Belgium has been labelled a "slider" in human rights, the rule of law and press freedom in an annual report surveying the state of European democracies.
The sixth edition of the annual Liberties Rule of Law Report conducted by 43 human rights organisations across Europe has recorded a continent-wide drift towards authoritarianism. The reports adds that EU recommendations have little to no effect on the behaviour of Member States.
While Hungary is labelled "the weakest link" for a government-led campaign against judicial independence, civil society and media freedom, Belgium, France, Germany and Sweden are referred to as "sliders": "Role-model democracies [that] demonstrated isolated but still troubling decline in a few dimensions, creating risk that lower standards will become a trend."
Key areas of concern in Belgium are the malfunctioning justice system and backsliding in press freedom.
"This report confirms that Belgium has been on a slippery slope regarding the rule of law in recent years, particularly as regards the under-financing of the justice system, the government's failure to comply with court rulings and the control of police action," director of the Belgian non-profit Human Rights League (LDH) Pierre-Arnaud Perrouty told The Brussels Times.
"What is new, however, is the number of attacks and law suits against journalists, initiated by prominent political figures or private actors."
Interference in the media
The report outlines several incidents in 2024 that illustrate governmental interference in the media.
Just before the local elections in October, Le Soir notified a mayoral candidate in Verviers (Wallonia) that it intended to publish information about him. Ahead of publication, the newspaper was fined €50,000 by the Court of First Instance. The Court ruled that the information aimed to damage the political candidate's reputation rather than provide information to the public.
The ruling is "an incomprehensible decision since it has all the hallmarks of full-blown censorship," according to LDH. Le Soir was not heard by the court, the judge didn't read the article before making a decision and the facts are "all the more disturbing" as they occurred during an election.
Le Soir views the ruling as a "gag order" and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) has condemned the case as preventive censorship.
In September, Walloon Minister for the Media Jacqueline Galant (MR) posted tweets critical of an RTBF article titled 'How to be less racist? Estelle looks at systemic racism and the role of white people in eradicating it'.
Galant considered the content to be biased and guilt-inducing and she called on the public broadcaster to ensure pluralism and "scrupulously respect its ethical and legal obligations."
Walloon Media Minister Jacqueline Galant (MR). Credit: Belga / Bruno Fahy
The Council of Journalistic Ethics has since deemed Galant's criticisms unfounded. LDH described the Minister's attempts to influence a broadcaster's content as "cause for concern."
In terms of legislation, the report is critical of Belgium's lack of safeguards against Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP), or legal cases designed to intimidate and deter journalists from publishing harmful information. There is currently no mechanism to dismiss SLAPP in the early stages, which is a standard practice in other countries.
In April, the European Parliament passed a directive aiming to protect journalists against SLAPP. Belgium has not yet transposed the directive into national law but has two years to do so.
Vooruit leader Conner Rousseau. Credit: Belga/ Nicolas Maeterlinck
In the same month, the Ghent Court of Appeal ruled against Vooruit party leader Conner Rousseau's attempts to suppress two articles written about him. "This decision is extremely welcome in the current situation, which is particularly problematic in Belgium," says LDH.
'Serious attack on the rule of law'
Belgium's judicial system and its myriad of crises have been well documented by a slew of reports and recommendations. The Liberties report highlights that understaffing and underfinancing have led to "dramatic situations": for instance, the failure to act on Abdesalem Lassoued's file resulted in the death of two Swedish citizens in October 2023.
In addition, the Council of Europe has condemned unacceptably long court proceedings multiple times. This issue has been worst felt in family courts. The Brussels Family Court announced that it would have to cancel half of its hearings last April due to a shortage of court clerks.
The Council of Europe has also repeatedly condemned Belgium for failing to respond to court rulings, which LDH qualifies as "a serious attack on the rule of law."
