Dutch asylum agency to pay first €15,000 fine for overcrowded Ter Apel reception center

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.

The ruling by the District Court in Groningen last month came into force at midnight on Thursday. It determined that the total number of people staying at the facility must be below 2,000

“Due to the high influx of asylum seekers yesterday, the number of people staying in Ter Apel is 2,032,” COA wrote in a statement on Thursday morning. “So, despite all efforts, it has not been possible to comply with the court decision to reduce the number to below 2,000 people.”

The court ruling stated that the penalty must be paid every day the limit of 2,000 is reached, to a maximum of 1.5 million euros. The penalty is to be paid directly to Westerwolde. A spokesperson for COA told ANP that this first penalty “will be paid properly,” but he could not elaborate on how the payment will be handled.

Earlier this week, there were 2,200 people housed at Ter Apel, which has been repeatedly overcrowded in recent years. To ease the situation this week, COA increased the capacity at the Walibi Holland site in Biddinghuizen by 240 asylum seekers. The temporary measure was meant to help COA comply with the court order.

Since the target was not reached, COA has again issued an appeal to local political leaders. “COA continues to look for solutions to relieve Ter Apel and is once again calling on municipalities to make locations available,” the agency wrote in a statement.