The 25 mayors of the Security Council agreed on Monday after a meeting in Utrecht to realize two thousand extra places for asylum seekers in the short term. This is reported by the ANP news agency. The mayors of Utrecht, Amsterdam, Haarlemmermeer and a number of other municipalities have promised to receive extra asylum seekers this week.
The agreement should in particular relieve the overcrowded reception center in Ter Apel. That facility is designed to receive about 275 people, but currently there are between six hundred and seven hundred asylum seekers. Moreover, hardly any people are leaving Ter Apel at the moment because municipalities reserve available homes for refugees from Ukraine.
Due to overcrowding, the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) set up an extra pavilion next to the night shelter last weekend without permission from the municipality of Westerwolde, which includes Ter Apel. And because of the unsafe and unhygienic situation in the center, the Groningen Security Region said it was considering a temporary closure last week.
Before 1 July, the COA needs 3,500 extra reception places for asylum seekers from countries other than Ukraine, a spokesperson told ANP earlier on Monday. Before April 1, there will be 1,500 extra places and, according to her, there is even a shortage of 10,000 places before January 1, 2022.
Also read: Region threatens to close Ter Apel reception center
#Regions #reach #agreement #extra #asylum #places