After much furore, the National Conservative Conference (NatCon) has been allowed to continue for its second day, following a decision by the Belgian Council of State to reverse the ban late on Tuesday night.
The ruling, available here, was first announced through a press statement by the anti-abortion faith-based legal advocacy organisation ADF International, who backed the organisers in their legal case.
While ADF International also claimed NatCon was shut down on the grounds of "ethically conservative" beliefs on abortion, marriage, and the EU – it also cites the ruling which stipulates that the court could not "infer from the contested decision that a peace-disrupting effect is attributed to the congress itself."
On Tuesday, Brussels police were ordered to shut down the controversial National Conservative Conference (NatCon) taking place at the Claridge venue hall in the Brussels municipality of Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, following an order from Mayor Emir Kir.
One of the co-organisers from the Viktor Orbàn-affiliated think tank MCC, John O'Brien, told The Brussels Times on Tuesday the decision had been "absolutely outrageous" and "Orwellian".
Yet, despite all the media frenzy, the conference was allowed to go ahead, after the police decided it could continue behind closed doors. Scheduled speeches continued into the afternoon, and the luxurious "VIP dinner" in the evening was held without issue.
NatCons. Credit: The Brussels Times
The event even warranted the intervention of Prime Minister Alexander De Croo who called the so-called cancellation "unacceptable" , shortly after having come under pressure from far-right Italian Prime Minister (and President of the European Conservative and Reformists - ECR), Giorgia Meloni.
De Croo commented on Wednesday saying that the "The Belgian Council of State could not have been clearer: the authorities should make every effort to protect the constitutional right to assemble."
The embattled mayor of Saint-Josse – Belgium's poorest municipality – Emir Kir took to social media on Wednesday morning to officially announce the conference could go ahead.
"Being a Mayor means being a guarantor of public safety. My order banning this demonstration was based on an analysis by Ocam [Coordination of Threat Analysis Unit). I have no sympathy for those who preach hate, but the ban was imposed to maintain public order," Kir said.
"We are in a state of law. The courts have ruled and the event will go ahead today. I have taken my responsibilities to prevent any excesses and I will remain vigilant as to how things unfold," he concluded.
