Asylum agency fined maximum €1.5 mil. for exceeding capacity of Ter Apel shelter

The fine that the central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) must pay to the municipality of Westerwolde for exceeding the capacity of the asylum registration center in Ter Apel has reached the maximum amount of 1.5 million euros. Last night, 2,309 people slept at the center - well above the 2,000 capacity. The same has been true for weeks.

In January, the court agreed with Westerwolde, which covers Ter Apel, that the COA and Dutch State were creating unsafe situations for asylum seekers and locals by structurally overcrowding the asylum registration center. The court ruled that the COA must keep the Ter Apel center at or below its 2,000-person capacity and pay Westerwolde a 15,000 euro fine for each day it exceeds that limit, up to a maximum of 1.5 million euros.

The COA managed to adhere to the court ruling for a while, but the Ter Apel center quickly became overcrowded again. On May 9th, the fine amount topped 1 million euros, and today, it reached the 1.5 million euros limit.

How things will proceed from here is unclear. The COA is dependent on municipalities to create asylum shelters so that people can move from the Ter Apel registration center and make room for new asylum seekers arriving. The COA told RTL Nieuws that it recently received a few offers for new shelters, but at the same time, large reception locations are closing.

The agency had its hopes pinned on the asylum distribution law, which would force municipalities to take in a fair share of asylum seekers. But the new right-wing coalition decided to scrap that law. So the COA does not know how to proceed, the agency told the broadcaster.

Westerwolde also doesn’t know what next steps to take. The overcrowding problems have obviously not been resolved, and it seems unlikely that more fines will change that. The municipality’s lawyers are examining possible next steps, a spokesperson told RTL.