The court ruling that obliges the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) to adhere to the agreed 2,000 asylum seekers in Ter Apel is a step forward.
This is what Mayor Jaap Velema of the municipality of Westerwolde says. He also sees the ruling as a step towards reviving the original agreements from 2010. These agreements state that the asylum center in Ter Apel must have a ‘modular’ structure. So the center should not only facilitate the flow, but also provide space for longer-term living with families whose children go to school. Now the primary school on the site has only 15 students. That should be 150.
“The ruling gives perspective,” says Velema. Taking COA to court was an extreme. “We have been trying to organize something voluntarily for two and a half years. That did not work.”
Something had to be done to force the COA to adhere to the maximum of 2000 asylum seekers. Not only did the village suffer, but the staff also faced a lot of pressure: “And then you’re not even talking about that vulnerable group, the asylum seekers themselves,” says Velema.
‘We already expected it a bit’
Velema does not know whether COA will succeed in getting below 2000. “They will certainly have to do more than their best now. That is also in the interest of their own employees.”
“We already expected it a bit,” says a COA spokesperson. He cannot say whether it will be possible to get below 2,000 and offer everyone a shelter. “We have four weeks.”
In recent years it has been very difficult to offer people a shelter. Half of the asylum seekers’ centers in the Netherlands are for temporary shelter. This means that new places always have to be created when a temporary (short-term) contract expires. COA hopes that municipalities are prepared to keep locations open longer.
Grass sleeping not excluded
“We want to prevent people from sleeping in the grass. But I cannot rule that out,” the spokesperson said. “We want to stick to the agreements. It is important that we all solve it together and take a step forward.”
“Super!”, responds Wim Katoen of Local Interest Nieuw Weerdinge. That village below Ter Apel suffers a lot from nuisance-causing asylum seekers.
Katoen is pleased that COA cannot and may not invoke force majeure. “We hope that they will now at least remain below the 2000 limit. And that they quickly open the PBL and keep the nuisance asylum seekers within the fences.” Katoen does not know whether anything will change for the better for Nieuw Weerdinge in the short term. “Let’s first see how this works in practice.”
“Will this help?”
The flag does not go out yet at the vigilante in Ter Apel. “Be honest: will this help us?” Says Willeke Vroom. “We still keep 2,000 people, including the troublemakers.”
She believes that the asylum flow should be filtered at the start of the process to those who cause nuisance, who usually have a disadvantaged application. “What are you going to do if a family arrives at the back of the registration center and there are already 2,000 people there?” There should be room for those people, she says.
Mayor Jaap Velema’s argument that a maximum of 2,000 asylum seekers gives room to really set up the process availability location (PBL) does not appeal to her. Safelanders would enter an accelerated procedure, with minimal opportunity to leave the site. “That was supposed to come into effect last July, we were promised mountains of gold. Then we already thought: this isn’t going to work. And it doesn’t work, that won’t be any different in the future.”
‘2010 is unchanged’
Mayor Velema also has concerns about the composition of the group of asylum seekers. “I think that many people in Ter Apel are happy with the ruling.” That is also recognition, he says. “At the same time, I expect that many people will also think: we first have to see that things get better.”
“The composition of the shelter will really be a topic of discussion in the coming weeks,” he says, referring to the original agreements from 2010. He sees sufficient guidance in the judge’s ruling. After all, just like the maximum occupancy, that was also the agreement: “And it is unchanged.”
Mayor Eric van Oosterhout of the municipality of Emmen is still somewhat reserved. He does not expect the sanctions for COA to really help. “COA is us, the government.” The mayor does hope that this ruling and the dispersal law will change the situation surrounding nuisance in Ter Apel and Nieuw Weerdinge. “There is now no escape for other municipalities.”