Luxembourg to open 3 new asylum seeker centres

Luxembourg is to open three new centres for asylum seekers in Luxembourg, it was announced on Friday.

A total 100 places will be made available in the CHL Maternity hospital on the Route d'Arlon, 300 at the former speech therapy centre in Strassen and 200 in the two buidings of the Centre Hospitalier Neuro-Psychiatrique (CHNP) Ettelbrück.

The centres will house asylum seekers during their first six to eight weeks in the Grand Duchy.

The announcement comes as the number of asylum seekers to Luxembourg is growing rapidly.

Luxembourg Integration Minister Corinne Cahen said that around 30 asylum seekers were coming to Luxembourg each day. 

During the month of August, a total 188 asylum applications were submitted, equivalent to six per day.

To create further accommodation for asylum seekers, the government has drawn up a list of possible sites in communes where containers could be located, a project which could take up to eight months to come to fruition.

In the short-term, Kirchberg exhibition centre has been cited as a potential site for erecting tents. A number of communes have expressed a willingness to house refugees.

In Dudelange, mobile homes are to be installed.

Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel also announced on Friday that staffing levels would be increased in the ministry responsible for looking after refugees, OLAI. There is currently a need for 20 more employees.

The question of how to finance aid for refugees is expected to be further discussed in the EU finance ministerial meeting on Saturday.

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