Belgium's Asylum and Migration Minister Anneleen Van Bossuyt (N-VA) is cutting a further 700 reception places in Brussels, on top of the previous 300 she already cut at the end of June. Brussels ministers are warning of a "social crisis".
Van Bossuyt has long wanted to review the so-called "Brussels Deal". Under that 2022 agreement, Brussels receives €47 million from the Federal Government each year to fund 2,000 reception places for asylum seekers – to compensate for the saturation of the federal Fedasil network.
These places are provided by non-profit organisations that offer support to the homeless, among others, and are primarily intended for unaccompanied men whose asylum applications are pending.
However, the waiting lists have shortened, according to Van Bossuyt. There are currently 1,000 unaccompanied men, half of whom are staying with family members, friends or acquaintances. The full capacity available for unaccompanied minors is no longer required either, she said.
'Taxpayers' money'
At the end of last month, it was decided that 300 of the 2,000 places would be cut. From the Brussels Government, Welfare Minister Ahmed Laaouej (PS) criticised the "unilateral decision", which he said "presented the region and the sector with a fait accompli without consultation and within an unworkable timeframe".
But by cutting another 700 places, and therefore halving the capacity of the scheme, Van Bossuyt is going further still.
"You can only spend taxpayers’ money once. If there are still around 1,000 people on the transition list, I’m not going to keep paying for 2,000 places," she said.
"The Federal Government only funds asylum accommodation for people who are entitled to it. It is not our job to help pay for Brussels’ homeless shelters," Van Bossuyt added.
Minister of Asylum and Migration, Social Integration, Anneleen Van Bossuyt. Credit: Belga / Nicolas Maeterlinck
By the end of the year, the minister hopes that everyone still on a waiting list will be able to be accommodated within the Fedasil network – meaning she will be able to bring the Brussels Deal to an end.
"Through our policy, we are systematically bringing order to the chaos in the asylum system created by the previous Federal Government. The number of arrivals is falling every month, which allows us to close reception centres," Van Bossuyt said.
" I do not dispute that the problem of homelessness is very serious in Brussels. But as Minister for Asylum and Migration, I cannot solve all of Brussels’ problems with a sum of money," she said.
A proposal for a new partnership was submitted to the Brussels Government at the end of June, but Van Bossuyt said that she has not yet received a response.
'Full-scale attack on Brussels'
Meanwhile, the Brussels Government made it clear that they are not happy with Van Bossuyt’s decision.
According to Brussels Finance Minister Dirk De Smedt (Anders), this is a decision that "will lead to a social crisis", pointing out that the 2,000 accommodation places provided for under the Brussels Deal are currently fully occupied.
"Van Bossuyt is playing games with the statistics," said De Smedt. "Every day she changes the conditions for the waiting list and then claims it is shrinking. I would be happy to go round with her to see for myself. But now she is presenting us with a done deal, fully aware that we will not be able to resolve this quickly and that people will end up on the streets."
Meanwhile, Laaouej stressed that the phasing out of the Brussels Deal "will inevitably lead to an influx into Brussels’ emergency and homeless shelters, which are already severely overstretched".
He called the decision "a full-scale attack on Brussels" and is calling on other members of the Federal Government to take action.
