A Dutch judge stops the transfer of a Chinese asylum seeker to Belgium because ‘reception cannot be guaranteed here’.
The shortage of reception places for asylum seekers in our country now also plays a role in a ‘Dublin transfer’ from the Netherlands. There, a judge in the first instance ruled on Monday that the Dutch government – which wanted to return the asylum seeker to Belgium on the basis of the Dublin agreement – ‘cannot assume the interstate principle of trust with regard to Belgium’. The Dutch court therefore says that the reception crisis in Belgium shows that the Dutch government cannot assume that the man will actually get a reception place. The Dutch government must explicitly prove this.
This could be done by demonstrating that the Belgian government treats ‘Dublin returnees’ differently. The Dublin Regulation determines which country is responsible for processing asylum applications. This is usually the first (Schengen) country where the asylum seeker enters.
The Belgian authorities are responsible for the reception of the Chinese asylum seeker and do not dispute that.
‘Fair distribution needed’
Our country has long insisted that all EU member states must respect the Dublin rules. After several convictions by Belgian judges and a slap on the wrist from the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, the Dutch court is now also questioning Belgium’s capacity to comply with the agreement. Belgium is undermining the entire Dublin scheme to which it attaches so much importance, says Thomas Willkens of Vluchtelingenwerk Vlaanderen.
According to Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration Nicole de Moor (CD&V), the ruling proves the need ‘to apply the Dublin rules throughout Europe, pending a new European approach for a fair distribution of asylum seekers’. ‘14,537 asylum seekers who applied for asylum in our country last year were already registered elsewhere in Europe and fall under the responsibility of other countries,’ says De Moor. ‘If those countries took their responsibility, we would not have a reception crisis today and we could perfectly provide reception for this asylum seeker. I remain committed to necessary reforms at European level.’
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