According to Vlaams Belang Member of Parliament Ortwin Depoortere, the distribution key for the financing of the local police – as established 20 years ago – is skewed in favor of Wallonia. Minister of the Interior Annelies Verlinden (CD&V) now wants to take a closer look at financing, but what does that mean for Brussels?
Figures from Minister Verlinden, reported by HLN, show that Flanders received 607 million euros in federal resources last year, or 90.7 euros per inhabitant. This while Wallonia received 122.64 euros per inhabitant and Brussels could count on 141.1 euros. A relationship that, according to Vlaams Belanger Depoortere, is unacceptable.
The explanation for these differences lies in the distribution key of the current federal funding, the KUL standard, which was established some 20 years ago and has remained unchanged since then. The most important parameters in this are prosperity, surface area and the presence of sensitive institutions such as prisons, football stadiums or schools.
However, the FPS Home Affairs says that “work is now underway” for a proposal for a new funding allocation key. “The current model allows little flexibility and does not benefit the relationship between the local and federal police,” it sounds. the core task debate and the specialization of the Federal Police.”
Unique position
The government department does not want to give more details about the plans for the time being. Still, the review of funding, and a potential increase in resources for Flanders, raises questions about Brussels. Will resources for the Brussels Region be cut while several mayors are already asking for more assistance?
The federal public service (FPS) Home Affairs reassures that things will not go so smoothly. Regardless of which parameters are added or dropped in the new distribution, the unique position in which Brussels finds itself and the associated police challenges will continue to be taken into account.
The FPS refers, among other things, to the highly urbanized character of all Brussels police zones, the fact that 365,000 people commute to Brussels every day and the presence of numerous embassies, consulates and European institutions. “Brussels is not only the capital of Belgium but also of Europe, which entails numerous events that must be secured.” For the latter, Brussels also receives special funding from the EU.
For the time being, however, a lot of research is being done into which parameters should be removed from the allocation key and which parameters should be added. What the effect of this will be on the resources for each police zone is therefore still unclear. “This is something that must be done very thoroughly and for which numerous specialists and professors are currently sitting around the table,” the Ministry of the Interior said. “Moreover, even if a new plan to reform financing is introduced during this legislature, there will first have to be political consensus on this. Something that may not be an easy task.”
This article is originally published on bruzz.be
