Justice Minister Annelies Verlinden (CD&V) took an €11,500 business-class flight from New York to Abu Dhabi last September despite exceeding her budget and against the advice of the Finance Inspectorate, Le Soir reported on Friday.
After attending the UN General Assembly in New York on 24 September, Verlinden flew to the United Arab Emirates to take part in a UN meeting on crime prevention and criminal justice in Abu Dhabi on 26 September.
According to the newspaper, the flight cost €11,500, citing a note from the Finance Inspectorate, which had issued a negative opinion on the expense in advance.
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Aware that the bill exceeded the cabinet’s travel budget, Verlinden’s office asked for the ticket to be paid by the Federal Public Service Justice. When that department also lacked sufficient funds, the minister’s office requested a €12,000 increase to the administration’s foreign missions budget.
The Finance Inspectorate rejected that request the following day. It said the overspend went against a December 2025 decision by the Arizona government to cut spending on foreign travel.
Verlinden then appealed the negative opinion to Budget Minister Vincent Van Peteghem, also of CD&V, who approved the request, but said the additional cost should be fully offset by Verlinden.
Asked about the matter on Friday morning, the minister’s office said both trips were important and stressed the value of maintaining strong ties with the United Arab Emirates.
“Of the 45 major criminals wanted internationally, 26 have already been extradited to Belgium by the United Arab Emirates. And 22 of them have been extradited since the start of this parliamentary term, that is, since the Justice Minister took office. Our efforts are therefore bearing fruit,” the statement said.
The minister’s office did not say how or when it would compensate for the extra cost of the business-class flight, as requested by Van Peteghem.
