One day before the court-ordered deadline for limiting the number of asylum seekers at the Ter Apel reception centre to 2,000 comes into force, no new beds have been found, broadcaster RTL Nieuws said on Monday afternoon.

By Tuesday, the number of refugees must be below the official maximum of 2000 and the COA settlement agency faces a €15,000 fine for every day that the limit is not observed. 

There are currently 2,200 people living at the centre, in rural Groningen, which is the first port of call for all new asylum seekers, COA said.

“I’m not hopeful,” asylum minister Erik van der Burg told reporters after Friday’s cabinet meeting. 

Meanwhile, it emerged on Monday that Jaap Velema, the mayor of Westerwolde which includes Ter Apel, is in intensive care in hospital after being hit by two pulmonary embolisms. Velema has been the main driver behind efforts to get the COA and government to reduce overcrowding in Ter Apel and instigated the court proceedings. 

Around one-third of the Netherlands 342 local authorities have not provided any housing for refugees for the past 12 years.