Minister Anneleen Van Bossuyt opens new return centre: “There’s no point travelling on to Belgium”

This autumn, a new European return centre will open in Nazareth-De Pinte for people who entered the European Union through another Member State before travelling on to Belgium. Under EU rules, the first Member State where an asylum seeker arrives is responsible for processing their asylum application. “This centre sends a clear message: there’s no point travelling on to Belgium,” says Minister for Asylum and Migration Anneleen Van Bossuyt.

The centre will accommodate 300 people and is intended to curb secondary migration to Belgium. “Anyone who first arrived in another EU Member State before coming to Belgium will be accommodated in this centre and transferred back to the Member State responsible for handling their application,” Van Bossuyt says.

Building on an existing approach

The new centre will reinforce the existing return centre in Zaventem. That model has received positive evaluations from Fedasil and the Immigration Office. In Zaventem, the average length of stay is 41 days.

“Everything is geared towards one goal: ensuring people are transferred as quickly as possible to the Member State responsible for their procedure. That is fairer, more efficient and essential if we want to ease the pressure on our reception system,” says Van Bossuyt.

300 additional places alongside the E17

The new centre will make use of existing infrastructure alongside the E17 motorway. Its location is well suited to organising Transfers The money flows from Flanders to Brussels and Wallonia are called transfers. The transfers from the federal budget, the Financing Law and social security amount to between 6 and 7 billion euros per year, and 11 billion euros if debt repayments are included. The size of the transfers is always contested by the French-speaking side or they are just referred to as normal solidarity contributions. A study by Vives (KU Leuven) revealed that the transfers did not serve solidarity, but had a paralysing effect on the growth of both the Walloon and Flemish economies. transfers to other Member States efficiently. As the building already has the necessary basic infrastructure in place, it can be converted quickly and cost-effectively into a fully operational return centre.

“By making smart use of existing infrastructure, we can rapidly expand our capacity. Every place we create here allows the regular reception network to refocus on people whose asylum applications Belgium is actually responsible for, helping to speed up the entire process.”

Work to prepare the building for its new role as a return centre will begin shortly. The Immigration Office will launch the necessary recruitment this summer, allowing the first residents to be accommodated this autumn.