Alderman Boïketé points out that Flanders and Wallonia have both already decided to postpone the low-emission zone (LEZ) for Euro 5 vehicles with diesel engines. Flanders did this with a year, and Walloon Environment Minister Céline Tellier (Ecolo) postponed the ban for Euro 5 vehicles to 2028. These are vehicles that were first registered between 2011 and 2015.
“Brussels is not an island. Buying another car represents unbearably high costs for far too many families,” said the politician on X. “The PS is therefore calling for a postponement.”
According to the chairman of the Brussels PS faction, Ridouane Chahid, 32,000 families would be affected by the measure. “Improving air quality is a good thing, but we must also allow Brussels residents to move in an appropriate way,” it said.
According to Chahid, the Brussels’Air premium – which amounts to 1,010 euros for Brussels residents who leave their car at home – does not offer a sufficient alternative: “Let’s be realistic. Either we introduce accompanying measures to help Brussels residents buy a cleaner car, or we will take even more alternative measures.”
‘Not credible’
However, Minister of Climate Transition and Environment Alain Maron (Ecolo) is sticking to the proposed calendar, the spokesperson said. BRUZZ. “In Belgium, air quality is the cause of seven thousand premature deaths per year. Improving air quality means a significant improvement in health and quality of life in the dense neighborhoods of Brussels, where households own the fewest cars.”
The minister points out that the LEZ calendar, which was introduced during the previous legislature, was also approved by the entire Brussels government during this legislature.
“A request for a postponement just weeks before the elections, a request that has never been made before, is not credible,” said the minister, who underlined that London has already included euro 6 in its LEZ.
Moratorium
Since the beginning of 2022, diesel vehicles with Euro standard 4 are no longer allowed to enter the Brussels low-emission zone. Anyone who tries to do so risks a fine of 350 euros. From 2025, Euro 5 vehicles with a diesel engine should be added. Petrol vehicles with Euro standard 2 will also be banned from the capital from next year.
With these approaching dates on the calendars of the low-emission zones, more parties and agencies seem to be putting on the brakes. According to Belga, CD&V and mobility organization Touring have also previously called for an “extinction scenario” of the low-emission zones and a moratorium for Euro 5 vehicles, respectively.
