Belgium: European Parliament Members Worried About Their Safety in Brussels

More “”good news” out of Brussels today. It seems that members of the European Parliament, which has its main HQ in Brussels, are concerned about the rising crime rate in Brussels. This is primarily due to the dangers of Islamic terrorism (the Brussels neighborhood of Molenbeek is a hotbed of Islamic radicalism) and the international drug traffic. In Belgium and the Netherlands, the exploding cocaine traffic is pretty much controlled by the Moroccan Mafia (Mocro Maffia). Much of that cocaine arrives in the Belgian port of Antwerp and the Dutch port of Rotterdam, two of the biggest seaports in Europe. The murderous violence of the Moroccan Mafia in Belgium and the Netherlands is a well-known fact and has even been dramatized by Dutch TV with its wildly successful crime series, Mocro Maffia.

In short, it’s a mess.

So now, members of the European Parliament have written a letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Brussels minister president demanding more action to bring safety to the capital city.

The below article from today’s Dutch-language newspaper, De Morgen, is translated by Fousesquawk.

 https://www.demorgen.be/snelnieuws/europarlementariers-in-open-brief-over-brussels-geweld-groeiend-gevoel-van-onveiligheid-in-hoofdstad-van-de-eu~b221fb3d/

News Brussels

European parliamentarians in open letter regarding Brussels violence: “Growing feeling of insecurity in the capital city of the EU”

Caption: The increasing drug violence in our capital city also raises concern with members of the European Parliament. Image Getty Images

A number of European Parliamentarians addressed an open letter to the Minister of Internal Affairs, Annelies Verlinden (CD&V), and the Brussels Minister-President, Rudy Vervoort (PS). They are demanding a strict approach to drug violence and “decisive measures” to guarantee security in the European capital city.

-HLA, February 17, 2024

The increasing drug violence in our capital city is also raising concern among the members of the European Parliament, according to the letter. They refer not only to the recent shooting in the capital city but also to the terrorist attack in which two Swedish football fans were killed in a shooting in December of last year, in which a worker of the European parliament was wounded.

The signers of the letter also express concern over the situation in the Brussels South Station, “one of the most important entry ports to the capital city of the EU”. “The situation is further worsened by petty thefts, from telephones to cars, and by the increasing drug-related criminality,” (the letter) says. 

Reference is made to a recent investigation which shows that Brussels ranks 15th in the cities with the highest crime index of 132 cities researched. “These are just some of the disturbing elements of a growing feeling of insecurity among the people who live and work in the capital city of the European Union, ” the letter reads.

Extra police personnel

At a press conference earlier this week, Minister Verlinden stressed that this legislature has invested almost 500 million euros more in police services. “The fight against international criminality remains a priority for the federal government and the federal police,” she said. She also referred  to recent efforts to recruit and select more police personnel. “With about 50,000 members, the integrated police has more employees than ever, but we also see that the expectations from the population have grown and that the fight against criminality is raising concern within the organizations, of which the crimes committed are often an expression.”