The municipal councils of Dokkum and Eindhoven have already refused to open centers, and construction of a planned center in Crailo was cancelled the other day. According to Benelux News, citing the Volkskrant newspaper, Rita Verdonk also refused to meet the conditions set by the municipal councils of Laren and Hilversum regarding the expulsion centers.
Such centers play an important role in the Dutch government's plans, but there are now serious doubts about their implementation. Recall that earlier the Cabinet of Ministers decided to grant residence permits to only 2,300 refugees who had lived in the Netherlands long enough. The remaining 26,000 must be expelled from the country, and despite protests, criticism from parliament members, and opposition from the Association of Dutch Municipalities VNG, the lower house of parliament supported the plan in February.
The city councils of Hilversum and Laren agreed to open expulsion centers, but demanded additional security and funding for the education of immigrants' children. However, a representative of the Ministry of Justice, of which the immigration service IND is a part, said these demands were groundless and announced the start of negotiations with other, unnamed city councils.
The decision to break off negotiations with the city councils of Laren and Hilversum, despite the fact that the Ministry of Justice sent a letter to the councils notifying them that some of their demands would be met, came as a great surprise. The mayors of Laren and Hilversum declined to comment on the situation.
Meanwhile, the central authorities assigned the task of deploying deportation centers (COA), saying they were disappointed with the turn of events. Within the framework of COA, it was planned to turn refugee shelters into expulsion centers. However, experience shows that municipal councils need much more time for this, especially when the local population resists changes to their way of life.
The COA staff council, in turn, demanded a more flexible approach to staff who refuse to work in expulsion centers. Concern was also expressed that those who refuse to work in expulsion centers on conscientious grounds would be transferred to lower-paid jobs or dismissed.
Due to stricter residence permit rules introduced by the Dutch authorities, the number of asylum applications fell from 43,560 in 2000 to 13,402 in 2003.