British and European police forces had already collaborated closely before Brexit, but since the United Kingdom left the EU, several legal instruments have become unusable. With the new bilateral cooperation agreement, the Belgian and British police services can once again exchange information more swiftly. For example, Belgian police officers will be able to carry firearms on board Eurostar trains between Great Britain and our country, even if the trains do not stop in France. Until now, there was no legal basis for this.
The treaty also regulates the exchange of data necessary for number plate recognition via ANPR cameras: the United Kingdom provides information on vehicles used to transport drugs or illegal migrants, after which the Belgian police can enter the relevant number plates into their system and respond more quickly. Additional measures are also provided to monitor situations involving cross-border crime. When Belgian officers leave the territory and British authorities need to take over, a short vacuum can occur.
The Belgian coast saw an increase in the number of trans-migrants in the spring, who departed by boat from the beach towards the United Kingdom. The coastal police zones requested financial support from the government to be arranged across the Channel, following France’s example, which receives 660 million pounds to stop boats. Minister Quintin stated in parliament at the time that he did not plan to “beg” in the United Kingdom. “We will not let policy depend on foreign cheques,” he said then.
The initial translation of this content was generated by AI. All facts, context, and language have subsequently been verified and validated by a human editorial team.
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