Christophe De Beukelaer, leader of the Brussels branch of Les Engagés party, on Friday accused Interior Minister Bernard Quintin of breaking promises to Brussels city's regarding the structural refinancing of the Brussels police.
He considers the refinancing a condition for merging the city’s six police zones, and regrets the lack of linkage with the reform of the KUL norm.
De Beukelaer also claimed there was no agreement within the core cabinet about the police-zone merger, although Quintin’s spokesperson officially denies this, citing as evidence the fact that this item was on the ministerial council’s agenda for today, Friday 18 July.
The Brussels leader recalled that Les Engagés had accepted the mandatory merger of the police zones as part of the Arizona coalition agreement, provided it was accompanied by structural refinancing for the capital police.
The underfunding of the Brussels police over the legislative period is estimated at €300 million to €500 million. Revising the KUL norm is seen as a way to address this shortfall.
De Beukelaer pointed out that the revision of the KUL norm has been a complex issue included, without success, in several coalition agreements.
The merger of the Brussels zones, requested by both Flemish and some Walloon factions, is seen as a crucial leverage to break the deadlock.
He criticised Minister Quintin, who is also from Brussels, for pushing through the merger in exchange for €55 million in non-structural funding, without guarantees for the revision of the KUL norm.
“Moreover, he has betrayed the promise he recently made to Brussels mayors, lost the crucial leverage this merger represents in negotiations, and left Les Engagés alone to defend the interests of Brussels,” De Beukelaer charged.
