2023-08-23 17:45:16
After the call for help from the boss of the SNCB, the Prime Minister brought together the various actors involved. Among the possible solutions: better coordination.
It’s been going on for years, and the situation is deteriorating step by step. Insecurity, filth, unsanitary dormitory for undocumented migrants, cocaine or crack trafficking, violent robberies, fights, nuisance due to interminable works… This summer, the problems around the Gare du Midi caught the attention of the media.
For some time now, field managers have been sounding the alarm. Last week is Sophie Dutordoir, the boss of the SNCB, who ended up calling the politicians for helpevoking a “dramatic” situation in a station which welcomes more than 50,000 travelers every day and which is the first gateway for international visitors, but also the main workplace for 4,000 SNCB employees.
Last week, Sophie Dutordoir, the boss of SNCB, ended up calling on politicians for help, citing a “dramatic” situation.
The subject therefore imposed itself on the agenda. political leaders, who are now multiplying initiatives and declarations on the subject.
Ball returns
Already at the end of July, the Federal Minister for Mobility Georges Gilkinet (Ecolo) shared his concerns with his colleague from the Interior Annelies Verlinden (CD&V), who promised her a coordination meeting following August 15.
But following the letter from SNCB, she explained to Belga that “a initiative must come from Brussels Minister-President Rudi Vervoort (PS)which has a coordination authority to tackle this problem.” A minister-president who, questioned in July in the Brussels Parliament, highlighted the 238 security operations carried out in the area between January and May, as well as the Plan was put in place to ensure a maximum and visible police presence in the neighborhood.
Coordination
The Prime Minister Alexander De Croo (Open VLD) therefore took the initiative to bring together, this Monday, the main persons responsible for the file. “The goal was for everyone to talk to each other, not to take control of this file,” comments his spokesperson. The chiefs of staff of ministers De Croo, Verlinden, Gilkinet, de Moor and Van Quickenborne were present, as were the municipalities of Anderlecht and Saint-Gilles, the federal police and the head of the area or the SNCB.
It was agreed to consider different scenarios, including that of a coordination of forces. “Quite unanimously, all eyes turned to Sophie Lavaux, a senior civil servant who, like a governor, has both a regional and federal dimension in her function”, indicates Georges Gilkinet. A new decision-making meeting should be held in the next few days.
Around the Gare du Nord as well, it had previously been decided to appoint a coordinator, responsible in particular for the transfer of information. But the rare pearl has not yet been found, and at the Gare du Midi, the desire would be to have a steering committee with more powers.
A police station in the station
Other leads are on the table, such asinstallation of a police station in the station itself. “But it’s not just a security problem. It’s also a problem of cleanliness or development of the district”, underlines Georges Gilkinet, who recalls that the building of the Postal sorting, side Saint-Gilles, is unoccupied for years, and that the project to set up the SNCB headquarters there might improve the situation, but will take time.
From, the political reactions jostle. The N-VA called on Wednesday morning for a political leap and called for a ban on the consumption of alcohol, gatherings, begging or the installation of tents in and around stations.
At the end of the dayRudi Vervoort decided to invite citizens and neighborhood organizations to a meeting on September 1 around the issue of drugs in several districts of the capital, following an open letter not far from forty neighborhood committees and trade associations.
Railway Police
The PS also points to the responsibility of the Federal, and calls for the strengthening of the railway police, deformed by the previous government. The resolution he had tabled on the subject was adopted unanimously in the House. He now wants to enforce it.
The regional deputy Groen Arnaud Verstraete wants him to hold a commission of the Brussels Parliament on the insecurity at the Gare du Midi, which aroused the taunts of the Engagés and the MR, in opposition to Brussels. “Rather than act, they want a commission?! But who are we kidding?” exclaimed on ex-Twitter group leader MR David Leisterh.
“We need targeted actions, with the SPF Finances and Afsca, to attack the businesses that serve as a cover for drug trafficking.”
“The mayors can take decrees which prohibit the frequentation of the places to the problematic people, adds the president of MR Georges-Louis Bouchez. It is also necessary to evacuate from the hearts of the city those who need social and medical assistance, by taking care of them and redispatching them. And it takes targeted actions, with the FPS Finances and Afsca, to tackle businesses that serve as a cover for drug trafficking.”
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