Asylum agency must pay agreed €50,000 fee each day main shelter is overcrowded

The Dutch government agency responsible for caring for people seeking asylum must keep paying 50,000 euros each time there are too many asylum seekers present at the main reception facility in Ter Apel, the Court of Appeal for Arnhem-Leeuwarden wrote in a verdict released on Tuesday. The agency which manages asylum reception, COA, previously agreed to pay the penalty amount each day that more than 2,000 prospective refugees are sheltered at the location. COA made the deal with the municipality of Westerwolde, which includes the village of Ter Apel, and the appeals court upheld a lower court ruling saying COA must stick to the terms of the agreement.

The Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers has been sticking to the agreement since November. But the organization has said that circumstances like a high intake of asylum seekers and the closure of (emergency)reception locations have made meeting this agreement a lot more challenging.

During the appeal, the COA argued that it was doing everything in its power to prevent overcrowding in Ter Apel. Board chair Milo Schoenmaker called the raise of fine fees from 15,000 euros to 50,000 euros a false solution without any guarantees for the future.

But the court of appeals did not go along with this argument, partly because a reduction in the number of asylum seekers is expected and the capacity to grant them shelter will increase due to the Distribution Act. This law is meant to ensure another 90,000 locations are free from July this year. According to the court, this allows the COA to absorb fluctuations in the number of people to be accommodated.

The appeals court stated, just as the district court did, that the COA can shelter more asylum seekers at different locations. Although this violates the agreement there, it reduces the pressure in Ter Apel and in the north, the agreement with the municipality of Westerwolde, which Ter Apel falls under, is met.

Mayor Jaap Velema called the fulfillment of the agreement in court important for the support in his municipality. He thinks it is important that it was ruled in favor of the municipality in order to ensure a calm and normal situation in Ter Apel.

That is something that “our residents, entrepreneurs, and shelter organizations have been waiting a long time for.” Despite this, the mayor is still not at ease. “As long as there are no structural agreements between the government and the municipalities about control, distribution, and financing, the risk will remain that the problems continue to mount.”