Foreign drivers who get a parking fine in Brussels almost never pay up. Now Brussels MP Benjamin Dalle (Flemish Christian democrat/CD&V) is demanding urgent measures to tackle the problem. He’s suggesting wheel clamps could be the solution.
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Foreign drivers hardly ever pay parking fines in Brussels: ‘Use wheel clamps, then they will have to pay!’
Colin Clapson
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Belgium has agreements with France and the Netherlands on the exchange of vehicle registration data, but these are the only two countries. As a result, Parking.brussels, the Brussels Capital Region's parking agency, is only able to collect parking fines from drivers from these two countries.
Drivers from other countries often do not pay their parking fines and get away with it. Of the 408,660 fines issued since the beginning of 2024 to foreign drivers that didn’t have a valid parking ticket, parking.brussels was only able to collect around 33,000 fines, mainly from French and Dutch nationals.
Stricter enforcement needed
‘Disconcerting figures,’ says Brussels MP Benjamin Dalle. ‘Pending a European arrangement, we urgently need to sign more agreements with other countries to enable data exchange.’
Wheel clamps can be an effective enforcement tool, Mr Dalle believes. ‘Parking.brussels has a legal right to use wheel clamps, but in practice it is never used. Clamping can not only help to collect parking fines from foreign drivers, but is also a tool to deal with persistent parking offenders who accumulate many fines.’
Mr Dalle is asking the Brussels government to introduce clamping policies that are also implemented. He also wants the Brussels mobility minister to ask the federal government to conclude more agreements with other countries.