Every day, Hassan Ahmed (23) walked from his home to the university where he was studying law in 2022. On his way, he passed the registration desk of the Immigration Office in Brussels. Every day, he saw the queue of people waiting grow longer. And every day, he saw more men leaving disappointed, with a sleeping bag under their arm, heading for the park.
In Brussels, the heart of the European Union, people who have applied for asylum have been sleeping on the streets since 2021. Not because they are not entitled to shelter, but because Belgium makes conscious policy choices that undermine their rights. Full is full, was the message in recent months from Fedasil, the service responsible for shelter in Brussels.
A ruling by the Dutch Council of State in July 2025 explicitly states: Belgium ignores court rulings, fails to pay penalties, and thus creates a system that structurally fails to comply with international and European obligations. Why is the European Union not taking action against this? And what does this mean for those who are entitled to asylum?
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