Members of the government, and of the judiciary, also met this Thursday the mayors of a dozen large cities, such as Brussels, Antwerp or Charleroi. With one objective: better fight once morest organized crime and drug trafficking.
All the actors involved were there. From the federal government led by the Prime Minister to the representatives of justice including the Attorney General, customs. On the other side of this huge room, 14 mayors, from Antwerp to Charleroi via Liège and Brussels. A consultation around a theme: organized crime and drug trafficking.
“The fight once morest drug-related crime is a priority for all of society. We are all making a lot of effort. There are a lot of additional budgets. But it’s not just a question of the budget. It’s also a matter of working together at the operational level. But it is also working together at the political level”, said Alexander De Croo, Prime Minister (Open-VLD).
Government commitment: 310 million euros over 2 years, in particular to hire 1,000 people.
Mainly police officers but also customs officers and even 3 additional prosecutors. The Prime Minister calls it an XXL plan. At the end of the meeting, how did the mayors concerned react, 3 of whom were also party presidents?
“The federal government finally seems to have heard the messages that the mayors have been sending out for several months as whistleblowers. On the problems that are happening in urban centers in terms of drugs”, indicated Maxime Prévot, the mayor of Namur and president of “Les Engagés”.
“There are commitments. It takes a little time to hire police officers, reappoint magistrates. It is not done overnight, but these are commitments that go in the right direction. We now need verify that it is actually carried out”adds Paul Magnette, the mayor of Charleroi and president of the socialist party.
“Do I feel like I have the necessary weapons to deal with this organized crime and this drug trafficking? As mayor, I don’t have that impression at all. But the biggest problem is that at the federal level, it We lack the special laws we need to fight once morest these criminals. If it doesn’t work at the federal level, the consequences are for the municipalities,” said Bart De Wever, the mayor of Antwerp and president of the new Flemish alliance.
Between cautious optimism and open pessimism, the mayors will in any case all be attentive to the realization of this anti-crime plan.
And for the record, if one of the objectives was to overcome political divisions, it has been a long time since these two presidents, Walloon socialists and Flemish nationalists, met at the same meeting.
