Belgium

What the government has said

“The government's position has not yet been settled.”Chamber of Representatives, Interior Committee, 8 October 2025, translated from French

Receipt: Interior Minister Bernard Quintin, Chamber committee record, 8 Oct 2025

Officials could 'in principle' back the mandatory text in Council (Sept 2025) while the coalition disagreed at home. N-VA says Belgium abstained on the mandate; others say it voted yes. Abstained on Chat Control 1.0 in July 2026.

How it voted in the Council

Negotiating mandate, 26 November 2025

yes The Council position adopted in Coreper: voluntary scanning only, no detection orders. Coreper does not publish votes; the split was reported the same day by the Czech news agency CTK.

Chat Control 1.0, 23 July 2026

abstained The vote that brought back the temporary rules: voluntary scanning of private messages allowed until 3 April 2028.

A government can oppose mandatory scanning and still vote for the voluntary regime. The two are listed separately for that reason. Council votes need 15 states with 65 % of the population; four states with more than 35 % block.

How its MEPs voted

On 9 July 2026 the European Parliament voted on a motion to reject the Council text that brought back voluntary scanning, Chat Control 1.0. Rejection needed 361 votes and got 314, so the text passed. Of the 22 MEPs elected in Belgium, 10 voted to reject it, 7 voted against rejection, 1 abstained and 4 did not vote.

• 10 for rejection, that is against voluntary scanning
• 7 against rejection, letting the text pass
• 1 abstained
• 4 did not vote

The government line above concerns mandatory scanning; this vote concerned the voluntary regime. They are different questions, which is why both are shown. Source: roll-call vote 195775 as published by the European Parliament and compiled by HowTheyVote.eu; all 27 delegations side by side on the governments page.

Who decides in Belgium

Minister

Bernard Quintin, Minister for Security and the Interior (MR). Answered for the government on this file in the Chamber committee on 8 Oct 2025

Ministry in charge

FPS Home Affairs (IBZ). The Minister of Justice is Annelies Verlinden (CD&V)

Permanent representation

Ambassador Peter Moors, Permanent Representative (Coreper II, which covers justice and home affairs); Ambassador Bert Versmessen, Deputy Permanent Representative (Coreper I)

National parliament

Chamber of Representatives, Committee on the Interior, Security, Migration and Administrative Matters: questioned the minister on 8 Oct 2025; his answer was that the government position was not yet settled

Source: op.europa.eu/en/web/who-is-who/person/-/person/MDR_GOVREP_CONSIL.BEL.FED.08

Timeline

1. 23 July 2026Council vote on Chat Control 1.0, the temporary rules. Belgium: abstained.
2. 9 July 2026European Parliament votes on rejecting Chat Control 1.0; the motion fails, the text passes. MEPs elected in Belgium: 10 for rejection, 7 against, 1 abstained, 4 did not vote. source
3. 26 November 2025Council negotiating mandate adopted in Coreper. Belgium: yes.
4. Since 8 Oct 2025Recorded as unclear. Receipt: Interior Minister Bernard Quintin, Chamber committee record, 8 Oct 2025 source

Sources

• Interior Minister Bernard Quintin, Chamber committee record, 8 Oct 2025 (receipt)
• Council minutes, 12 Sep 2025, via netzpolitik.org
• Council voting result, 23 Jul 2026 (abstention)
• Permanent Representation of Belgium to the EU, who is who (updated 2 Feb 2026)
• Method: what the labels mean and where the population shares come from