be satisfied, you can only lose.
If the reception function of azc Budel disappears, outgoing State Secretary Eric van der Burg (Justice and Security) will most likely have a problem. According to one of its spokespersons, the ministry is in talks with other municipalities about new registration locations, but as long as these are still missing, Budel is badly needed to relieve busy Ter Apel.
Also read this report from 2022: An open day in an asylum seekers’ center in Budel, but daily life was ‘not visible’