Belgium to lift ban on single men asylum applications

Belgium’s new migration minister, Maggie De Block, said she would lift a virtual ban on asylum applications by single men.

Last month, Ms De Block’s predecessor, Theo Francken, from the right-wing New Flemish Alliance, imposed a limit on the number of asylum requests authorities could deal with in a day.

Refugee charities said the policy meant those considered to be vulnerable were prioritised, resulting in many single men being turned away and left to sleep on the streets.

Ms De Block said the policy meant only applications from women and children were being processed.

A liberal politician from the ruling Open VLD party, Ms De Block took on the asylum portfolio in addition to her role as health minister after the breakdown of the Open VLD and N-VA coalition government over an international migration pact.

Ms De Block said Mr Francken’s policy had shown a “lack of humanity” and said her first step would be to reverse it.

“That was not the right measure,” she said in remarks published by Belgian news outlet Bruzz on Thursday.

“That is why, in consultation with the Immigration Department and Fedasil, I decided not to apply this any more. I do not want to detract from the previous policy, but a new quota will certainly not come,” she said.

A divisive figure in Belgian politics, Mr Francken was appointed as state secretary for asylum and migration in 2014 and since then has overseen several policies designed to curb immigration.

He led the N-VA out of Belgium’s four-party coalition on Saturday after Prime Minister Charles Michel declared his government’s support for a United Nations pact on migration.

Mr Michel signed the pact on Monday in Marrakech, declaring that Belgium would “be on the right side of history”.

He was forced to reshuffle his Cabinet ministers and plans to head up a minority government until new elections in May.

The UN pact, which declares that no country can address migration alone, caused a lot of debate in Europe and was opposed by the governments of Austria, Bulgaria, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Switzerland.

Refugee charities said the policy meant many single men were being turned away and left to sleep on the streets