Drivers with foreign plates rack up millions in unpaid Brussels parking fines

Vehicles with foreign number-plates in Brussels rack up millions in fines, but drivers rarely pay them, according to new figures from outgoing mobility minister Elke Van den Brandt (Groen).

Barely one in 10 parking fines for vehicles with foreign number-plates in Brussels is actually paid, Bruzz reports, and the outstanding amount is more than €25 million - €9.3 million for fines from 2023 and €15.8 million for those from 2024.

The average amount per fine is between €35 and €40, with a collection rate of 9.74% for the 301,289 fines on foreign plates issued in 2023 and 9.07% of the 431,573 fines issued in 2024.

The issue is unique to those with foreign plates. For vehicles with Belgian plates, the collection rate was 80% in 2023 and 76% in 2024.

Van den Brandt acknowledged the problem and said she wanted to strengthen the collection procedure for foreign drivers.

Belgium currently only has bilateral agreements with France and the Netherlands for the collection of traffic fines.

“Agreements with other countries are necessary. However, the Brussels region is not authorised to negotiate bilateral agreements with other countries,” said Van den Brandt, adding that she had asked the federal government to strike similar agreements with other countries.

In the meantime, additional measures are being prepared at the Brussels level. For example, Parking.brussels will collaborate with a company that specialises in the collection of European traffic fines.

The agency hopes to also soon be authorised to immobilise vehicles with a wheel clamp or have them towed away in the event of repeated non-payment.

“A decision is currently being prepared to enable this to be implemented,” Van den Brandt said.

Her spokesperson François Descamps said such a measure will take time. “Because this is a complex issue, everything must be legally watertight,” he said.

Research is also being conducted into how people with foreign number-plates but a Belgian place of residence can be obliged to register their vehicle in Belgium.

“We know that some of the owners of vehicles with foreign number-plates are domiciled in Belgium, and that is not allowed,” Descamps said.

A study is also looking into how foreign drivers can be fined for offences in the low-emission zone, which is not currently the case.

A working group has also been set up to combat such abuses and a joint database is under development between Parking.brussels, Brussels Taxation and Brussels Environment to better track down persistent defaulters.

“This passivity is incomprehensible, unfair and costly for the people of Brussels,” said Fouad Ahidar, chairman of the Team Fouad Ahidar party, pointing to the Netherlands as an example to follow.

When a Belgian driver commits an offence in the Netherlands, Ahidar said, they receive several warnings before legal proceedings are initiated, and if they cross the border again without paying, their vehicle can be immobilised.

“In Brussels, it is exactly the opposite: foreign offenders drive around freely, while the region loses millions of euros,” Ahidar said.

“We demand that the region applies the same level of strictness and fairness to foreign drivers as it does to Belgian citizens.”