Brussels – April 16, 2025 — Interior Minister Bernard Quintin (MR) has finalised his long-anticipated plan to merge Brussels’ 19 fragmented police zones into a single force by 2027, a proposal that has reignited tensions between federal authorities and local mayors across the capital.
Announced Tuesday during a media briefing coinciding with a scheduled meeting with municipal leaders, the plan calls for a unified command structure led by a central police chief, with operational decisions made in conjunction with a police council composed of all 19 mayors.
According to Quintin, the reform will streamline coordination, improve response to violent crime, and offer “balanced representation for all municipalities.”
Quintin’s initiative comes in the wake of high-profile drug-related shootings, including a deadly spate of violence in February which left two people dead.
With public concern mounting, political parties from across the spectrum have rushed to demonstrate their grip on the city’s worsening security situation.
Quintin, one of four federal ministers from the centre-right MR party, has positioned the merger as a key step toward restoring safety and order.
But the move has been met with fierce opposition from the capital’s mayors, who accuse the federal government of bypassing local authorities and imposing a top-down solution without meaningful consultation.
“This unilateral media statement illustrates a blatant disregard for consultation with the municipalities, which are the primary stakeholders in this reform,” said Ahmed Laaouej, PS Brussels leader, echoing the sentiments of several Socialist Party mayors. “It is an unacceptable way of forcing things through.”
Critics argue that while municipalities elsewhere in Belgium are free to decide whether or not to merge their police zones, Brussels is being subjected to a royal decree, stripping the region of democratic input.
A primary concern among the mayors is financial. Quintin has pledged that the federal government will absorb €30 million of existing debt, but local leaders dismiss this as insufficient.
A January study by Brulocalis revealed that Brussels police zones missed out on €300 million in funding during the previous government mandate, largely due to the continued use of the outdated KUL norm for budget calculations — a metric Quintin has promised to reform without offering specifics.
There are also fears about the loss of local control over policing. “Leaving it to the mayors to negotiate the internal organisation of this future single zone, without a clear framework, paves the way for budget cuts and a deterioration of police services in our municipalities,” the mayors warned.
Despite the backlash, some experts view the plan as a necessary evolution. Jelle Janssens, a criminologist at the University of Ghent, praised the proposal as a rare sign of momentum on the issue. “My initial thought was, ‘wow, that was fast.’ I am quite surprised this plan is on the table already,” he said.
Janssens believes the 2027 timeline is “realistic” but cautioned that the plan’s success hinges on approval from the Council of State and other advisory bodies. “There are a lot of ‘ifs,’” he said.
Human rights advocates have also expressed concern that the plan focuses too heavily on efficiency at the expense of civil liberties.
Quintin has suggested that future evaluations may include broader criteria such as justice and responsiveness, though critics argue those ideas remain vague.
The government expects a parliamentary vote on the merger by the end of 2025.
