This ad hoc query mainly collects information on calculation methods used to determine the necessary reception capacity for applicants for international protection and on the flexibility measures developed in case of shortage or surplus. It also examines how EMN Member and Observer Countries organise the outflow of beneficiaries of international protection and rejected applicants for international protection to housing and other forms of accommodation.

Fedasil has announced a further reduction in the number of reception places for unaccompanied foreign minors (MENA), with 279 places set to be withdrawn from the network by 1 September 2025. The measure, approved in April, comes in response to the continuing decline in arrivals observed since 2023. Most of the places concerned will be converted into generic reception places.

In a new report, Amnesty International urges the Belgian government to ensure that all people seeking asylum are given adequate housing and that they have access to adequate healthcare services, including specialised psychological support, regardless of their housing situation. Belgian authorities are also called to activate the "dispersal plan" outlined in domestic law and implement contingency plans to manage fluctuations in the number of asylum applications.

Fedasil announced that it can temporarily make use of centres in Bredene (Flanders) and in Theux (Wallonia) to accommodate applicants for international protection until March 2025. Both sites have already been used by Fedasil in the past, each time for a period of a few months. 

Given the strong pressure on the Belgian reception system, Fedasil created more than 3.000 places in 2023. Despite these efforts, Fedasil ran out of places to accommodate all applicants for international protection last year.  

On the proposal of the Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration, the Council of Ministers agreed today to the conclusion of a rental contract for land in Lodelinsart (Charleroi). Fedasil will make the site available to the Belgian Red Cross to place containers in order to increase the reception capacity for applicants for international protection.