Border checks in Belgium for the first time in 20 years

In view of this week’s G7 event in Brussels, the summit of the leaders of the world’s seven largest industrialised countries, there will be border checks carried out in Belgium for the first time since the introduction of the Schengen area in 1995.

Travelling to the Belgian capital for the summit are, among others, US President Barack Obama and French President François Hollande.

Belgian customs and police officers are authorised through Friday to perform an unlimited number of checks at the border with Germany, France, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, as well as at air- and seaports.

In theory, border checkpoints can be implemented temporarily whenever a G7 meeting is held in a Schengen country, but it is the first time in 20 years that the checks are carried out in Belgium.

The 40th G8 summit was due to be held in Russia in 2014. However, due to ongoing tensions around Sochi, the other seven countries decided that the summit would be held without Russia (G7), in Brussels, Belgium.