Police zone merger: from 6 to 1, vote expected before summer 2026

Law adopted: Constitutional Court challenge (13 May 2026)

On 13 May 2026, the Chamber of Representatives adopted the law merging the six Brussels police zones into a single zone in plenary session. The law requires implementation before 1 January 2028 (a maximum of 18 months after publication in the Belgian Official Gazette).

Plenary vote:

• For: federal majority, Anders, Ecolo-Groen (except 1 abstention)
• Against: PS, DéFI, PTB/PVDA
• Abstention: Vlaams Belang

Constitutional Court challenge: a double front

Brulocalis (the association of the 19 Brussels municipalities) decided, unanimously by its board of directors (minus one abstention), to file a collective challenge with the Constitutional Court. The legal deadline is 6 months from the promulgation of the law (expected late June to early July 2026).

Four individual mayors also filed challenges:

Other municipalities considering action: Koekelberg, Auderghem, Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, Evere.

Central argument: the municipalities denounce the structural under-representation of smaller municipalities in the future single zone. Berchem-Sainte-Agathe would hold only 1.4% of the votes in the merged zone's decisions.

Political paradox: Les Engagés voted for the law at federal level while contesting its application locally. Christian Lamouline (Berchem-Sainte-Agathe), who also chairs Brulocalis, is the initiator of the collective challenge.

Sources: BRUZZ Politiek + La Libre (13 May 2026).

Chamber committee: 2nd reading adopted (21 April 2026)

On Tuesday 21 April 2026, the Chamber of Representatives' Interior Committee approved, in second reading, the bills on the merger of the six Brussels police zones.

Vote:

• 9 for (Arizona majority)
• 3 against (PS + PVDA)
• 3 abstentions (Vlaams Belang + Groen-Ecolo)

Key points:

• Following a PS request, a second reading was held (after first-reading approval in early March) — an opportunity to integrate a set of amendments, notably based on a Chamber legal note
• The text now moves to the plenary Chamber, the last step before promulgation
• The bill also contains voluntary merger incentives for the rest of the country
• Entry-into-force schedule confirmed: within 18 months of publication of the law, Brussels will have a single unified police zone

Source: BRUZZ Politics (21 April 2026).

Conflict of interest motion in the Brussels Parliament (13 March 2026)

On 13 March 2026, the Brussels Parliament took into consideration a conflict of interest motion filed by DéFI and Ecolo group leader Zakia Khattabi, targeting the federal merger project approved on 4 March in the Chamber's Interior committee.

Motion arguments:

• The merger is being imposed on Brussels while it is voluntary elsewhere in the country
• The majority of Brussels mayors oppose the project
• Brulocalis issued a negative opinion
• The Council of State raised criticisms of the project

The consideration triggers a 60-day consultation period between the Brussels Parliament and the federal Chamber, suspending the federal legislative procedure for that duration. This constitutional mechanism does not definitively block the project, but forces an inter-institutional dialogue phase.

Source: BRUZZ, 13 March 2026.

Legislative progress: Interior committee (10 February)

The Interior Minister presented the detailed draft law to the Chamber's Interior committee on 10 February 2026. This was a hearing/presentation, not yet a vote. The minister confirmed the national scope of the reform: reducing 176 to ~60 police zones across the country, with the Brussels merger as the only mandatory case.

The plenary vote is expected before summer 2026. The single Brussels zone would become operational approximately one year after the vote, i.e. during 2027.

Reactions in committee:

• PS opposition: "Forced marriages never work"
• Defi opposition: "Purely irrational — a security and democratic power grab"

The merger is also identified as one of the "seven budgetary woes" weighing on Brussels municipalities, alongside pension and unemployment reform.

Sources: La Libre, "a step towards the merger" (10 Feb. 2026); L'Avenir, "the 7 budgetary woes" (9 Feb. 2026).

Field signal: Gare du Midi (17 February)

The minister-president's first field visit, on 17 February to the Gare du Midi, highlighted the fragmentation of security coordination. On a single site, the responsibilities of two local police zones (Brussels-Ixelles and Anderlecht-Saint-Gilles-Forest), the Federal Railway Police, SNCB security and Stib guards all intersect. The observation — "there is room for improvement in coordination" — concretely illustrates one of the central arguments for the merger project.

Regional government agreement: the Brussels position

The regional policy declaration (February 2026) makes the Region's position conditional on the federal Parliament's decision:

"If the federal Parliament votes in favour of the police zone merger, the Region will commit to the principle of federal loyalty and establish this single zone."

In practical terms, the Brussels government commits to:

• Establishing the single zone if the federal law is passed
• Preserving community policing through "local offices"
• Coordinating the transition with municipalities within the integrated police framework

Current situation: 6 police zones

The Brussels-Capital Region currently has 6 local police zones, each covering several municipalities:

Each zone has its own chief of police, budget, and police council. The Police College, composed of the 19 mayors and the Minister-President, coordinates supra-zonal policy.

Federal project: a single zone

On 23 December 2025, the federal government approved in second reading a draft bill merging the 6 Brussels zones into one. Key elements:

• A single chief of police for the entire Brussels territory
• Transition budget of EUR 65 million over 5 years (initially EUR 55M, increased by EUR 10M in December 2025)
• Target implementation date: before 1 January 2028 (maximum 18 months after promulgation of the law)
• Revision of the KUL funding norm for police zones (first revision in 26 years)
• The project is part of a national reform to reduce Belgium's 176 zones to approximately 60 (Brussels mandatory, rest of the country voluntary)

Legislative timeline

• July 2025: first reading in the Council of Ministers
• December 2025: Council of State opinion (noted imprecisions in the draft)
• 23 December 2025: second reading approved, budget raised to EUR 65M
• 2 February 2026: Quintin announces the national scope — from 176 to ~60 zones (Brussels mandatory, rest of the country voluntary)
• 10 February 2026: presentation of the draft law to the Chamber's Interior committee (hearing, no vote)
• 4 March 2026: project approved in Chamber Interior committee (federal majority)
• 13 March 2026: conflict of interest motion by DéFI/Ecolo taken into consideration by Brussels Parliament → 60-day consultation
• 21 April 2026: Chamber Interior committee approves in 2nd reading (9-3-3) — text moves to plenary
• Before summer 2026: parliamentary vote expected (Quintin's target), subject to the conflict of interest procedure
• ~1 year after the vote: entry into force of the single Brussels zone (target 2027)

Stakeholder positions

In favour:

• The federal government — project sponsor
• The SLFP-Police trade union — conditional support, demands objective criteria and structural refinancing
• The Brussels regional coalition — federal loyalty conditional on parliamentary vote

Opposed:

• The 19 Brussels mayors — unanimous opposition expressed in August 2025
  • Argument: the mandatory nature for Brussels (voluntary elsewhere) is deemed discriminatory
  • Concern: loss of community policing and the link between mayor and chief of police
• The Council of State — noted imprecisions and inconsistencies in the draft bill (December 2025)

Issues to follow

• Parliamentary vote: the timeline remains uncertain; a rejection or significant amendment would alter the project
• Local offices: the community policing model within a single zone has not yet been defined
• KUL norm: the funding revision has been pending for 26 years; its outcome will determine the viability of the single zone
• Staff transition: the status of ~6,500 officers and ~1,000 civilian staff from the 6 current zones will need to be harmonised
• Governance: the role of mayors in a single zone (via the Police College or another mechanism) remains to be defined
• Link with the regional security plan: the single zone will need to align with the integrated plan set out in the policy declaration

New sequence after the vote (18-19 May 2026)

Six days after the Chamber plenary vote (13 May), the file sees three rapid political developments:

• 16 May: the federal Interior minister publicly acknowledges that the file has taken on "unfortunately a communitarian flavour" (BRUZZ Politiek). A rare admission on a sensitive institutional file.
• 18 May: the Mayor of Evere announces his intention to file an appeal (BRUZZ Politiek). He joins Brulocalis (Association of Brussels Cities and Municipalities), which has already announced an appeal to the Constitutional Court, and the 4 mayors who have already filed individually.
• 19 May: BRUZZ Politiek reports that a key Flemish demand in the file has been met. The political concession is presented as the trigger for the municipal appeal — the parameter change is seen as a last-minute tightening unfavourable to small municipalities.

Operational consequence: the legal six-month appeal window before the Constitutional Court (counted from promulgation of the law, expected late June 2026) will likely be used. The implementation window (before 1 January 2028) remains constrained by any intermediate judicial rulings. RPD commitment admin-pillars to be scanned — municipal resistance to the federal framework challenges the regional "reinforced oversight".

Sources: BRUZZ Politiek — Mayor of Evere appeal (18 May 2026); BRUZZ Politiek — Flemish demand met (19 May 2026); BRUZZ Politiek — Quintin 'communitarian flavour' (16 May 2026). Confidence: official.

First police college of the merged zone: name, divisions, chair (8 July 2026)

On Wednesday 8 July 2026, the 19 Brussels mayors held the first official meeting of the future merged zone's police college, ahead of the merger's entry into force scheduled for 1 January 2028 at the latest.

Decisions announced:

• Name adopted: "Police de Bruxelles" in French, "Politie Brussel" in Dutch, replacing the current designations (Brussels-Ixelles zone, North zone, South zone, and so on)
• Organisation into nine territorial divisions, presented as a way to preserve community policing; each mayor retains administrative policing authority over their own municipality's territory
• Philippe Close (PS), mayor-president of the City of Brussels, was elected chair of the police college
• Michel Goovaerts, current chief of the Brussels-Ixelles police zone, was appointed coordinator to prepare the transition, alongside the chiefs of the six current zones
• Recruitment for the future chief of corps of the merged zone is set to begin in September 2026

This information rests on matching statements by mayor-president Philippe Close and other participants, reported by L'Avenir, La DH and BX1; no separate official press release for this meeting was identified.

This announcement provides a first answer to the community-policing question within the merged zone, previously flagged as undefined (see "Issues to follow" above).

Sources: L'Avenir (8 July 2026); La DH (8 July 2026); BX1. Confidence: unconfirmed (matching statements reported across several outlets, no separate official press release located).