Security plan: anti-drugs commissioner, 10M EUR for stations and police zone merger

First field action: Gare du Midi (17 February)

Three days after the swearing-in, the minister-president made his first field visit to the Gare du Midi, accompanied by the State Secretary for Urban Planning and the mayors of Anderlecht and Forest. His assessment: "there is room for improvement in coordination" between the actors present (local police zones, Federal Police, SNCB, Stib, communes).

This visit directly illustrates the challenge behind the 10 million EUR earmarked by the RPD for securing the Midi and Nord stations. The multiplicity of security actors on site (6 police zones, Federal Railway Police, SNCB security, Stib guards) confirms the need for an integrated coordination plan.

Government agreement: what changes

The agreement of 12 February 2026 dedicates an entire chapter to security:

• Regional drugs commissioner: dedicated authority for the fight against narcotics (creation confirmed on 16 June 2026, see below)
• 10 million EUR investment for securing the Midi and Nord railway stations
• Integrated regional drugs plan — chain approach (prevention, harm reduction, enforcement)
• Interconnected video surveillance — integration of local systems with the Federal Police
• Two phases of SIAMU reinforcement (fire brigade)
• Dedicated recruitment pathway for security professions

Reference data: safe.brussels report (2024)

The annual report by safe.brussels (December 2025) provides the factual context:

Source: Brussels Security Observatory (safe.brussels), 2024 report.

Inherited context

Bruxelles Prévention & Sécurité (BPS) is the regional body responsible for coordinating security and prevention policy in Brussels. It works in conjunction with the six Brussels police zones and the 19 communes.

The previous regional security plan had expired and was due for renewal by the new government following the 2024 elections.

What was blocked (June 2024 — February 2026)

• The adoption of a new regional security plan
• The definition of new prevention priorities
• Funding for new prevention programmes
• Updated coordination between police zones and communes

Existing measures continued to operate, but without a renewed strategic framework.

Merger of the 6 police zones (federal)

The federal government is driving a major reform: the merger of Brussels' 6 police zones into a single unified zone. Interior Minister Bernard Quintin (MR) had the text adopted in second reading by the Council of Ministers (23 December 2025).

The single zone would comprise 6,500 operational officers and approximately 1,000 logistics staff, making it the largest police zone in Belgium. Funding of 55 million EUR over 5 years (11M EUR/year) is earmarked to support the transition.

The first implementing royal decree is expected by mid-2026, with an effective date in 2027. However, Les Engages contest having given their agreement, pointing to structurally insufficient funding (estimated shortfall of between 300 and 500M EUR for the Brussels police).

Gare du Nord hotspot task force (March 2026)

On 16 March 2026, the mayors of Schaerbeek (Martin de Brabant, MR) and Saint-Josse (Emir Kir) jointly announced a set of measures for the Quartier Nord hotspot, adopted within the framework of the Local Task Force:

Immediate measures:

• Night closure of all public establishments in the perimeter between 1am and 6am (prostitution venues included) — municipal decree in both municipalities
• Harmonised hours between Schaerbeek and Saint-Josse
• Extension of the public alcohol consumption ban
• Reinforced camera coverage — federal support expected
• E-scooter speed limit in free-floating mode reduced to 8 km/h in the zone
• Reactivation of "safe places" and local prevention partnership

Medium-term measures:

• Integrity investigations into shops in the area (suspected money laundering)
• Redevelopment of rue d'Aerschot, linked to the Station Plan (EUR 10 million envelope)

This activation falls within the framework of the 10M EUR earmarked by the RPD for securing the Midi and Nord stations.

Sources: La Libre, DH (16-18 March 2026).

Military deployment extended to stations and metro (3 April 2026)

From 3 April 2026, 45 additional soldiers patrol Brussels railway stations and metro stops in pairs with the railway police. This deployment adds to the 200 soldiers already on the streets since 23 March (Jewish sites, FIPA patrols), bringing the total to approximately 245 soldiers in public spaces.

Legal void: the Defence Codex, which is supposed to provide the legal framework for these operations, has not yet been voted in the federal Parliament. The SLFP Defence union denounces a "legal void", tent-based accommodation, and inadequate pay (~EUR 4.95/h net). Planned duration: 6 months with review.

Sources: BX1, La Libre, DH (31 March – 4 April 2026).

Brussels-North zone crime: 2025 figures

The Polbruno zone (Schaerbeek, Evere, Saint-Josse) published its 2025 figures:

• "Objective" crime: −12% (29,495 reports)
• Narcotics: +53% (1,333 reports)
• Arrests: +11%, referrals to prosecution +147%
• Violence concentrated in the Quartier Nord

The overall decline masks an intensification of anti-drug operations in the hotspots identified by the task force.

Source: BX1, La Libre, DH (3-4 April 2026).

Investigation into police conduct during demonstrations (June 2026)

On 5 and 6 June 2026, demonstrations linked to the adoption of the FWB decree-programme generated significant tensions in Brussels, with interventions by law enforcement near Brussels-Central station. On 6 June, the Brussels City mayor's spokesperson announced the opening of an investigation into the conduct of certain officers during the gatherings, following the circulation on social media of footage showing a forbidden symbol and inappropriate remarks. Fifteen judicial arrests had taken place during Thursday's demonstrations, according to the Brussels public prosecutor.

Source: Le Soir, 6 June 2026.

Fire in Anderlecht (June 2026)

In early June 2026, a fire destroyed a building in Anderlecht, requiring the rehousing of several families. The incident illustrates the pressure on emergency response services (SIAMU) and on communes in their emergency housing role.

Source: L'Avenir, June 2026.

Regional drugs commissioner confirmed (16 June 2026)

On 16 June 2026, the government confirmed before Parliament the creation of a regional drugs commissioner post, after the minister-president had first ruled out the idea of a dedicated post (considering that strong coordination between actors was sufficient). The majority ultimately insisted on a fully-fledged function.

• Budget: 1.5 million euros per year from 2027
• Mission: strengthen the coherence of regional action by coordinating security, prevention and health across the federal, regional and local levels, without overlap with the federal drugs commissioner; the commissioner does not replace existing services
• Profile: secondment of a police officer, a magistrate or an administrator
• Partners involved: Interior minister, nineteen mayors, police chiefs and the public prosecutor

The creation responds to the rise in shootings and drug trafficking in Brussels.

Source: BRUZZ Politiek (16 June 2026).

Firefighters' strike and SIAMU refinancing (July 2026)

The SIAMU reinforcement commitment written into the government agreement was tested by the longest social conflict documented within the Brussels fire service.

• 21 July 2026: the joint union front launches a full strike, denouncing the structural staff shortage and the underfunding of the service. The action is renewed day after day and operational availability falls to 17% of staff on 25 July.
• 23 July: the Brussels government announces a plan for 132 recruitments by the end of 2027 (40 in 2026, 20 more by March 2027, 72 more by December 2027) and a 10 million euro envelope. The strike continues, the unions judging the implementation guarantees insufficient.
• 25 July: an agreement is reached between the government and the joint union front. The 10 million euros, federal in origin, are split between operational staff and the 112 emergency call centre (over 8 million) and infrastructure works (2 million). Existing pay scales and statutory conditions are maintained.
• 27 July: the staff general assembly unanimously validates the agreement and confirms the suspension of the action. The strike notice remains in force, with a check point set for the end of September 2026.

For this dossier, the episode shifts the marker: the "two phases of SIAMU reinforcement" strand of the government agreement now has a costed timetable and identified funding, but nothing has been delivered yet. The unions also signal that a second social front could open in September 2026 at federal level (pensions, recognition of occupational cancers, the physical demands of the job, end-of-career conditions), on matters outside the Region's remit.

Sources: RTBF (27 July 2026) ; La Libre (27 July 2026) ; BX1 (23 July 2026).

Cuts to prevention subsidies: 14 of 39 projects not renewed (4 August 2026)

The prevention arm of the Global Security and Prevention Plan (GSPP), the instrument through which the Region subsidises frontline associations, is undergoing its first documented contraction under this government.

The Brussels government approved the 2026 plan on 9 July 2026. Its contents were revealed by the press on 27 July and notified to the associations concerned on Monday 4 August 2026. Of the 39 projects funded in 2025, 14 are not renewed, 22 are maintained and 2 see their funding reduced. The amount withdrawn through the discontinued projects comes to 725,815 euros. The total envelope of the 2026 plan stands at 6.8 million euros in subsidies.

Associations concerned (amounts reported by the press):

The amount allocated to Transit, the plan's main beneficiary and operator of the drug consumption rooms, is reported differently across newsrooms: full funding retained according to BX1, a reduction of around 271,000 euros according to La DH. The figure is not used here as long as the approved documents remain unpublished.

What this shifts for this dossier. The government made security a headline pillar of its agreement, with a regional drugs commissioner funded at 1.5 million euros a year from 2027, a Stations Plan of 10 million euros a year and an integrated regional drugs plan built on a chain of prevention, harm reduction and enforcement. The prevention link in that chain sees its association funding fall just as the other two scale up. The sector had already raised the alarm in April 2026, when forty associations supported under this framework reported that only partial coverage of the first quarter was confirmed, following a partial holding mechanism in 2025 in the absence of a full-powers government.

Neither the administration nor the relevant cabinet has made public the documents approved in early July, which makes the selection criteria impossible to verify. The amounts above therefore come from the notifications received by the associations and relayed by the press, not from a primary administrative source. Confidence: estimated on individual amounts, official on the decision and its timeline.

Sources: DH (27 July 2026) ; BX1 (4 August 2026) ; L'Avenir (4 August 2026) ; BRUZZ (4 August 2026).

Issues to monitor

• SIAMU: the timetable for the 132 recruitments and the allocation of the 10 million euros in federal funding are the verification points; the unions have set their own check point at the end of September 2026, with the strike notice still running

• Police zone merger: the text adopted in second reading must still be debated in the Chamber. Les Engages contest the funding. Royal decree expected mid-2026, effective 2027

• Drugs commissioner: the function is confirmed (budget of 1.5 million EUR/year from 2027); the recruitment and operational articulation with the federal drugs commissioner remain to be specified

• Stations Plan: on 18 June the government approved a plan of 10 million EUR/year for the North and Midi stations (security, including around sixty cameras, and cleanliness), operationalising the station-security commitment

• Railway stations: coordination with SNCB (federal) and local police zones will determine the effectiveness of the 10M EUR

• Video surveillance: the interconnection raises questions about privacy and proportionality

• Prevention: security challenges are evolving (cybercrime, radicalisation, urban violence) and the new plan will need to address them

• Prevention subsidies: publishing the documents approved on 9 July and the selection criteria remains the verification point; also worth monitoring is the concrete effect of ending the 14 projects on frontline services from the autumn onwards