Speaking on Thursday, the Estonian Justice Minister Liisa Pakosta said that the current Estonian government has no plans to lease out prison capacity to Belgium. However, the Belgian Asylum and Migration Minister Anneleen Van Bossuyt (Flemish nationalist) note that elections will be held in Estonia early next year. In the meantime, the federal government will stay in touch with Tallinn.
Estonian government rules out prison cell lease deal with Belgium for the time being
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Ms Van Bossuyt and the Federal Justice Minister Annelies Verlinden visited Estonia on Monday and Tuesday to explore the possibility of housing convicted undocumented migrants in Estonian prisons. Estonia has a prison occupancy rate of around 60%. Meanwhile, Belgium’s prisons currently have around 20% more prisoners that they have space for.
Of the 13,456 prisoners in Belgium’s jails 4,200 are undocumented migrants. The acute overcrowding in prisons means that hundreds of prisoners have to sleep on the floor of their cell as there is no bed for them. 552 prisoners slept on thr floor in Belgian prisons on Wednesday night.
Ms Van Bossuyt said on Tuesday that technical negotiations with Estonia on renting prison capacity would begin. However, on Thursday Ms Pakosta tempered expectations. She said that the Estonian government wants to learn from its existing agreement with Sweden before making deals with other governments.
"We have made it absolutely clear that this government and this parliament will not be discussing any issues related to the leasing of additional prison capacity. If we were ever to consider doing so, it would something that can be addressed by the next administration”, Ms Pakosta said.
8,500 euro per prisoner/month
Estonia has a very low crime rate and has a lot of empty prison cells. Last year, the Estonian government reached a deal with Sweden to house up to 600 of low-risk prisoners at its Tartu prison. Under the deal that still needs to be ratified by both the Swedish and the Estonian parliaments, Sweden will pay Estonia 8,500 euro per month per prisoner.
Speaking in the Federal Parliament on Thursday In the Chamber of Representatives, Ms Van Bossuyt acknowledged this is sensitivite matter for the Estonian government, with elections coming up early next year. She added that in the meantime, Belgium is maintaining technical contacts and carrying out the necessary preparatory work. Meanwhile, Ms Verlinden also confirmed that the work would continue at a technical level, noting that "the future will show which options are feasible."