Counterterrorism in Belgium: Key challenges and policy options

The Royal Institute for International Relations is an independent think-tank based in Brussels. Its interdisciplinary research is conducted in a spirit of total academic freedom. Drawing on the expertise of its own research fellows, as well as that of external specialists, both Belgian and foreign, it provides analysis and policy options that are meant to be as operational as possible.In the aftermath of the attacks in Paris and Brussels in 2015 and 2016, Belgium became the world’s favourite scapegoat. Some criticised the dysfunctional nature of the country’s politics, others blamed certain social policies and complacency towards political Islam, the weak, amateurish tradecraft of Belgian security services, or even the suposed Belgian authorities’ leniency for turning the country into 'Europe’s favourite gunshop'.

This report tries to assess Belgium’s counterterrorism policy critically but in a nuanced way, more than six months after the Brussels bombings, and one year after the Paris attacks. It focuses on a limited number of issues, namely

-30 counter-terrorism measures announced by the Belgian federal government in the aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo and November attacks in Paris,
-an evaluation of the policing measures in place to prevent radicalisation and terrorism,
-the countering of terrorism financing,
-the connection between terrorism and illicit firearms acquisition,
-and a map of the various “external layers” of Belgium’s counterterrorism efforts at the bilateral, European and global levels.