The Council of State on Wednesday threw out two requests for the revocation of Brussels-Capital Region's low-emission-zone status, deeming them baseless.
The annulment requests were filed by a resident of Genval, in Walloon Brabant. A first appeal was declared unfounded because "the government of Brussels-Capital has the power to establish a low-emission zone that extends over the entire territory of the Region," the Council of State ruled.
In the second part of the case, the Council of State considered that the fact that trucks over 3.5 tonnes are not affected by the ban on driving in the low-emission zone does not pose a problem.
"This does not constitute a violation of the Constitution," the Council of State ruled, "because the difference in treatment between light vehicles, on one hand, and heavy duty vehicles, on the other, is based on a reasonable justification."
The Council recalled, in particular, that there was already a kilometre charge for trucks.
"This varies according to the Euro standard of the vehicle," it added in a reference to EU regulations setting maximum pollution limits for new vehicles.
The kilometre charge, the Council noted, can encourage owners to use vehicles that meet a high Euro standard, and are therefore less polluting.
In addition, said the Council of State, there is currently "no adequate alternative" to heavy duty vehicles.
