Brabant town says "no" to asylum seekers, will accept refugees

Steenbergen will not be opening an asylum center, but will house up to 100 refugees with a residency permit. This was decided at a council meeting on Wednesday night, AD reports. "We have gone through an intense process. I am pleased and proud that the city council came to this almost unanimous decision", acting mayor Joseph Vos said after the meeting. The Steenbergen mayor and aldermen initially wanted to take in between 200 and 300 asylum seekers, housed in multiple locations for up to two years. When this proposal was turned down, the Volkspartij and VVD submitted a proposal to shelter up to 100 refugees for up to six months. In October a information evening on this topic ran wildly out of hand. Shouts and boos interrupted almost every speech. Wednesday night's meeting was much calmer and all speakers managed to have their say.