The Dutch agency in charge of asylum procedures, COA, failed to adhere to a court order limiting the number of asylum seekers at the Ter Apel temporary processing facility. As a result, COA will have to pay a penalty of 15,000 euros for the first time to the municipality of Westerwolde, which includes Ter Apel.
A ruling ordering the Netherlands to permanently relieve overcrowding at the country’s main registration point for asylum seekers enters into force at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday. Dutch asylum agency COA will face a 15,000 euro fine for every day that there are more than 2,000 asylum seekers crammed into the temporary reception facility in Ter Apel.
The Netherlands isn’t only struggling to find shelter space for asylum seekers. The municipal shelters for Ukrainian refugees are also at capacity. Over 99 percent of the 90,000 reception places for Ukrainians are occupied, the Telegraaf reports.
The Netherlands shortage in asylum shelter space is about to get much worse. The contracts for over half of existing shelters expire this year, Trouw reports based on figures from the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA).