In Belgium’s capital, not all motorists are equal. Belgian Minister of Mobility, Elke Van den Brandt, in response to questions raised by the members of parliament, has revealed that the recovery rate of parking fines for vehicles registered outside of Belgium is extremely low.
According to the Belgian newspaper La Libre Belgique, excluding Dutch and French vehicles, the recovery rate of parking fines for foreign vehicles is less than 2%, compared to 70% for vehicles registered in Belgium.
Brussels parking enforcement officials say that the recovery rate is extremely low due to the complexity of collecting payments across national boundaries and legislation. The mobility minister says that “heavy procedures” prevent collections, and existing systems “generally do not succeed.”
Unlike most of Europe, France and the Netherlands have a reciprocal agreement with Belgium on cross-border fine enforcement, which allows bailiffs and authorities to issue fines with ease.
Giving foreign vehicles 'the boot'
Parking.brussels, the Brussels parking enforcement agency, is planning to start placing wheel clamps on serial parking offenders with foreign plates, due to the ineffectiveness of attempting to enforce fines. The authority is awaiting for the modification of regulations to allow it to do this.
In Saint-Josse, which does not fall under the jurisdiction of Parking.brussels, the use of wheel clamps will begin before the start of the school year, according to local councillor Philippe Boïketé. This measure has already been enforced in the past.
“It has already been done. We want to give a signal to the locals, and also to those who respect the rules,” the councillor told La Libre Belgique. In Tennoodoise, some 25% of parking fines concern foreign vehicles. In other words, up to 627,000 fines go unrecovered.
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The councillor adds that most parking offences are not committed by foreign tourists, but rather residents who, sometimes deliberately to avoid fines and taxes, own a vehicle registered in a foreign country.
“It’s a problem and it's getting worse. More and more people decide to get a vehicle abroad and drive it in Belgium…They avoid the fines, the LEZ, the taxes, the controls,” the councillor stated.
In 2020, Parking.brussels raked in a total €42,751,758 in parking fines, almost double the levels they collected the year before. Across Brussels, more than 1.2 million fines were issued, including 278,000 enforced by bailiffs.
