European country ignores ruling to steam ahead with migrant limts | World | News

Belgium’s Government has decided to move forward with its new asylum law, which its top court suspended, without waiting for Europe’s top court to rule on the matter. The dispute stems from a law passed in July last year that allows Belgium to limit support for asylum seekers who have already received protection in another EU country.

Last month, Belgium’s Constitutional Court halted the measure and referred key legal questions to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), citing concerns that the policy might clash with EU law and could seriously harm migrants. However, Belgium’s migration minister, Anneleen Van Bossuyt, has said that the Government will continue pursuing the policy through other legal avenues. She argued that Belgium still has room under existing law to implement the approach and expects the country’s position to strengthen when the EU’s new migration and asylum pact takes effect on June 12.

The legal fight began after Belgium introduced sweeping asylum reforms on July 14, 2025. Under the new law, authorities can classify someone’s asylum application as a “subsequent application” if that person already has refugee status or another type of protection in another EU country. This allows Belgian authorities to restrict or withdraw reception support, including housing and financial assistance.

However, the country’s Constitutional Court suspended those provisions after finding that limiting support could create serious and potentially irreversible harm for applicants. Many applicants were nationals of countries including Afghanistan, Palestine, Cameroon, Turkey and the DRC. Several had previously obtained refugee protection in Greece before seeking assistance in Belgium.

According to the ruling, some individuals lost access to Fedasil accommodation – the national reception network for asylum-seekers – after their claims were classified as subsequent applications. As a result, several people ended up without housing and relied on churches, volunteers, private hosts, or relatives for shelter.

Judges agreed that the policy’s legality under EU law is unclear and referred the question to the CJEU to determine whether someone already protected in one member state can legally be treated as filing a “subsequent application” in another. The court ruled that the claimants’ arguments were sufficient to justify suspending the measures pending the CJEU’s examination of the issue.

Defending the restrictions, the Belgian Government said the policy reduces strain on the country’s asylum system and limits what officials describe as « asylum and reception shopping ». Ms Van Bossuyt claimed that the measures are already producing results, with the number of asylum seekers arriving in Belgium, after receiving protection elsewhere, dropping by 83% between September and December 2025 compared with the same period in 2024.

She said the Government will keep this approach while awaiting the CJEU’s guidance.

This comes after Belgium, which is grappling with a surge in migrant crossings, has asked the UK to step up cooperation as people-smuggling gangs increasingly launch small boats from its western coastline. Authorities in Belgium have said criminal networks are using beaches along its North Sea coast to send migrants towards the UK, sparking fresh talks with UK officials on tackling the growing threat.

« We already have good cooperation with our British colleagues, but we want to further strengthen our exchange of information. Since Brexit, this exchange has become more difficult. We need an appropriate legal framework to ensure smooth exchange, » Belgian Interior Minister Bernard Quintin said.