Underfunding of the judiciary, the "high risk" of corruption in local government and public procurement, and "serious concerns" about national and European court judgments not being complied with – these are some of the key threats to the rule of law in Belgium which the European Commission has highlighted in a new report.
The rule of law is based on the idea that all people, institutions and entities in a country, including the Belgian State itself, are accountable to the same laws - and nobody is "above the law".
The fifth annual Rule of Law Report published by the European Commission on Wednesday examines rule of law developments in each Member State, providing specific recommendations and assessing how well last years' recommendations were implemented.
'Some progress' on funding for the judiciary
EU legislators acknowledged that there has been "some further progress" to provide adequate resourcing to Belgium's judicial system. However, they said that due to a "persistent lack of data on court proceedings," it is not possible to gain an overview of the efficiency of the justice system or the degree of backlogs.
Just last week, Belgium's top judges held an unprecedented press conference, warning against further budget cuts to the judiciary which they said could weaken the rule of law.
The warning comes against the backdrop of sustained overspending by the Belgian State in recent years, as the incoming government will have to make tough decisions on how to save money to comply with EU budgetary rules.
The Commission recommended that Belgium continue its efforts to address "structural resource deficiencies in the justice system," as well as "strengthen efforts to improve the efficiency of justice," particularly to reduce the length of proceedings.
'Serious concerns' about non-compliance with court judgments
EU regulators raised "serious concerns" with the Belgian Government's non-compliance with judgements from both the domestic courts and the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). They recommended that Belgium take measures to "ensure compliance" with these rulings.
As of 1 July, the Commission highlighted that Belgium has not implemented 19 ECHR judgments (albeit down from 21 at the beginning of the year). The oldest judgment has been waiting almost 15 years to be implemented, and concerns the excessive length of civil proceedings in the Belgian courts.
Last week, the ECHR found that the Belgian State had violated Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights (the right to a fair trial) by its refusal to execute an immediately enforceable court order to provide an asylum seeker with accommodation and material support.
The report also noted a "significant number of judgments" issued by the Brussels Labour Tribunal finding the State responsible for not ensuring adequate reception of asylum seekers, a number of which it is still not in compliance with.
Anti-corruption and the media
Looking at anti-corruption measures, the report highlighted that local government and public procurement in Belgium are at "high risk of corruption". The Commission noted "gaps" in code of conduct rules for politicians regarding gifts, benefits, and 'revolving door' movement of staff between the public and private sector. It also highlighted shortcomings regarding transparency and lobbying rules.
The media remains independent and effective in Belgium, according to the report, although the Commission said that journalistic safety "continues to face challenges," specifically in relation to online harassment. The report recommended that Belgium make further efforts to strengthen access to official documents.
The European Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders (a Belgian MR politician who has previously served terms as Federal Minister for Finance and Foreign Affairs), said that the Rule of Law Report serves as a "reference to initiate debates at national level and help drive national reform agendas."
"As today's findings underline, while there are positive developments, there is still room for improvement. Strengthening the rule of law is a continuous work for all Member States and enlargement countries. I encourage all Member States to keep working on implementing the recommendations," he said.
