The asylum seeker center (azc) in Ter Apel has become increasingly full in recent days. This is reported by the ANP news agency. On the night from Monday to Tuesday, 1,980 people spent the night in the asylum centre. The court has ruled that no more than 2,000 people may stay in the registration centre, meaning that the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) is in danger of having to pay the increased penalty of 50,000 euros to the municipality of Westerwolde for the first time.
On October 30, the judge decided to impose a higher fine than the original 15,000 euros per exceeding the number of 2,000 people. Formally speaking, the judge ruled, that number applies at any time of the day. For the time being, the COA only counts the number of asylum seekers who spend the night in the registration center, not how many people are there during the day.
New reception locations opened
The COA pays the penalty to the municipality of Westerwolde, of which Ter Apel is part, because it experiences inconvenience when the registration center is full. Things went well for a while in November. Then an emergency shelter opened in Biddinghuizen with room for up to 1,250 people. Since Monday, a floating reception location has been added in Zaandam with room for fifty people. It is not clear why the registration center in Ter Apel has been busier again in the past few days.
Until November 6, COA regularly moved to Beilen in Drenthe, where there is a temporary night shelter. This has not been used in recent weeks. A COA spokesperson said that this shelter is again seen as a possibility when the situation in Ter Apel is no longer tenable.
It is still uncertain whether the increase in the penalty to 50,000 euros will last. COA filed an appeal against the judge’s ruling on November 27. It is not yet known when the substantive appeal will be heard.
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