On Saturday, the Home Affairs Minister Jan Jambon told De Standaard he hoped the threat level in Belgium could be reduced to 2 out of 4 over the next few months. "It would mean the situation is more stable and it would help the budget too”, the N-VA Minister says.
If everything remains quiet, Ocam could decide to reduce the threat level to 2 (from 3) next year. The Organ for the Coordination of Threat Analysis (Ocam) might keep the threat level at 3 for sensitive places like the Israeli and US embassies in Brussels or the Jewish quarter in Antwerp.
Minister Jambon confirmed that Belgium is getting ready for the threat level to be changed, but said the final decision would be made by Ocam. “We hope we can change to level 2 over the next few months”, his cabinet says. “It would mean the situation is more stable and it would help the budget too”.
The threat level has stayed at 3 since the Paris attacks in November 2015. It even went up to 4 after the Brussels attacks on the 22nd of March. The threat level being reduced would mean big changes: there would be almost no soldiers on the streets, security measures for big events could be relaxed and police stations would no longer have extra protection.
The Brussels Times
