The Brussels Parliament is voting to postpone the tightening of Low Emission Zone (LEZ) standards in the Belgian capital by two years on Friday. Nothing seems to stand in the way of the ordinance's approval.
The French-speaking liberal MR (together with the Socialist Party and centrists Les Engagés) submitted a proposal to postpone the upcoming tightening of the LEZ standards by two years – a very important dossier for the Greens – without any consultation at the end of August. Dutch-speaking liberal Open VLD also co-signed the text.
Considering it a stab in the back, Elke Van den Brandt (Groen) announced that she was resigning as formator of the Dutch-speaking side of the Brussels Government, saying that she no longer wanted to negotiate with MR.
In the meantime, Fouad Ahidar tried to mediate and take over Van den Brandt's efforts to find a majority. Now, however, he announced that he would pause his attempts, with the municipal elections just ten days away.
'Still need five signatures'
Ahidar announced that he wanted to bring Dutch-speaking socialist Vooruit and Groen to the table to form a solid bloc (with a majority on the Dutch-speaking side). However, Vooruit wanted to see Ahidar's negotiating note first, while he himself only wanted to discuss it at the table to prevent leaks to the press.
On the other hand, Groen did not want to negotiate until there was a clear signal from the MR, Ahidar told Belga News Agency. In the meantime, he wants to concentrate fully on the municipal elections in ten days.
On Friday, the Brussels Parliament is expected to approve the LEZ postponement; the proposal for an ordinance was already approved by a large majority in committee last week. Only the Greens and DéFI are opposed.
The sole possibility to postpone the vote is an opinion from the Council of State (which can only be requested by one-third of the Brussels MPs, or half of the members of a language group). Groen's leader in the Brussels Parliament Stijn Bex acknowledged that he must request the opinion of the Council of State, "but then we still need five signatures" to obtain a majority (nine out of 17 seats) in addition to the four signatures of Groen.
Outgoing Brussels Minister for Mobility, Public Works and Traffic Safety Elke Van den Brandt. Credit: Belga/Nicolas Maeterlinck
During the discussion in the committee, various parties warned that the postponement would conflict with the constitutional 'standstill' principle (meaning that the current situation is adopted as the norm for the future).
"There is little enthusiasm for an opinion [from the Council of State]," Bex acknowledged. Dutch-speaking rightwing N-VA and Fouad Ahidar said on Thursday that they had initially supported such a request, but that it now seems more like a delaying manoeuvre.
According to Bex, Open VLD and Vooruit believe that the 'standstill' principle is not being violated. He himself, however, maintains that the proposed ordinance is "hasty" and "botched work", and that there were other ways, such as a temporary postponement of fines as has been applied in the past.
"The period of two years is a bad measure and unfair for those who had already complied" and therefore already bought a new(er) car, Bex added.
