Citing a lack of parliamentary scrutiny, a court in Brussels ruled on 31 March that the government must withdraw all COVID-19 lockdown orders and has given the country 30 days to end the measures.
Peter De Roover, a group leader from the Flemish right-wing N-VA party, addressed the Chamber shortly after the court’s ruling and called the smackdown a “disgrace to the government,” according to the Brussels Times. He said,
“This government has played with fire in implementing its coronavirus measures and it was warned about it, pretty much week after week in parliament… This government took enormous risks in opting for Ministerial Decrees in implementing freedom-restricting measures in its coronavirus policy. That warning, however, was ignored.”
The report said Brussels could face a penalty of €5,000 per day after the 30-day mark, with the maximum limit of €200,000.
