The rising costs of asylum due to the government's failure to commit to stable structural funding.
The Central Reception Agency for Asylum Seekers (COA) stated in its "Implementation Status" report that the cost of receiving refugees could be significantly reduced if the government committed to stable structural funding. The agency explained that "the absence of this smart and sound funding makes the reception of refugees unnecessarily costly, fragile, and ineffective."
The COA has repeatedly reported in recent years that it spends huge amounts of money on emergency shelters for asylum seekers, where they usually spend a few days before moving to another shelter. The report described this situation as "the mother of all problems" within the refugee reception chain. COA director Joeri Kapteijns stated that "stability and calm in reception are essential for residents, staff, and municipalities. To achieve this, we need sound funding alongside a distribution law."
He added: "We do not want more money, but we want to spend less on receiving refugees." The COA called on the government to commit to multi-year funding to create stable basic reception places that can be used by housing seekers if there is no need to receive asylum seekers.
The absence of structural funding also complicates COA's ability to enter into long-term agreements with municipalities regarding reception sites. The Asylum Distribution Law has led to more municipalities opening shelters, but due to COA's inability to ensure ongoing financial support, many of these shelters are temporary.
Thus, the reception of refugees continues to rely on emergency shelters, "which harms the residents, especially children, as they are forced to move frequently." The agency demanded that the budget for the next year include multi-year structural funding for the reception of refugees.
The Schoof I government intended to abolish the Asylum Distribution Law, but the refugee minister from the PVV party, Marjolein Faber, did not achieve this before the party leader, Geert Wilders, overthrew the government. The party is again working to abolish the law through a proposal to amend the Asylum Emergency Measures Law, which will be discussed in parliament on Thursday. PVV MP Marina Vondeling is also seeking to make irregular residence a criminal offense, according to ANP.