Van der Burg: now enough room for Ukrainians but much more needed
The number of reception places for Ukrainian refugees will have to be expanded much further than has been achieved so far. At the moment about 3000 people are being taken care of and there are 6000 places. “At the same time, we really have to set up many more places, because many more people will come,” says State Secretary for Asylum Eric van der Burg.
The cabinet sees that the flow of people from Ukraine to the west “continues to increase”. “Poland and the other neighboring countries are now also reaching the limits of what is possible,” says Van der Burg. He has “a lot of contact” with those countries in a European context, and is told there that they can still handle the influx of refugees. The people who travel on to Germany and the Netherlands do so on their own initiative, and their numbers will continue to increase.
The State Secretary calls it “very nice” that municipalities are providing temporary shelter in, for example, sports halls, but says that better solutions must also be sought. “We are looking at river cruise boats that are currently vacant, hotels that are empty, and office buildings that can be converted for temporary housing.” Ultimately, the goal is to realize at least 50,000 reception places.
Since Wednesday evening, there has been a central information number that municipalities and aid workers can use to call day and night if they are looking for a shelter for Ukrainian refugees. According to Van der Burg, municipalities make use of this, although he has no figures on the number of requests for help. The cabinet will discuss further support for the refugees in the Council of Ministers on Friday, for example by giving them living allowance.