Belgium’s Parti Socialiste (PS) expressed outrage on Friday over an unprecedented attack on the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) by Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever and eight other European government leaders.
In a letter released on Thursday evening, the nine European heads criticised the ECHR’s interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights, arguing that it could limit their ability to make political decisions within their democracies. They called for more leeway for States to address irregular immigration and crime, focussing on a “minority of migrants.”
The Belgian Prime Minister had decided to cosign the letter after consulting the other members of his coalition government.
In addition to De Wever, the letter’s signatories were Mette Frederiksen (Denmark), Giorgia Meloni (Italy), Christian Stocker (Austria), Petr Fiala (Czech Republic), Kristen Michal (Estonia), Erika Silina (Latvia), Gitanas Nausėda (Lithuania), and Donald Tusk (Poland).
Pierre-Yves Dermagne, leader of the PS group in parliament, condemned the initiative as a novel attack on a top European court that safeguards fundamental freedoms.
The head of Belgium's French-speaking socialists warned that the letter distances the country from its historical role in defending human rights and that, rather than enhancing security, it weakens the rule of law.
He also noted that this was not the first time the Prime Minister had questioned international justice. Recently, he had had to clarify comments regarding an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“A prime minister has all the levers to act: amend conventions, change legislation, give more resources to the justice system, support the forces of law and order, reinforce security … but certainly not attack judges and court decisions,’ Mr Dermagne argued.
The PS head also wondered whether the letter was shared with the entire government before being sent. He plans to challenge the Prime Minister at a plenary session on Wednesday.
