Belga Share – Belgium records “little progress” in complying with judicial decisions, laments Commission
Belgium records “little progress” in complying with judicial decisions, laments Commission
Asylum and migration
Politics and government
Justice
POLITICS
The Belgian authorities have made only “little progress” over the past year in complying with decisions from national courts and the European Court of Human Rights. This was the European Commission’s assessment on Friday in its annual report on the rule of law in member states.
Against the backdrop of issues surrounding asylum seeker reception and legal disputes over interim measures, the Commission recommended that Belgium ensure that government authorities implement court rulings in July last year. A year later, however, only “little progress” is evident.
“Compliance by the government with final rulings of national courts and with orders to impose interim measures remains a problem, despite, for example, a joint memorandum issued in July 2024 by the three highest judicial authorities to respect judicial decisions,” the report states.
Without naming names, the Commission refers to the instruction from the minister for Asylum and Migration, Anneleen Van Bossuyt, who, despite a suspension by the Constitutional Court in March, proceeded with halting asylum reception for those seeking protection elsewhere in the European Union. Subsequently, the Council of State suspended the minister’s decision.
The Commission also notes little or no progress on other recommendations. This includes tightening rules around lobbying and addressing so-called revolving-door politics, shortening the duration of procedures, and strengthening access to official documents.
This is the seventh time the Commission has produced an annual report on the rule of law across all member states. Based on the report, the Commission aims to take preventive action and engage in dialogue with member states, rather than immediately opening infringement procedures or deploying other instruments.
The initial translation of this content was generated by AI. All facts, context, and language have subsequently been verified and validated by a human editorial team.
Read more
Belga News Agency delivers dependable, rapid and high-quality information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, from Belgium and abroad to all Belgian media. The information covers all sectors, from politics, economics and finance to social affairs, sports and culture, not to mention entertainment and lifestyle.
Every day, our journalists and press photographers produce hundreds of photos and news stories, dozens of online information items, plus audio and video bulletins, all in both national languages. Since the end of March 2022 English has been added as a language.
