The last hotel housing asylum seekers in Brussels officially closed last Wednesday, according to Belgium’s Minister for Asylum and Migration, Anneleen Van Bossuyt.
The closure was originally planned for late January, but the transfer of residents reportedly proceeded faster than expected.
All five reception hotels in Brussels are now shut due to a significant drop in the number of asylum applications, the minister explained. Approximately 400 people had been living in these hotels.
Van Bossuyt stated that accommodating people in hotels was never a sustainable solution, calling it the result of years of indifference and lax political decisions. She affirmed, “I promised to put an end to this situation, and that is what is happening today.”
The minister reported that the influx decreased by 28% in the second half of last year, following the implementation of her crisis measures.
Van Bossuyt plans to introduce additional measures this year to further reduce the number of incoming asylum seekers.
