Belgium | Belgium’s asylum system is so full that the country’s armed forces organize temporary accommodation in barracks

Belgium the asylum seeker system is so full that the country’s armed forces are making room for new asylum seekers in their barracks. This is reported by the news agency AFP.

The country’s Ministry of Defense and the Immigration and Asylum Agency announced on Wednesday that temporary accommodation will be created in the barracks, which can accommodate 750 asylum seekers.

Accommodations will initially be arranged in halls, and they will also use temporary sanitary facilities. There are plans to build container accommodation later.

Belgium currently has room for 31,000 asylum seekers. 95 percent of these spaces have already been filled.

One problem is that many asylum seekers who first arrived in another EU country come to Belgium.

Director of the Belgian Immigration and Asylum Agency by Nicole de Moore according to more than half of the asylum seekers arriving in Belgium have already applied for asylum in another EU country.

This No is the first time the armed forces have been asked to help with the shelters. 6,000 of the current places are already organized by the army.

However, the government hopes to be able to ease the army’s burden as quickly as possible, so that its ability to operate would not be put to the test.

Later plans include giving the state authority the task of finding more permanent accommodation for asylum seekers.

At the same time, the government aims to speed up the exit of asylum seekers who are able to work and “fend for themselves” from the system.