Brussels (Brussels Morning) – The federal government plans to accommodate asylum seekers temporarily in five hotels and two reception centres due to expired contracts, housing 728 women and children. Critics warn of potential immigration consequences amid high asylum application rates.
The federal government will temporarily house asylum seekers in five hotels and two reception centres. This can be read in a note from State Secretary for Asylum and Migration Nicole de Moor (CD&V) to the Council of Ministers. 728 women and children will be sheltered in hotels.
What prompted the federal government to use hotels for asylum seekers?
De Moor wants to take over the contracts that the Brussels government concluded at the end of 2022 with five budget hotels and two reception centres, agreements that expired in June 2024. “Today there are families with children and single women who would otherwise end up on the street,” De Moor defends the measure. “The federal government will now directly pay for and manage this capacity in collaboration with Fedasil and the Red Cross.”
De Moor hopes to receive the green light from the Federal Council of Ministers by July 5 at the latest. The temporary operation, which will run until the end of this year, has a price tag of 8.4 million euros. However, according to De Moor, the price is lower than that for regular childcare. “There is always a price associated with childcare. People get a bed, bath, bread and the staff must also be paid,” she also says in De Ochtend on Radio 1.
“If the influx remains so high, it will soon no longer be possible to immediately accommodate all families with children in Fedasil’s reception network,” writes de Moor. “Know that this has been the case for single men since last summer.”
What are the concerns about accommodating asylum seekers in hotels?
Within the resigning Vivaldi government, the liberals are not eager: they fear a “pulling effect”. There is also criticism of N-VA, which is currently leading the negotiations for the formation of a federal government. “Asylum shelter in hotels? Bad idea. It creates an even greater attraction to this land of milk and honey,” writes MP Theo Francken on X. “3,250 asylum applicants in May, 34,000 people are waiting for a decision in their asylum file. We must tackle inflow and advancement vigorously. Thorough discussions are necessary, also with the asylum services.”
