Belgium

Country score (EU Average*)

77(72) Political Financing
46(57) Financial Disclosure
11(49) Conflict of Interest
43(59) Freedom of Information
61(63) Public Procurement
67(66) Anti Money Laundering
60(71) Asset Recovery

Country Facts

Income	High
GNI per capita (2011 PPP $)	41741.94
Population, total	11348159.00
Urban population (% of total)	97.90
Internet users (per 100 people)	86.52
Life expectancy at birth (years)	81.29
Mean years of schooling (years)	11.4
Global Competitiveness Index	5.2

Sources: World Bank, UNDP, WEF.

Political Financing

Belgian financial disclosure legislation applies nearly the same rules to Ministers, Members of Parliament, and Civil Servants. The Law on the requirement to file a list of mandates, functions and occupations and a declaration of assets (1995, last amended 2004) specifies that real estate, movable assets, cash, debts, and income from outside employment must be disclosed by all public officials. In addition, shares owned in a private or public company, as well as any official function in a public body or legal entity must be added to the disclosure statement. This would include managerial or advisory positions in companies. Declarations by Ministers and MPs are made only upon first taking office, while Civil Servants additionally report any changes in disclosure statements to their superior immediately.

No sanctions are stipulated for late-filling, whilst non-filling or making false disclosure leads to a fine between EUR 600-800 for Ministers and MPs. Civil Servants may face the same fines, but additional prison sentences apply for false disclosure. The Implementing Disclosure Law (1995, last amended 2004) specifies the Court of Auditors as depository body responsible for verifying submissions and enforcing disclosure legislation. At the same time, no institution is charged with verifying the accuracy of declarations. Belgium does not make any officials’ declarations public.

(Note: The Head of State is a monarch and thus exempted from disclosure laws).

Quantitative Data
Qualitative Data
Laws

Quantitative Data

Primary Metric	2012	2015	2016	2017	2020	2024
Bans and limits on private income	67	61	61	61	61	69
Public funding	38	38	38	38	38	62
Regulations on spending	75	75	75	75	75	75
Reporting, oversight and sanctions	100	100	100	100	100	100

Values lie in range between 0 and 100, higher values implying higher legislation comprehensiveness

Qualitative Data

Bans and limits on private income
Is there a ban on donations from foreign interests to political parties?	No. Absent from legal framework.
Is there a ban on donations from foreign interests to candidates?	No. Absent from legal framework.
Is there a ban on corporate donations to political parties?	Yes. Art. 16bis. Only natural persons may make donations to political parties (and their components), lists, candidates and political representatives. (Sections16bis and 16ter of the Act of 4 July 1989 on the limitation and control of election expenses (as amended incl. Law of 4 June 2021; consolidated Refli 1989000418).)
Is there a ban on corporate donations to candidates?	Yes. Art. 16bis. Only natural persons may make donations to political parties (and their components), lists, candidates and political representatives. (Sections16bis and 16ter of the Act of 4 July 1989 on the limitation and control of election expenses (as amended incl. Law of 4 June 2021; consolidated Refli 1989000418).)
Is there a ban on donations from corporations with government contracts to political parties?	Yes. Art. 16bis. Only natural persons may make donations to political parties (and their components), lists, candidates and political representatives. (Sections16bis and 16ter of the Act of 4 July 1989 on the limitation and control of election expenses (as amended incl. Law of 4 June 2021; consolidated Refli 1989000418).)
Is there a ban on donations from corporations of partial government ownership to political parties?	Yes. Art. 16bis. Only natural persons may make donations to political parties (and their components), lists, candidates and political representatives. (Sections16bis and 16ter of the Act of 4 July 1989 on the limitation and control of election expenses (as amended incl. Law of 4 June 2021; consolidated Refli 1989000418).)
Is there a ban on donations from corporations with government contracts to candidates?	Yes. Art. 16bis. Only natural persons may make donations to political parties (and their components), lists, candidates and political representatives. (Sections16bis and 16ter of the Act of 4 July 1989 on the limitation and control of election expenses (as amended incl. Law of 4 June 2021; consolidated Refli 1989000418).)
Is there a ban on donations from corporations of partial government ownership to candidates?	Yes. Art. 16bis. Only natural persons may make donations to political parties (and their components), lists, candidates and political representatives. (Sections16bis and 16ter of the Act of 4 July 1989 on the limitation and control of election expenses (as amended incl. Law of 4 June 2021; consolidated Refli 1989000418).)
Is there a ban on donations from Trade Unions to political parties?	Yes. Art. 16bis. Only natural persons may make donations to political parties (and their components), lists, candidates and political representatives. (Sections16bis and 16ter of the Act of 4 July 1989 on the limitation and control of election expenses (as amended incl. Law of 4 June 2021; consolidated Refli 1989000418).)
Is there a ban on donations from Trade Unions to candidates?	Yes. Art. 16bis. Only natural persons may make donations to political parties (and their components), lists, candidates and political representatives. (Sections16bis and 16ter of the Act of 4 July 1989 on the limitation and control of election expenses (as amended incl. Law of 4 June 2021; consolidated Refli 1989000418).)
Is there a ban on anonymous donations to political parties?	Yes. Without prejudice to the registration obligation as specified at article 6, paragraph 2, and article 116, § 6, subparagraph 2, of the Election Code, the identity of natural persons making donations, in any form, equivalent to 125 euros and more to political parties and their components, lists, candidates and political representatives shall be annually registered by the beneficiaries. (Sections16bis and 16ter of the Act of 4 July 1989 on the limitation and control of election expenses (as amended incl. Law of 4 June 2021; consolidated Refli 1989000418).)
Is there a ban on anonymous donations to candidates?	Yes. Without prejudice to the registration obligation as specified at article 6, paragraph 2, and article 116, § 6, subparagraph 2, of the Election Code, the identity of natural persons making donations, in any form, equivalent to 125 euros and more to political parties and their components, lists, candidates and political representatives shall be annually registered by the beneficiaries. (Sections16bis and 16ter of the Act of 4 July 1989 on the limitation and control of election expenses (as amended incl. Law of 4 June 2021; consolidated Refli 1989000418).)
Is there a ban on state resources being given to or received by political parties or candidates (excluding regulated public funding)?	Yes. Only natural persons may make donations to political parties (and their components), lists, candidates and political representatives. Candidates and political representatives may, however, receive donations from the political party or the list on behalf of which they stand as candidates or exercice their mandate. (Also, componenst may receive donations from their political party and vice-versa.) (Sections16bis and 16ter of the Act of 4 July 1989 on the limitation and control of election expenses (as amended incl. Law of 4 June 2021; consolidated Refli 1989000418).)
Is there a ban on any other form of donation?	No. Sponsorship by companies, associations in fact and legal persons is permitted as advertising, provided it is at market rates and within annual caps (each party/list/candidate/officeholder may receive up to €500 per sponsor; each sponsor may provide up to €2,000 in total per year). Sponsorship ≥€125 must be recorded and reported. (Art. 16bis/1 and 16ter, Act of 4 July 1989 (consolidated; incl. Law of 15 July 2018))
Is there a limit on the amount a donor can contribute to a political party over a time period (not election specific)?	Yes. Political parties and their components, lists, candidates and political representatives may each receive annually, as donations from the same natural person, an amount not exceeding (EUR 500), or its equivalent value. The donor may assign each year a total amount not exceeding (EUR 2,000), or the equivalent value of this amount, for donations to the benefit of political parties and their components, lists, candidates and political representatives. Each donation of 125 euros and more is transmitted electronically through a bank transfer, standing order or bank or credit card. The total amount of donations in cash by a single person may not exceed 125 euros per year. (Sections16bis and 16ter of the Act of 4 July 1989 on the limitation and control of election expenses (as amended incl. Law of 4 June 2021; consolidated Refli 1989000418).)
Is there a limit on the amount a donor can contribute to a political party in relation to an election?	No. No mention of specific election limits but limits above apply generally.
Is there a limit on the amount a donor can contribute to a candidate?	Yes. Political parties and their components, lists, candidates and political representatives may each receive annually, as donations from the same natural person, an amount not exceeding (EUR 500), or its equivalent value. The donor may assign each year a total amount not exceeding (EUR 2,000), or the equivalent value of this amount, for donations to the benefit of political parties and their components, lists, candidates and political representatives.) Each donation of 125 euros and more is transmitted electronically through a bank transfer, standing order or bank or credit card. The total amount of donations in cash by a single person may not exceed 125 euros per year. (Sections16bis and 16ter of the Act of 4 July 1989 on the limitation and control of election expenses (as amended incl. Law of 4 June 2021; consolidated Refli 1989000418).)
Public funding
Eligibility criteria for direct public funding to political parties	Yes. Art. 15. The Chamber of representatives shall grant, for each political party represented within the Chamber of representatives by at least one member of Parliament, a subsidy on behalf of the institution defined at article 22. (Articles 15, 15bis, 15ter and 16 of the Act of 4 July 1989 on the limitation and control of election expenses, amended 2015)
Eligibility criteria for direct public funding to political parties: Share of votes in previous election	No. Absent from legal framework.
Eligibility criteria for direct public funding to political parties: Representation in elected body	Yes. Art. 15. The Chamber of representatives shall grant, for each political party represented within the Chamber of representatives by at least one member of Parliament, a subsidy on behalf of the institution defined at article 22. (Article 15 of the Act of 4 July 1989 on the limitation and control of election expenses, amended 2015)
Eligibility criteria for direct public funding to political parties: Participation in election	No. Absent from legal framework.
Eligibility criteria for direct public funding to political parties: Number of candidates	No. Absent from legal framework.
Eligibility criteria for direct public funding to political parties: Share of seats in previous election	No. Absent from legal framework.
Eligibility criteria for direct public funding to political parties: Share of votes in next election	No. Absent from legal framework.
Eligibility criteria for direct public funding to political parties: Registration as a political party	No. Absent from legal framework.
Eligibility criteria for direct public funding to political parties: Share of seats in next election	No. Absent from legal framework.
Eligibility criteria for direct public funding to political parties: Number of members	No. Absent from legal framework.
Eligibility criteria for direct public funding to political parties: Other	Yes. Art. 15bis. In order to benefit from the subsidy specified at article 15, each party shall include in its statutes or programme a provision according to which it commits to observe the political Action it intends to conduct and make its different components and elected representatives observe at least the rights and freedoms guaranteed under the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of November 4, 1950 as approved by the law of May 13, 1955 and amended by additional protocols in force in Belgium. (Article 15 bis of the Act of 4 July 1989 on the limitation and control of election expenses, amended 2015)
Allocation calculations for direct public funding to political parties	Yes. Art. 16. The total annual subsidy assigned to each political party complying with the provisions (of articles 15 and 15bis), is composed of the following amount: 1) a lump sum equivalent to (EUR 125 000). This amount is increased by EUR 50.000 if in the Senate at least one member belongs to the same political party; 2) an additional sum equivalent to EUR 2,5 per valid vote, being list vote or nominative vote, issued on the candidates lists acknowledged by the political party during the last general elections with a view to fully renewing the Chamber of representatives. This amount is increased by 1,00 per vote, valid for the election of the House of Representatives if in the Senate at least one member belongs to the same political party. To see if at least one member of the Senate belongs to the same political party as referred to in paragraph 1, at least one member of the party in the Senate must confirm by letter to the Speaker of the House representatives. The surcharge remains applicable until the next full or partial renewal of the Senate. (Each party may withdraw from the benefit of the subsidy assigned to it based upon paragraph 1.) (Article 16 of the Act of 4 July 1989 on the limitation and control of election expenses, amended 2015)
Allocation calculations for direct public funding to political parties: Proportional to votes received	No. Absent from legal framework.
Allocation calculations for direct public funding to political parties: Equal	Yes. 1° a lump sum equivalent to (EUR 125 000); (Article 16 of the Act of 4 July 1989 on the limitation and control of election expenses, amended 2015)
Allocation calculations for direct public funding to political parties: Proportional to seats received	No. Absent from legal framework.
Allocation calculations for direct public funding to political parties: Flat rate by votes received	Yes. 2°an additional sum equivalent to EUR 2,5 per valid vote, being list vote or nominative vote, issued on the candidates lists acknowledged by the political party during the last general elections with a view to fully renewing the Chamber of representatives. This amount is increased by 1,00 per vote, valid for the election of the House of Representatives if in the Senate at least one member belongs to the same political party. (Article 16 of the Act of 4 July 1989 on the limitation and control of election expenses, amended 2015)
Allocation calculations for direct public funding to political parties: Share of expenses reimbursed	No. Absent from legal framework.
Allocation calculations for direct public funding to political parties: Proportional to candidates fielded	No. Absent from legal framework.
Allocation calculations for direct public funding to political parties: Number of members	No. Absent from legal framework.
Allocation calculations for direct public funding to political parties: Other	No. Absent from legal framework.
Earmarking provisions for direct public funding to political parties	Yes. See subindicators
Earmarking provisions for direct public funding to political parties: Campaign spending	No. Absent from legal framework.
Earmarking provisions for direct public funding to political parties: Ongoing party activities	No. Absent from legal framework.
Earmarking provisions for direct public funding to political parties: Intra-party institution	No. Absent from legal framework.
Earmarking provisions for direct public funding to political parties: Other	Yes. Art. 15bis. In order to benefit from the subsidy specified at article 15, each party shall include in its statutes or programme a provision according to which it commits to observe the political Action it intends to conduct and make its different components and elected representatives observe at least the rights and freedoms guaranteed under the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of November 4, 1950 as approved by the law of May 13, 1955 and amended by additional protocols in force in Belgium. (Article 15bis of the Act of 4 July 1989 on the limitation and control of election expenses, amended 2015)
Allocation criteria for free or subsidized access to media for political parties	Yes. "French speaking media [.‌.‌.‌] From 1964 'tribunes' of eight minutes allocated proportionally according to number of seats in Conseil Culurel [.‌.‌.‌] Dutch speaking media: since 1979 groups represented by 10 members of the nederlandse Culturaad can create an organization entitled to make programmes.‌ Time allocated equally for 50% and proportionally for 50%-‌" (p.‌ 101) (Bruce E. Cain, Russell J. Dalton, Susan E. Scarrow (2003) Democracy transformed?: expanding political opportunities in advanced industrial democracies, Oxford University Press, Oxford) P 17, "The public service broadcaster RTBF adopted a detailed election plan which foresaw the allocation of free airtime to political parties on the basis of their parliamentary representation; parties with no parliamentary representation were given some limited access on the basis of the number of candidacies filed.‌ For the coverage of candidates in news and debates, the RTBF decided that it should be proportional to the representation of parties in the Parliament of the French Community" (OSCE/ODIHR (2007) Belgium, Federal Election 10 June 2007, OSCE/ODIHR Needs Assessment Mission Report).
Allocation criteria for free or subsidized access to media for political parties: Equal	Yes. Dutch speaking media: since 1979 groups represented by 10 members of the nederlandse Culturaad can create an organization entitled to make programmes.‌ Time allocated equally for 50% and proportionally for 50%-‌ (Bruce E. Cain, Russell J. Dalton, Susan E. Scarrow (2003) Democracy transformed?: expanding political opportunities in advanced industrial democracies, Oxford University Press, Oxford)
Allocation criteria for free or subsidized access to media for political parties: Number of candidates	No. Absent from legal framework.
Allocation criteria for free or subsidized access to media for political parties: Share of seats	Yes. French speaking media [.‌.‌.‌] From 1964 'tribunes' of eight minutes allocated proportionally according to number of seats in Conseil Culurel [.‌.‌.‌] Dutch speaking media: since 1979 groups represented by 10 members of the nederlandse Culturaad can create an organization entitled to make programmes.‌ Time allocated equally for 50% and proportionally for 50%-‌ (Bruce E. Cain, Russell J. Dalton, Susan E. Scarrow (2003) Democracy transformed?: expanding political opportunities in advanced industrial democracies, Oxford University Press, Oxford)
Allocation criteria for free or subsidized access to media for political parties: Share of votes in preceding election	No. Absent from legal framework.
Allocation criteria for free or subsidized access to media for political parties: Other	No. Absent from legal framework.
Are there provisions for free or subsidized access to media for candidates?	No. "French speaking media [.‌.‌.‌] From 1964 'tribunes' of eight minutes allocated proportionally according to number of seats in Conseil Culurel [.‌.‌.‌] Dutch speaking media: since 1979 groups represented by 10 members of the nederlandse Culturaad can create an organization entitled to make programmes.‌ Time allocated equally for 50% and proportionally for 50%-‌" (p.‌ 101) (Bruce E. Cain, Russell J. Dalton, Susan E. Scarrow (2003) Democracy transformed?: expanding political opportunities in advanced industrial democracies, Oxford University Press, Oxford) (Sections16bis and 16ter of the Act of 4 July 1989 on the limitation and control of election expenses (as amended incl. Law of 4 June 2021; consolidated Refli 1989000418).)
Are there provisions for any other form of indirect public funding?	Yes. Art. 130. The following electoral expenses are at public expense: 1° the paper for the ballots the State provides 2° the attendance fees and the travel expenses for the members of the polling stations, under the conditions defined by the King; 3° The documented travel expenses of the voters who on the day of the election do not live anymore in the municipality where they are registered, under the conditions defined by the King; 4° the premiums due for accident insurance for the members of the polling stations to cover all sorts of fees caused by accidents happening to members of the polling stations while performing their Activities; the King determines the modalities and the covered risks. (Art. 130 Electoral Code [Algemeen Kieswetboek], 1894, amended 2014)
Provisions for any other form of indirect public funding: Premises for campaign meetings	No. Absent from legal framework.
Provisions for any other form of indirect public funding: Space for campaign materials	No. Absent from legal framework.
Provisions for any other form of indirect public funding: Tax relief	No. Absent from legal framework.
Provisions for any other form of indirect public funding: Free or subsidised transport	Yes. Art. 130. The following electoral expenses are at public expense: 1° the paper for the ballots the State provides 2° the attendance fees and the travel expenses for the members of the polling stations, under the conditions defined by the King; 3° The documented travel expenses of the voters who on the day of the election do not live anymore in the municipality where they are registered, under the conditions defined by the King; (Art. 130 Electoral Code [Algemeen Kieswetboek], 1894, amended 2014)
Provisions for any other form of indirect public funding: Free or subsidised postage cost	No. Absent from legal framework.
Provisions for any other form of indirect public funding: Other	Yes. Art. 130. The following electoral expenses are at public expense: 1° the paper for the ballots the State provides 2° the attendance fees and the travel expenses for the members of the polling stations, under the conditions defined by the King; 3° The documented travel expenses of the voters who on the day of the election do not live anymore in the municipality where they are registered, under the conditions defined by the King; 4° the premiums due for accident insurance for the members of the polling stations to cover all sorts of fees caused by accidents happening to members of the polling stations while performing their Activities; the King determines the modalities and the covered risks. (Art. 130 Electoral Code [Algemeen Kieswetboek], 1894, amended 2014)
Is the provision of direct public funding to political parties related to gender equality among candidates?	No. Absent from legal framework.
Are there provisions for other financial advantages to encourage gender equality in political parties?	No. Absent from legal framework.
Regulations on spending
Is there a ban on vote buying?	Yes. Art 181 "Art. 181. Whoever gives, offers or promises directly or indirectly, even in form of a bet, money, valuables or any other advantage or security in exchange for a vote, or vote abstention or an authorization to vote mentioned in article 147bis, or offering the described advantages depending on the result of the election, shall be punished and sentenced to prison for between 8 days up to one month and fined between 50 and 500 euros or only one of the two punishments." (Article 181 of the Electoral Code [Algemeen Kieswetboek], 1894, amended 2014)
Are there bans on state resources being used in favour or against a political party or candidate?	No. Absent from legal framework.
Are there limits on the amount a political party can spend?	Yes. Art. 2. (§ 1. The total expenses and financial obligations related to the election propaganda of political parties on federal level, on electoral divisions level and on electoral bodies level, shall not exceed, for the elections of the Chamber of representatives, the value of (EUR 1,000,000). (Sections16bis and 16ter of the Act of 4 July 1989 on the limitation and control of election expenses (as amended incl. Law of 4 June 2021; consolidated Refli 1989000418).)
Are there limits on the amount a candidate can spend?	Yes. Depends on candidate's position on the nomination list, for example: 1° for each candidate on top of the list up to the number of mandates obtained by his(their) list(s) during the first elections and for any additional candidate to be appointed by the political party (on the presented list of candidates): (EUR 8,700), increased by (EUR 0,035) per voter registered during prior elections for the House of representatives within the election division where the candidate is presented; (Sections16bis and 16ter of the Act of 4 July 1989 on the limitation and control of election expenses (as amended incl. Law of 4 June 2021; consolidated Refli 1989000418).)
Reporting, oversight and sanctions
Do political parties have to report regularly on their finances?	Yes. Art. 23. § 1. The board of administrators of the institution specified at article 22 draws up a financial report on the annual reports of the political party and its components. The financial report is drawn up each year according to the provisions of the law of July 17, 1975 regarding the companies’ accounting and annual reports and orders of execution. (Sections16bis and 16ter of the Act of 4 July 1989 on the limitation and control of election expenses (as amended incl. Law of 4 June 2021; consolidated Refli 1989000418).)
Do political parties have to report on their finances in relation to election campaigns?	Yes. Art. N. The financial report specified at article 23 includes at least the following documents: 3. The consolidated annual reports of the political party and its components including the consolidated balance sheet, consolidated profit and loss account, with explanatory notes on the consolidated balance sheet and consolidated profit and loss account according to the model set forth by the Commission of control regarding the election expenses and political party’s accounting. (Sections16bis and 16ter of the Act of 4 July 1989 on the limitation and control of election expenses (as amended incl. Law of 4 June 2021; consolidated Refli 1989000418).)
Do candidates have to report on their campaign finances?	Yes. The Commission of control is bound to consult, under the conditions stipulated by this law, the Audit Office both for the control of election expenses, amended 2015 of political parties and individual candidates and for the control of financial reports drawn up by political parties and their components. (Art. 1(4) Act of 4 July 1989 on the limitation and control of election expenses (as amended incl. Law of 4 June 2021; consolidated Refli 1989000418).)
Is information in reports from political parties and/or candidates to be made public?	Yes. Art. 6. Upon request of a list number, political parties submit a written statement in which they commit to: 3° keep, for two years starting with the elections date, the documentary evidence related to the election expenses and origin of funds. As far as gifts are listed in the statement of the origin of funds, they also commit to record th identity of the natural persons making donations equivalent to 125 euros or more to finance the election expenses, not to disclose it and to transmit it within fourty-five days after the elections date to the Commission of control, who shall check the observance of this obligation according to article 16bis. The written statement, the statement with the election expenses and the statement with the origin of funds, as well as the confirmation of receipt, are drawn up based upon special forms set forth by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and published in due time in the Belgian Official Gazette. The forms of the election expenses statement and the statement with the origin of funds, as wel as the registration forms specified at paragraph 2, are made available to the political parties at a later date, upon request of a list number. (Art 6 Act of 4 July 1989 on the limitation and control of election expenses, amended 2015 (as amended incl. Law of 4 June 2021; consolidated Refli 1989000418).)
Must reports from political parties and/or candidates reveal the identity of donors?	Yes. Without prejudice to the registration obligation as specified at article 6, paragraph 2, and article 116, § 6, subparagraph 2, of the Election Code, the identity of natural persons making donations, in any form, equivalent to 125 euros and more to political parties and their components, lists, candidates and political representatives shall be annually registered by the beneficiaries. "while it is clear that all donations in excess of EUR 125 and the identity of the donor must be recorded (in connection with party financing and election campaigns of parties and candidates), there is no provision for donations below this sum to be registered individually and for a receipt to be issued.‌" (p.‌ 19) (GRECO (2009), Evaluation Report on Belgium, Transparency of Political Party Funding (Theme II)) (Sections16bis and 16ter of the Act of 4 July 1989 on the limitation and control of election expenses (as amended incl. Law of 4 June 2021; consolidated Refli 1989000418).)
Institutions receiving financial reports from political parties and/or candidates
Institutions receiving financial reports from political parties and/or candidates: Electoral Management Board	No. Absent from legal framework.
Institutions receiving financial reports from political parties and/or candidates: Auditing agency	No. Absent from legal framework.
Institutions receiving financial reports from political parties and/or candidates: Ministry	Yes. Ministry of Finance (Art 24 and art 27 Act of 4 July 1989 on the limitation and control of election expenses, amended 2015)
Institutions receiving financial reports from political parties and/or candidates: Special institution	No. Absent from legal framework.
Institutions receiving financial reports from political parties and/or candidates: Other	Yes. President of the Chamber of Representatives (Art 24(1) Act of 4 July 1989 on the limitation and control of election expenses, amended 2015)
Is it specified that a particular institution(s) is responsible for examining financial reports and/or investigating violations?
Institution responsible for examining financial reports and/or investigating violations: Court	No. Absent from legal framework.
Institution responsible for examining financial reports and/or investigating violations: Ministry	No. Absent from legal framework.
Institution responsible for examining financial reports and/or investigating violations: Auditing agency	Yes. The Commission of control formulates its findings and approves the financial report (within 135 days after the term specified at paragraph 1), especially based upon the opinion provided by the Audit Office, as far as no irregularities are found out. The opinion of the Audit Office is attached to the report of the Commission of control. (Art 24(3) Act of 4 July 1989 on the limitation and control of election expenses, amended 2015)
Institution responsible for examining financial reports and/or investigating violations: Electoral Management Body	No. Absent from legal framework.
Institution responsible for examining financial reports and/or investigating violations: Institution for this purpose	No. Absent from legal framework.
Institution responsible for examining financial reports and/or investigating violations: Other	Yes. Art. 1 (4)°: The Commission of control is a commission composed by 17 members of the Chamber of representatives and 4 experts (2 dutch and 2 french speakers) proposed by the Chambre of representatives. The commission is preside by the the president of the Chambre of representatives. Art.24(3) The Commission of control formulates its findings and approves the financial report (within 135 days after the term specified at paragraph 1), especially based upon the opinion provided by the Audit Office, as far as no irregularities are found out. The opinion of the Audit Office is attached to the report of the Commission of control. (Art 1(4) and 24(3) Act of 4 July 1989 on the limitation and control of election expenses, amended 2015)
Other institutions with a formal role in political finance oversight
Institutions with a formal role in political finance oversight: Court	No. Absent from legal framework.
Institutions with a formal role in political finance oversight: Ministry	Yes. In law on financing of political parties it is mentioned that Audit office has a formal role in political finance oversight, while the Ministry of Finance [...] just receive the report. (Art 27 Act of 4 July 1989 on the limitation and control of election expenses, amended 2015)
Institutions with a formal role in political finance oversight: Auditing agency	No. Absent from legal framework.
Institutions with a formal role in political finance oversight: EMB	No. Absent from legal framework.
Institutions with a formal role in political finance oversight: Institution for this purpose	No. Absent from legal framework.
Institutions with a formal role in political finance oversight: Other	Yes. In law on financing of political parties it is mentioned that Audit office has a formal role in political finance oversight, while Ministry of Finance and the two representatives of the chambers just receive the report. (Art 24 Act of 4 July 1989 on the limitation and control of election expenses, amended 2015)
Sanctions for political finance infractions
Sanctions for political finance infractions: Fines	Yes. In case of delay in submitting the financial report, the Commission of control may impose to the political party the following sannctions: a) administrative fine of 1,000 euros per day of delay, with a maximum of 30,000 euros; b) seizure of the subsidy until the day of the receipt of the report (only if the deposit exceeds the deadline set in Article 24, paragraph 1, of more than thirty days). In case of rejection of the financial report, the Commission of control may impose one of the following sanction: a) caution; b) administrative fine between 1,000 and 100,000 euros. In case of recidivism the administrative fine is doubled. ( Art 25 Act of 4 July 1989 on the limitation and control of election expenses, amended 2015,)
Sanctions for political finance infractions: Loss of public funding	Yes. Art. 25: The failure to submit the financial report to the Commission of control within the period prescribed in Article 24, first paragraph, implicate an automatic suspension of the subsidy to be granted to the institution specified at article 22 until the date of receipt of the report. Art. 16 bis:The political party that accepts a donation in breach of article 16 bis, loses its right to the subsidy, up to the double of the donation received. The person that in breach of article 16 bis make a donation to a political party, its components, lists, candidates and political representatives is punished with an administrative fine between 26 and 100.000 euros. The person that accept a donation as a candidate or political representative is punished with the same administrative fine. (Art 25 and 16 bis Act of 4 July 1989 on the limitation and control of election expenses, amended 2015, )
Sanctions for political finance infractions: Penal/Criminal	No. Absent from legal framework.
Sanctions for political finance infractions: Forfeiture	No. Absent from legal framework.
Sanctions for political finance infractions: Deregistration of party	No. Absent from legal framework.
Sanctions for political finance infractions: Loss of elected office	No. Absent from legal framework.
Sanctions for political finance infractions: Suspension of political party	No. Absent from legal framework.
Sanctions for political finance infractions: Loss of nomination of candidate	No. Absent from legal framework.
Sanctions for political finance infractions: Loss of political rights	No. Absent from legal framework.
Sanctions for political finance infractions: Other	No. Absent from legal framework.

Legislation

Act of 4 July 1989 on the limitation and control of election expenses, amended 2015 (French)	pdf
Electoral Code [Algemeen Kieswetboek], 1894, amended 2014 (English)	pdf

*Last update: 2017

Financial Disclosure

Belgian financial disclosure legislation applies nearly the same rules to Ministers, Members of Parliament, and Senior Civil Servants. The Law on the requirement to file a list of mandates, functions and occupations and a declaration of assets (1995, last amended 2004) specifies that real estate, movable assets, cash, debts, and income from outside employment must be disclosed by all public officials. In addition, shares owned in a private or public company, as well as any official function in a public body or legal entity must be added to the disclosure statement. This would include managerial or advisory positions in companies. Declarations by Ministers and MPs are made only upon first taking office, while Civil Servants additionally report any changes in disclosure statements to their superior immediately.

No sanctions are stipulated for late-filling, whilst non-filling or making false disclosure leads to a fine between EUR 600-800 for Ministers and MPs. Senior civil Servants may face the same fines, but additional prison sentences apply for false disclosure. The Implementing Disclosure Law (1995, last amended 2004) specifies the Court of Auditors as depository body responsible for verifying submissions and enforcing disclosure legislation. At the same time, no institution is charged with verifying the accuracy of declarations. Belgium does not make any officials’ declarations public.

(Note: The Head of State is a monarch and thus exempted from disclosure laws.)

Quantitative Data
Qualitative Data
Laws

Quantitative Data

Primary Metric	2012	2015	2016	2017	2020	2024	Trend
Disclosure items	25	26	26	29	29	50
Filing frequency	38	50	50	50	50	38
Sanctions	0	0	0	0	0	75
Monitoring and Oversight	25	25	25	25	25	56
Public access to declarations	6	6	6	6	6	12
Alternative Metric	2012	2015	2016	2017	2020	2024	Trend
Head of State	0	0	0	0	0	0
Ministers	34	34	34	35	35	73
Members of Parliament	20	31	31	32	32	56
Civil servants	21	21	21	21	21	56

Values lie in range between 0 and 100, higher values implying higher legislation comprehensiveness

Qualitative Data

Head of State
Disclosure items
Spouses and children included in disclosure	No. Head of State is a monarch. Legal provisions do not apply.
Income and Assets
Real estate	No. Head of State is a monarch. Legal provisions do not apply.
Movable assets	No. Head of State is a monarch. Legal provisions do not apply.
Cash	No. Head of State is a monarch. Legal provisions do not apply.
Loans and Debts	No. Head of State is a monarch. Legal provisions do not apply.
Income from outside employment/assets	No. Head of State is a monarch. Legal provisions do not apply.
Incompatibilities
Gifts received as a public official	No. Head of State is a monarch. Legal provisions do not apply.
Private firm ownership and/or stock holdings	No. Head of State is a monarch. Legal provisions do not apply.
Ownership of state-owned enterprises (SOEs)	No. Head of State is a monarch. Legal provisions do not apply.
Holding government contracts	No. Head of State is a monarch. Legal provisions do not apply.
Board member, advisor, or company officer of private firm	No. Head of State is a monarch. Legal provisions do not apply.
Post-employment	No. Head of State is a monarch. Legal provisions do not apply.
Simultaneously holding policy-making position and policy-executing position	No. Head of State is a monarch. Legal provisions do not apply.
Participating in official decision-making processes that affect private interests	No. Head of State is a monarch. Legal provisions do not apply.
Concurrent employment of family members in public sector	No. Head of State is a monarch. Legal provisions do not apply.
Filing frequency
Filing required upon taking office	No. Head of State is a monarch. Legal provisions do not apply.
Filing required upon leaving office	No. Head of State is a monarch. Legal provisions do not apply.
Filing required annually	No. Head of State is a monarch. Legal provisions do not apply.
Ad hoc filing required upon change in assets or conflicts of interest	No. Head of State is a monarch. Legal provisions do not apply.
Sanctions
Sanctions stipulated for late filing (fines, administrative, and/or criminal)	No. Head of State is a monarch. Legal provisions do not apply.
Sanctions stipulated for non-filing (fines, administrative, and/or criminal)	No. Head of State is a monarch. Legal provisions do not apply.
Sanctions stipulated for false disclosure (fines, administrative, and/or criminal)	No. Head of State is a monarch. Legal provisions do not apply.
Monitoring and Oversight
Depository body explicitly identified	No. Head of State is a monarch. Legal provisions do not apply.
Enforcement body explicitly identified	No. Head of State is a monarch. Legal provisions do not apply.
Some agency assigned responsibility for verifying submission	No. Head of State is a monarch. Legal provisions do not apply.
Some agency assigned responsibility for verifying accuracy	No. Head of State is a monarch. Legal provisions do not apply.
Public access to declarations
Public availability	No. Head of State is a monarch. Legal provisions do not apply.
Timing of information release specified	No. Head of State is a monarch. Legal provisions do not apply.
Location(s) of access specified	No. Head of State is a monarch. Legal provisions do not apply.
Cost of access specified	No. Head of State is a monarch. Legal provisions do not apply.
Ministers
Disclosure items
Spouses and children included in disclosure	Yes. The 2014 Code of Conduct (extended by Law of 17 July 2023) applies to ministers and private office staff; covers conflicts of interest, including for spouses and children. (Law of 17 July 2023 extending Code of Conduct; GRECO RC5 2nd Compliance Report (2024))
Income and Assets
Real estate	Yes. The Declaration of assets includes “all credits (such as bank accounts, shares and bonds), all real estate and all moveable property of value (e.g. antiques and works of art)” (Article 3.1 Special Law of 2 May 1995 on the obligation to submit a list of mandates, offices and professions and a declaration of assets (amended 2009))
Movable assets	Yes. The Declaration of assets includes “all credits (such as bank accounts, shares and bonds), all real estate and all moveable property of value (e.g. antiques and works of art)” (Article 3.1 Special Law of 2 May 1995 on the obligation to submit a list of mandates, offices and professions and a declaration of assets (amended 2009))
Cash	Yes. The Declaration of assets includes “all credits (such as bank accounts, shares and bonds), all real estate and all moveable property of value (e.g. antiques and works of art)” (Article 3.1 Special Law of 2 May 1995 on the obligation to submit a list of mandates, offices and professions and a declaration of assets, amended 2009))
Loans and Debts	Yes. The Declaration of assets includes “all credits (such as bank accounts, shares and bonds), all real estate and all moveable property of value (e.g. antiques and works of art)” (Article 3.1 Special Law of 2 May 1995 on the obligation to submit a list of mandates, offices and professions and a declaration of assets (amended 2009))
Income from outside employment/assets	Yes. Ministers routinely declare each year by 1 April all functions performed during the previous year both in the public sector and on behalf of any natural or legal person, and any body or de facto association established in Belgium or abroad. The declaration specifies, for each function, whether or not it is remunerated (the concept of remuneration is understood with reference to regular income but also attendance allowances or fees in the case of responsibilities in certain types of corporations or public entities). (Article 2 Special Law of 2 May 1995 on the obligation to submit a list of mandates, offices and professions and a declaration of assets (amended 2009) )
Incompatibilities
Gifts received as a public official	Yes. Code of Conduct for Ministers (June 2023) requires refusal of gifts except symbolic ones; if not possible, must be handed over to a public-interest body. A gift register exists for ministers, but not for staff; rules not public. (Code of Conduct for Ministers (27 June 2023); GRECO RC5 2024)
Private firm ownership and/or stock holdings	Yes. The Declaration of assets includes “all credits (such as bank accounts, shares and bonds), all real estate and all moveable property of value (e.g. antiques and works of art)” Declarations of mandates must include company positions. No full proactive asset disclosure. (Article 3.1 Special Law of 2 May 1995 on the obligation to submit a list of mandates, offices and professions and a declaration of assets (amended 2009) Court of Audit declarations; GRECO RC5 2024)
Ownership of state-owned enterprises (SOEs)	Yes. The Declaration of assets includes “all credits (such as bank accounts, shares and bonds), all real estate and all moveable property of value (e.g. antiques and works of art)” (Article 3.1 Special Law of 2 May 1995 on the obligation to submit a list of mandates, offices and professions and a declaration of assets (amended 2009))
Holding government contracts	Yes. Ministers routinely declare each year by 1 April all functions performed during the previous year both in the public sector and on behalf of any natural or legal person, and any body or de facto association established in Belgium or abroad. The declaration specifies, for each function, whether or not it is remunerated (the concept of remuneration is understood with reference to regular income but also attendance allowances or fees in the case of responsibilities in certain types of corporations or public entities). (Article 2 Special Law of 2 May 1995 on the obligation to submit a list of mandates, offices and professions and a declaration of assets (amended 2009) )
Board member, advisor, or company officer of private firm	Yes. Ministers routinely declare each year by 1 April all functions performed during the previous year both in the public sector and on behalf of any natural or legal person, and any body or de facto association established in Belgium or abroad. The declaration specifies, for each function, whether or not it is remunerated (the concept of remuneration is understood with reference to regular income but also attendance allowances or fees in the case of responsibilities in certain types of corporations or public entities). (Article 2 Special Law of 2 May 1995 on the obligation to submit a list of mandates, offices and professions and a declaration of assets (amended 2009) )
Post-employment	No. Absent from legal framework.
Simultaneously holding policy-making position and policy-executing position	No. Absent from legal framework.
Participating in official decision-making processes that affect private interests	Yes. Ministers routinely declare each year by 1 April all functions performed during the previous year both in the public sector and on behalf of any natural or legal person, and any body or de facto association established in Belgium or abroad. The declaration specifies, for each function, whether or not it is remunerated (the concept of remuneration is understood with reference to regular income but also attendance allowances or fees in the case of responsibilities in certain types of corporations or public entities). (Article 2 Special Law of 2 May 1995 on the obligation to submit a list of mandates, offices and professions and a declaration of assets (amended 2009) )
Concurrent employment of family members in public sector	No. Absent from legal framework.
Filing frequency
Filing required upon taking office	Yes. Ministers taking up or relinquishing office (or any other new mandate held concurrently) must lodge by 1 April of the following year a statement of their assets indicating the position at 31 December of the year in question. (Article 3 Special Law of 2 May 1995 on the obligation to submit a list of mandates, offices and professions and a declaration of assets (amended 2009) )
Filing required upon leaving office	No. Absent from legal framework.
Filing required annually	Yes. The Belgian authorities also point out that the declaration or the submission of a new declaration of assets is never conditional upon matters affecting the composition and value of the assets, but simply on factors affecting the individual’s mandates. Lastly, the authorities state that the list of mandates submitted to the Court of Audit must be such as to enable the Court to examine the extent of power exercised by an individual and to identify any possible conflict of interests. Recommandation to update declarations remain also in Compliance Report 2019, p.4 Ministers must submit their list of mandates and declaration of assets annually by 1 April (covering the situation on 31 December of the previous year). (GRECO Compliance Report 2017 p.3 and GRECO Compliance Report 2019 p.4 Article 2 and 3, Special Law of 2 May 1995 (as amended in 2018))
Ad hoc filing required upon change in assets or conflicts of interest	No. No obligation to update declarations of assets is prescribed, even if they vary significantly ; the Belgian authorities indicate that the drafting history of the provisions confirms this. (GRECO Evaluation Report 2019 p.21)
Sanctions
Sanctions stipulated for late filing (fines, administrative, and/or criminal)	Yes. Since 1 January 2019, the Court of Audit can impose fines on office-holders for late filing of mandates/assets declarations. (Law of 14 October 2018 amending Special Law of 2 May 1995; GRECO Compliance Report 2019, p.7)
Sanctions stipulated for non-filing (fines, administrative, and/or criminal)	Yes. Anyone who fails to lodge a list of mandates or a declaration of assets is liable to a fine of €600-6 000. (Article 6 Special Law of 2 May 1995 on the obligation to submit a list of mandates, offices and professions and a declaration of assets (amended 2009) )
Sanctions stipulated for false disclosure (fines, administrative, and/or criminal)	Yes. Anyone who fails to lodge a list of mandates or a declaration of assets is liable to a fine of €600-6 000. the penalties for forgery and use of falsified documents committed by civil servants or public officers are applicable: ten to fifteen years’ imprisonment and incidental penalties. (Article 6 Special Law of 2 May 1995 on the obligation to submit a list of mandates, offices and professions and a declaration of assets (amended 2009) in conjunction with Article 194 of the Criminal Code )
Monitoring and Oversight
Depository body explicitly identified	Yes. Court of Audit (Article 4 Special Law of 2 May 1995 on the obligation to submit a list of mandates, offices and professions and a declaration of assets (amended 2009) Article 2 Law of 26 June 2004 enforcing and supplementing the law of 2 May 1995 (amended 2009) )
Enforcement body explicitly identified	Yes. Court of Audit is responsible for checking accuracy, it can transmit information to the prosecution service to open investigation in case of fraud suspicion (Art. 7.2 Law of 26 June 2004 enforcing and supplementing the law of 2 May 1995 (amended in 2009))
Some agency assigned responsibility for verifying submission	Yes. The monitoring carried out by the Court of Audit is chiefly intended to check whether declarations were submitted by the deadlines and are exhaustive, in view of the broadened scope ratione personae of legislation on mandates, of its legal competence and of the possibilities it has of consulting various external databases.This monitoring mainly takes the form of:  Consulting the data bases to which the Court of Audit has access, like the national registry, public information data banks and Trends Top (which contains current information on Belgian companies);  Direct or indirect contacts (mails, telephone assistance, chatbox within the Regimand application) with the persons and the “informateurs” of the institutions subject to verification, with a view to rectifying obvious errors or oversights in the declarations;  Assistance requests on legal problems related to the declaration duties and their scope. (GRECO Compliance Report 2019 p.7 )
Some agency assigned responsibility for verifying accuracy	No. The monitoring carried out by the Court of Audit is chiefly intended to check whether declarations were submitted by the deadlines and are exhaustive, in view of the broadened scope ratione personae of legislation on mandates, of its legal competence and of the possibilities it has of consulting various external databases.This monitoring mainly takes the form of:  Consulting the data bases to which the Court of Audit has access, like the national registry, public information data banks and Trends Top (which contains current information on Belgian companies);  Direct or indirect contacts (mails, telephone assistance, chatbox within the Regimand application) with the persons and the “informateurs” of the institutions subject to verification, with a view to rectifying obvious errors or oversights in the declarations;  Assistance requests on legal problems related to the declaration duties and their scope. (GRECO Compliance Report 2019 p.7 )
Public access to declarations
Public availability	Yes. The declarations of mandates and assets should be published on Court of Audit's website. This is not yet implemented. (Article 3 Special Law of 2 May 1995 on the obligation to submit a list of mandates, offices and professions and a declaration of assets (amended 2009) GRECO Compliance Report 2017 p. 4 and Greco Compliance Report 2019 p.6)
Timing of information release specified	No. Absent from legal framework.
Location(s) of access specified	Yes. Court of Audit's website. Not yet implemented. (GRECO Report 2017 p. 4 and Greco Compliance Report 2019)
Cost of access specified	No. Absent from legal framework.
Members of Parliament
Disclosure items
Spouses and children included in disclosure	No. Absent from legal framework. Parliament debated extending disclosures to include family, but not implemented. (GRECO RC5 2024 (xii–xiii not implemented))
Income and Assets
Real estate	Yes. The Declaration of assets includes “all credits (such as bank accounts, shares and bonds), all real estate and all moveable property of value (e.g. antiques and works of art)” (Article 3.1 Special Law of 2 May 1995 on the obligation to submit a list of mandates, offices and professions and a declaration of assets (amended 2009))
Movable assets	Yes. The Declaration of assets includes “all credits (such as bank accounts, shares and bonds), all real estate and all moveable property of value (e.g. antiques and works of art)” (Article 3.1 Special Law of 2 May 1995 on the obligation to submit a list of mandates, offices and professions and a declaration of assets (amended 2009))
Cash	Yes. The Declaration of assets includes “all credits (such as bank accounts, shares and bonds), all real estate and all moveable property of value (e.g. antiques and works of art)” (Article 3.1 Special Law of 2 May 1995 on the obligation to submit a list of mandates, offices and professions and a declaration of assets (amended 2009))
Loans and Debts	Yes. The Declaration of assets includes “all credits (such as bank accounts, shares and bonds), all real estate and all moveable property of value (e.g. antiques and works of art)” (Article 3.1 Special Law of 2 May 1995 on the obligation to submit a list of mandates, offices and professions and a declaration of assets (amended 2009))
Income from outside employment/assets	Yes. Members of Parliament routinely declare each year by 1 April all functions performed during the previous year both in the public sector and on behalf of any natural or legal person, and any body or de facto association established in Belgium or abroad. The declaration specifies, for each function, whether or not it is remunerated (the concept of remuneration is understood with reference to regular income but also attendance allowances or fees in the case of responsibilities in certain types of corporations or public entities). (Article 2 Special Law of 2 May 1995 on the obligation to submit a list of mandates, offices and professions and a declaration of assets (amended 2009) )
Incompatibilities
Gifts received as a public official	Yes. MPs subject to Code of Conduct; Federal Ethics Commission suggested €125–150 symbolic limit. No unified gift register. (Federal Ethics Commission opinion 2021/3; GRECO RC5 2024)
Private firm ownership and/or stock holdings	Yes. The Declaration of assets includes “all credits (such as bank accounts, shares and bonds), all real estate and all moveable property of value (e.g. antiques and works of art)” (Article 3.1 Special Law of 2 May 1995 on the obligation to submit a list of mandates, offices and professions and a declaration of assets (amended 2009))
Ownership of state-owned enterprises (SOEs)	Yes. The Declaration of assets includes “all credits (such as bank accounts, shares and bonds), all real estate and all moveable property of value (e.g. antiques and works of art)” (Article 3.1 Special Law of 2 May 1995 on the obligation to submit a list of mandates, offices and professions and a declaration of assets (amended 2009))
Holding government contracts	Yes. Members of Parliament routinely declare each year by 1 April all functions performed during the previous year both in the public sector and on behalf of any natural or legal person, and any body or de facto association established in Belgium or abroad. The declaration specifies, for each function, whether or not it is remunerated (the concept of remuneration is understood with reference to regular income but also attendance allowances or fees in the case of responsibilities in certain types of corporations or public entities). (Article 2 Special Law of 2 May 1995 on the obligation to submit a list of mandates, offices and professions and a declaration of assets (amended 2009) )
Board member, advisor, or company officer of private firm	Yes. Members of Parliament routinely declare each year by 1 April all functions performed during the previous year both in the public sector and on behalf of any natural or legal person, and any body or de facto association established in Belgium or abroad. The declaration specifies, for each function, whether or not it is remunerated (the concept of remuneration is understood with reference to regular income but also attendance allowances or fees in the case of responsibilities in certain types of corporations or public entities). (Article 2 Special Law of 2 May 1995 on the obligation to submit a list of mandates, offices and professions and a declaration of assets (amended 2009) )
Post-employment	No. Absent from legal framework.
Simultaneously holding policy-making position and policy-executing position	No. Absent from legal framework.
Participating in official decision-making processes that affect private interests	Yes. Members of Parliament routinely declare each year by 1 April all functions performed during the previous year both in the public sector and on behalf of any natural or legal person, and any body or de facto association established in Belgium or abroad. The declaration specifies, for each function, whether or not it is remunerated (the concept of remuneration is understood with reference to regular income but also attendance allowances or fees in the case of responsibilities in certain types of corporations or public entities). (Article 2 Special Law of 2 May 1995 on the obligation to submit a list of mandates, offices and professions and a declaration of assets (amended 2009) )
Concurrent employment of family members in public sector	No. Absent from legal framework.
Filing frequency
Filing required upon taking office	Yes. Members of Parliament taking up or relinquishing office (or any other new mandate held concurrently) must lodge by 1 April of the following year a statement of their assets indicating the position at 31 December of the year in question. (Article 3 Special Law of 2 May 1995 on the obligation to submit a list of mandates, offices and professions and a declaration of assets (amended 2009))
Filing required upon leaving office	No. Absent from legal framework.
Filing required annually	Yes. The Belgian authorities also point out that the declaration or the submission of a new declaration of assets is never conditional upon matters affecting the composition and value of the assets, but simply on factors affecting the individual’s mandates. Lastly, the authorities state that the list of mandates submitted to the Court of Audit must be such as to enable the Court to examine the extent of power exercised by an individual and to identify any possible conflict of interests. Recommandation to update declarations remain also in Compliance Report 2019, p.4 MPs must file annually by 1 April; obligation not conditional on asset changes (Articles 2 and 3, Special Law of 2 May 1995 (amended 2018); GRECO Compliance Report 2019, p.4.)
Ad hoc filing required upon change in assets or conflicts of interest	No. No obligation to update declarations of assets is prescribed, even if they vary significantly ; the Belgian authorities indicate that the drafting history of the provisions confirms this. (GRECO Evaluation Report 2019 p.21)
Sanctions
Sanctions stipulated for late filing (fines, administrative, and/or criminal)	Yes. According to the law of 14 October 2018, the Court of Audit is empowered, as of 1 January 2019, to impose financial sanctions on office-holders who have not properly declared their mandates and the related remuneration or have not submitted their declaration of assets. (Law of 14 October 2018 amending Special Law of 2 May 1995; GRECO Compliance Report 2019, p.7)
Sanctions stipulated for non-filing (fines, administrative, and/or criminal)	Yes. Anyone who fails to lodge a list of mandates or a declaration of assets is liable to a fine of €600-6 000. (Article 6 Special Law of 2 May 1995 on the obligation to submit a list of mandates, offices and professions and a declaration of assets (amended 2009) )
Sanctions stipulated for false disclosure (fines, administrative, and/or criminal)	Yes. Anyone who fails to lodge a list of mandates or a declaration of assets is liable to a fine of €600-6 000. the penalties for forgery and use of falsified documents committed by civil servants or public officers are applicable: ten to fifteen years’ imprisonment and incidental penalties. (Article 6 Special Law of 2 May 1995 on the obligation to submit a list of mandates, offices and professions and a declaration of assets (amended 2009) in conjunction with Article 194 of the Criminal Code )
Monitoring and Oversight
Depository body explicitly identified	Yes. Court of Audit (Article 4 Special Law of 2 May 1995 on the obligation to submit a list of mandates, offices and professions and a declaration of assets (amended 2009) Article 2 Law of 26 June 2004 enforcing and supplementing the law of 2 May 1995 (amended 2009) )
Enforcement body explicitly identified	Yes. Court of Audit is responsible for checking accuracy, it can transmit information to the prosecution service to open investigation in case of fraud suspicion (Art. 7.2 Law of 26 June 2004 enforcing and supplementing the law of 2 May 1995 (amended in 2009))
Some agency assigned responsibility for verifying submission	Yes. The monitoring carried out by the Court of Audit is chiefly intended to check whether declarations were submitted by the deadlines and are exhaustive, in view of the broadened scope ratione personae of legislation on mandates, of its legal competence and of the possibilities it has of consulting various external databases.This monitoring mainly takes the form of:  Consulting the data bases to which the Court of Audit has access, like the national registry, public information data banks and Trends Top (which contains current information on Belgian companies);  Direct or indirect contacts (mails, telephone assistance, chatbox within the Regimand application) with the persons and the “informateurs” of the institutions subject to verification, with a view to rectifying obvious errors or oversights in the declarations;  Assistance requests on legal problems related to the declaration duties and their scope. (GRECO Compliance Report 2019 p.7 )
Some agency assigned responsibility for verifying accuracy	No. The monitoring carried out by the Court of Audit is chiefly intended to check whether declarations were submitted by the deadlines and are exhaustive, in view of the broadened scope ratione personae of legislation on mandates, of its legal competence and of the possibilities it has of consulting various external databases.This monitoring mainly takes the form of:  Consulting the data bases to which the Court of Audit has access, like the national registry, public information data banks and Trends Top (which contains current information on Belgian companies);  Direct or indirect contacts (mails, telephone assistance, chatbox within the Regimand application) with the persons and the “informateurs” of the institutions subject to verification, with a view to rectifying obvious errors or oversights in the declarations;  Assistance requests on legal problems related to the declaration duties and their scope. (GRECO Compliance Report 2019 p.7 )
Public access to declarations
Public availability	No. The declarations of mandates and assets should be published on Court of Audit's website. This is not yet implemented. (Article 3 Special Law of 2 May 1995 on the obligation to submit a list of mandates, offices and professions and a declaration of assets (amended 2009) GRECO Compliance Report 2017 p. 4 and Greco Compliance Report 2019 p.6)
Timing of information release specified	No. Absent from legal framework.
Location(s) of access specified	No. Court of Audit's website. Not yet implemented. (GRECO Report 2017 p. 4 and Greco Compliance Report 2019)
Cost of access specified	No. Absent from legal framework.
Civil servants
Disclosure items
Spouses and children included in disclosure	No. Absent from legal framework.
Income and Assets
Real estate	Yes. The provision applies only to senior civil servants. The Declaration of assets includes “all credits (such as bank accounts, shares and bonds), all real estate and all moveable property of value (e.g. antiques and works of art)” (Article 1.3 and Article 3.1 Special Law of 2 May 1995 on the obligation to submit a list of mandates, offices and professions and a declaration of assets (amended 2009))
Movable assets	Yes. The provision applies only to senior civil servants. The Declaration of assets includes “all credits (such as bank accounts, shares and bonds), all real estate and all moveable property of value (e.g. antiques and works of art)” (Article 1.3 and Article 3.1 Special Law of 2 May 1995 on the obligation to submit a list of mandates, offices and professions and a declaration of assets (amended 2009))
Cash	Yes. The provision applies only to senior civil servants. The Declaration of assets includes “all credits (such as bank accounts, shares and bonds), all real estate and all moveable property of value (e.g. antiques and works of art)” (Article 1.3 and Article 3.1 Special Law of 2 May 1995 on the obligation to submit a list of mandates, offices and professions and a declaration of assets (amended 2009))
Loans and Debts	Yes. The provision applies only to senior civil servants. The Declaration of assets includes “all credits (such as bank accounts, shares and bonds), all real estate and all moveable property of value (e.g. antiques and works of art)” (Article 1.3 and Article 3.1 Special Law of 2 May 1995 on the obligation to submit a list of mandates, offices and professions and a declaration of assets (amended 2009))
Income from outside employment/assets	Yes. The provision applies only to senior civil servants. Senior civil servants routinely declare each year by 1 April all functions performed during the previous year both in the public sector and on behalf of any natural or legal person, and any body or de facto association established in Belgium or abroad. The declaration specifies, for each function, whether or not it is remunerated (the concept of remuneration is understood with reference to regular income but also attendance allowances or fees in the case of responsibilities in certain types of corporations or public entities). (Article 1.3 and Article 3.1 Special Law of 2 May 1995 on the obligation to submit a list of mandates, offices and professions and a declaration of assets (amended 2009))
Incompatibilities
Gifts received as a public official	Yes. Covered by civil service integrity framework; Code of Conduct and Integrity Office provide guidance, but no public register. (Royal Decree 18 April 2023; GRECO RC5 2024)
Private firm ownership and/or stock holdings	Yes. The provision applies only to senior civil servants. The Declaration of assets includes “all credits (such as bank accounts, shares and bonds), all real estate and all moveable property of value (e.g. antiques and works of art)” (Article 1.3 and Article 3.1 Special Law of 2 May 1995 on the obligation to submit a list of mandates, offices and professions and a declaration of assets (amended 2009))
Ownership of state-owned enterprises (SOEs)	Yes. The provision applies only to senior civil servants. The Declaration of assets includes “all credits (such as bank accounts, shares and bonds), all real estate and all moveable property of value (e.g. antiques and works of art)” (Article 1.3 and Article 3.1 Special Law of 2 May 1995 on the obligation to submit a list of mandates, offices and professions and a declaration of assets (amended 2009))
Holding government contracts	Yes. The provision applies only to senior civil servants. Senior civil servants routinely declare each year by 1 April all functions performed during the previous year both in the public sector and on behalf of any natural or legal person, and any body or de facto association established in Belgium or abroad. The declaration specifies, for each function, whether or not it is remunerated (the concept of remuneration is understood with reference to regular income but also attendance allowances or fees in the case of responsibilities in certain types of corporations or public entities). (Article 1.3 and Article 3.1 Special Law of 2 May 1995 on the obligation to submit a list of mandates, offices and professions and a declaration of assets (amended 2009))
Board member, advisor, or company officer of private firm	Yes. The provision applies only to senior civil servants. Senior civil servants routinely declare each year by 1 April all functions performed during the previous year both in the public sector and on behalf of any natural or legal person, and any body or de facto association established in Belgium or abroad. The declaration specifies, for each function, whether or not it is remunerated (the concept of remuneration is understood with reference to regular income but also attendance allowances or fees in the case of responsibilities in certain types of corporations or public entities). (Article 1.3 and Article 3.1 Special Law of 2 May 1995 on the obligation to submit a list of mandates, offices and professions and a declaration of assets (amended 2009))
Post-employment	No. Absent from legal framework.
Simultaneously holding policy-making position and policy-executing position	No. Absent from legal framework.
Participating in official decision-making processes that affect private interests	Yes. The provision applies only to senior civil servants. Senior civil servants routinely declare each year by 1 April all functions performed during the previous year both in the public sector and on behalf of any natural or legal person, and any body or de facto association established in Belgium or abroad. The declaration specifies, for each function, whether or not it is remunerated (the concept of remuneration is understood with reference to regular income but also attendance allowances or fees in the case of responsibilities in certain types of corporations or public entities). (Article 1.3 and Article 3.1 Special Law of 2 May 1995 on the obligation to submit a list of mandates, offices and professions and a declaration of assets (amended 2009))
Concurrent employment of family members in public sector	No. Absent from legal framework.
Filing frequency
Filing required upon taking office	Yes. The provision applies only to senior civil servants. Senior civil servants taking up or relinquishing office (or any other new mandate held concurrently) must lodge by 1 April of the following year a statement of their assets indicating the position at 31 December of the year in question. (Article 1.3 and Article 3.1 Special Law of 2 May 1995 on the obligation to submit a list of mandates, offices and professions and a declaration of assets (amended 2009))
Filing required upon leaving office	No. Absent from legal framework.
Filing required annually	Yes. The Belgian authorities also point out that the declaration or the submission of a new declaration of assets is never conditional upon matters affecting the composition and value of the assets, but simply on factors affecting the individual’s mandates. Lastly, the authorities state that the list of mandates submitted to the Court of Audit must be such as to enable the Court to examine the extent of power exercised by an individual and to identify any possible conflict of interests. Recommandation to update declarations remain also in Compliance Report 2019, p.4 (GRECO Compliance Report 2017 p.3 and GRECO Compliance Report 2019 p.4 Articles 1.3 and 3.1, Special Law of 2 May 1995 (as amended))
Ad hoc filing required upon change in assets or conflicts of interest	No. No obligation to update declarations of assets is prescribed, even if they vary significantly ; the Belgian authorities indicate that the drafting history of the provisions confirms this. (GRECO Evaluation Report 2019 p.21)
Sanctions
Sanctions stipulated for late filing (fines, administrative, and/or criminal)	Yes. Since 2019, the Court of Audit may sanction late filing by senior civil servants, in addition to internal parliamentary monitoring. (Law of 14 October 2018 amending Special Law of 2 May 1995; GRECO Compliance Report 2019, p.7)
Sanctions stipulated for non-filing (fines, administrative, and/or criminal)	Yes. The provision applies only to senior civil servants. Anyone who fails to lodge a list of mandates or a declaration of assets is liable to a fine of €600-6 000. (Article 1.3 and Article 6 Special Law of 2 May 1995 on the obligation to submit a list of mandates, offices and professions and a declaration of assets)
Sanctions stipulated for false disclosure (fines, administrative, and/or criminal)	Yes. The provision applies only to senior civil servants. Anyone who fails to lodge a list of mandates or a declaration of assets is liable to a fine of €600-6 000. the penalties for forgery and use of falsified documents committed by civil servants or public officers are applicable: ten to fifteen years’ imprisonment and incidental penalties. (Article 1.3 and Article 6 Special Law of 2 May 1995 on the obligation to submit a list of mandates, offices and professions and a declaration of assets in conjunction with Article 194 of the Criminal Code )
Monitoring and Oversight
Depository body explicitly identified	Yes. Court of Audit (Article 4 Special Law of 2 May 1995 on the obligation to submit a list of mandates, offices and professions and a declaration of assets (amended 2009) Article 2 Law of 26 June 2004 enforcing and supplementing the law of 2 May 1995 (amended 2009) )
Enforcement body explicitly identified	Yes. Court of Audit is responsible for checking accuracy, it can transmit information to the prosecution service to open investigation in case of fraud suspicion (Art. 7.2 Law of 26 June 2004 enforcing and supplementing the law of 2 May 1995 (amended in 2009))
Some agency assigned responsibility for verifying submission	Yes. The monitoring carried out by the Court of Audit is chiefly intended to check whether declarations were submitted by the deadlines and are exhaustive, in view of the broadened scope ratione personae of legislation on mandates, of its legal competence and of the possibilities it has of consulting various external databases.This monitoring mainly takes the form of:  Consulting the data bases to which the Court of Audit has access, like the national registry, public information data banks and Trends Top (which contains current information on Belgian companies);  Direct or indirect contacts (mails, telephone assistance, chatbox within the Regimand application) with the persons and the “informateurs” of the institutions subject to verification, with a view to rectifying obvious errors or oversights in the declarations;  Assistance requests on legal problems related to the declaration duties and their scope. (GRECO Compliance Report 2019 p.7 )
Some agency assigned responsibility for verifying accuracy	No. The monitoring carried out by the Court of Audit is chiefly intended to check whether declarations were submitted by the deadlines and are exhaustive, in view of the broadened scope ratione personae of legislation on mandates, of its legal competence and of the possibilities it has of consulting various external databases.This monitoring mainly takes the form of:  Consulting the data bases to which the Court of Audit has access, like the national registry, public information data banks and Trends Top (which contains current information on Belgian companies);  Direct or indirect contacts (mails, telephone assistance, chatbox within the Regimand application) with the persons and the “informateurs” of the institutions subject to verification, with a view to rectifying obvious errors or oversights in the declarations;  Assistance requests on legal problems related to the declaration duties and their scope. (GRECO Compliance Report 2019 p.7 )
Public access to declarations
Public availability	No. The declarations of mandates and assets should be published on Court of Audit's website. This is not yet implemented. (Article 3 Special Law of 2 May 1995 on the obligation to submit a list of mandates, offices and professions and a declaration of assets (amended 2009) GRECO Compliance Report 2017 p. 4 and Greco Compliance Report 2019 p.6)
Timing of information release specified	No. Absent from legal framework.
Location(s) of access specified	No. Court of Audit's website. Not yet implemented. (GRECO Report 2017 p. 4 and Greco Compliance Report 2019)
Cost of access specified	No. Absent from legal framework.

Legislation

Law of 12 March 2009_FRA, amending Law of 2 May of 1995 (French)	pdf
Law of 14 October 2018_FRA, amending Law of 2 May of 1995 (French)	pdf
Law of 2 May of 1995_FRA (French)	pdf
Law of 26 June 2004_FRA (French)	pdf
Penal Code of 1867_FRA (French)	pdf

*Last update: 2017

Conflict of Interest

Belgium’s conflict of interests laws are rather broad and make few specific requirements for public officials. The Belgian Constitution (1994, last amended 2014) makes a general requirement for Ministers to prevent any conflicts of interests whilst in office. It also forbids MPs from occupying another salaried position. Similarly, the Law on the Senate (2013, last amended 2014) requires that MPs avoid conflicts of interest. In addition, they cannot accept gifts. For Ministers and MPs pursuing other functions is allowed, and no restriction applies to participating in decisions which affect private interests. Conflicts of Interests for Civil Servants are dealt with in the Law on the Budget and Control of administrative and organisational staff (2007). Next to a general clause on preventing conflicts of interests, it restricts Civil Servants from accepting gifts. Additionally, any second paid activities carried out by Civil Servants must be authorized by their superior, and the public sector may grant no unfair advantage to people previously employed as Civil Servants.

Ministers, MPs, and Civil Servants face sanctions ranging from fines over imprisonment to a loss of office if they violate conflict of interests law. This is specified in the Penal Code (1867, last amended 2016). No enforcement body is specified for any officials, and no monitoring body exists for Ministers. All the while, the Senate itself functions as monitoring body for Members of Parliament. Similarly, superiors are always responsible for monitoring their Civil Servants’ adherence to conflict of interests legislation. An Office of Ethics and Professional Conduct grants administrative support to these monitoring bodies.

Quantitative Data
Qualitative Data
Laws

Quantitative Data

Primary Metric	2012	2015	2016	2017	2020	2024	Trend
Restrictions	50	50	50	45	43	20
Sanctions	42	58	58	50	42	0
Monitoring and Oversight	50	50	50	50	62	12
Alternative Metric	2012	2015	2016	2017	2020	2024	Trend
Head of State	50	50	50	39	28	0
Ministers	50	51	51	48	54	3
Members of Parliament	50	64	64	61	54	10
Civil servants	39	46	46	46	59	30

Values lie in range between 0 and 100, higher values implying higher legislation comprehensiveness

Qualitative Data

Head of State
Restrictions
General restriction on conflict of interest	No. Head of state is monarch. Legal provisions do not apply.
Accepting gifts	No. Head of state is monarch. Legal provisions do not apply.
Private firm ownership and/or stock holdings	No. Head of state is monarch. Legal provisions do not apply.
Ownership of state-owned enterprises (SOEs)	No. Head of state is monarch. Legal provisions do not apply.
Holding government contracts	No. Head of state is monarch. Legal provisions do not apply.
Board member, advisor, or company officer of private firm	No. Head of state is monarch. Legal provisions do not apply.
Post-employment	No. Head of state is monarch. Legal provisions do not apply.
Simultaneously holding policy-making position and policy-executing position	No. Head of state is monarch. Legal provisions do not apply.
Participating in official decision-making processes that affect private interests	No. Head of state is monarch. Legal provisions do not apply.
Assisting family or friends in obtaining employment in public sector	No. Head of state is monarch. Legal provisions do not apply.
Sanctions
Fines are stipulated for violations of COI regulations restricting behavior	No. Head of state is monarch. Legal provisions do not apply.
Administrative sanctions are stipulated for violations of COI regulations restricting behavior	No. Head of state is monarch. Legal provisions do not apply.
Penal sanctions are stipulated for violations of COI regulations restricting behavior	No. Head of state is monarch. Legal provisions do not apply.
Monitoring and Oversight
Monitoring body specified (guidance, training, data tracking)	No. Head of state is monarch. Legal provisions do not apply.
Enforcement body specified (sanctions, hearings)	No. Head of state is monarch. Legal provisions do not apply.
Ministers
Restrictions
General restriction on conflict of interest	Yes. In the exercise of their respective responsibilities, the Federal State, the Communities, the Regions and the Joint Community Commission act with respect for federal loyalty, in order to prevent conflicts of interest. (Constitution of 1994, as amended in 2020, Art. 143 (1))
Accepting gifts	No. Absent from legal framework. Found in Code of Ethics for Members of the Government (2023), Article 5, but this is not legally binding (https://diplomatie.belgium.be/sites/default/files/downloads/EU2024BE_Circ_Code%20Ethics%20Fed%20Gov.pdf)
Private firm ownership and/or stock holdings	No. Absent from legal framework.
Ownership of state-owned enterprises (SOEs)	No. Absent from legal framework.
Holding government contracts	No. Absent from legal framework.
Board member, advisor, or company officer of private firm	No. Absent from legal framework.
Post-employment	No. Absent from legal framework.
Simultaneously holding policy-making position and policy-executing position	No. Absent from legal framework.
Participating in official decision-making processes that affect private interests	No. Absent from legal framework.
Assisting family or friends in obtaining employment in public sector	No. Absent from legal framework.
Sanctions
Fines are stipulated for violations of COI regulations restricting behavior	No. Absent from legal framework.
Administrative sanctions are stipulated for violations of COI regulations restricting behavior	No. Absent from legal framework.
Penal sanctions are stipulated for violations of COI regulations restricting behavior	No. Ministers are accountable to the House of Representatives and tried exclusively by the court of appeal for offenses allegedly committed in the performance of their duties. The same is true of offenses allegedly committed by ministers outside the performance of their duties and for which they are tried while performing their duties. The Law Regulating the Criminal Liability of Ministers of 1998 prescribes the procedure to be followed. (Constitution of 1994, as amended in 2020, Arts. 101 and 103 Rules on the Belgian House of Representatives (as of 2020), Art. 160bis Law Regulating the Criminal Liability of Ministers of 1998)
Monitoring and Oversight
Monitoring body specified (guidance, training, data tracking)	No. Absent from legal framework.
Enforcement body specified (sanctions, hearings)	No. Absent from legal framework.
Members of Parliament
Restrictions
General restriction on conflict of interest	Yes. The Codes of Ethics of both Houses of Parliament provide that their respective members shall avoid conflicts of interest, which exists when a member of one of the House has an personal and material interest that may lead him/her to unduly influence their behaviour in the performance of his/her duties. There is no conflict of interest where that member can derive a benefit solely by virtue of belonging to the population as a whole, to a large part of it or to a particular professional category. (Rules on the Belgian Senate (as of 2020), Art. 74 and Code of Ethics for Members of the Senate (Annex) Art. 5 Rules on the Belgian House of Representatives (as of 2020), Art. 163bis and Code of Ethics for Members of the House of Representatives (Annex) Art. 5)
Accepting gifts	Yes. Apart from their parliamentary allowance, Members of Parliament (both Houses) may not accept any financial or material benefit of any kind whatsoever in exchange for acts performed in the exercise of their mandate, including any gift having a patrimonial value other than symbolic. (Rules on the Belgian Senate (as of 2020), Art. 74 and Code of Ethics for Members of the Senate (Annex) Art. 6 Rules on the Belgian House of Representatives (as of 2020), Art. 163bis and Code of Ethics for Members of the House of Representatives (Annex) Art. 6)
Private firm ownership and/or stock holdings	No. Absent from legal framework.
Ownership of state-owned enterprises (SOEs)	No. Absent from legal framework.
Holding government contracts	No. Absent from legal framework.
Board member, advisor, or company officer of private firm	No. Absent from legal framework.
Post-employment	No. Absent from legal framework.
Simultaneously holding policy-making position and policy-executing position	Yes. Any member of either House appointed by the Federal Government to any salaried position other than that of minister and who accepts the appointment immediately ceases to sit in Parliament and only takes his/her seat again after having been re-elected. (Constitution of 1994, as amended in 2020, Art. 51)
Participating in official decision-making processes that affect private interests	No. Absent from legal framework.
Assisting family or friends in obtaining employment in public sector	No. Absent from legal framework.
Sanctions
Fines are stipulated for violations of COI regulations restricting behavior	No. Absent from legal framework.
Administrative sanctions are stipulated for violations of COI regulations restricting behavior	No. Absent from legal framework.
Penal sanctions are stipulated for violations of COI regulations restricting behavior	No. Absent from legal framework.
Monitoring and Oversight
Monitoring body specified (guidance, training, data tracking)	No. Absent from legal framework.
Enforcement body specified (sanctions, hearings)	No. Absent from legal framework.
Civil servants
Restrictions
General restriction on conflict of interest	Yes. Public representatives act in accordance with the legitimate trust that citizens place in them. Integrity includes, in the case of public mandataries, honesty, loyalty, sensitivity, probity, fairness, impartiality and incorruptibility. It applies to all aspects of their professional conduct. These qualities constitute the ethical basis for decisions taken by public officials, particularly when a conflict of interest arises. Where a conflict of interest exists on his or her part, the public official is required to disclose it beforehand and, where appropriate, to refrain from further action at a later date. (Code of Ethics of Public Officials of 2014, as amended in 2018, Art. 4 (a) (b))
Accepting gifts	Yes. Public representatives/officials may not, directly or indirectly, request or accept any financial or material benefit of any kind and in any form whatsoever, including any gift of other than symbolic value. If refusing a gift is likely to cause a problem, the public representative/official will hand over the gift to a Belgian public interest body of their choice. (Code of Ethics of Public Officials of 2014, as amended in 2018, Art. 4 (c))
Private firm ownership and/or stock holdings	No. There is only the requirement of publicity. Public representatives shall ensure full transparency regarding their missions, mandates or professions, even if unpaid, carried out in the public or private sector. Public representatives shall, throughout their term of office, communicate to the competent authorities the facts and obligations likely to interfere with or influence the exercise of their mandate, and shall make public any unauthorised interference. Public representatives shall make public, before and throughout their term of office, their affiliation, association, link or membership of companies, States or bodies to which they are bound by an obligation of loyalty which could interfere with the exercise of their mandate. Public representatives may in no way engage in activities that are directed against the legitimate interests of the institution within which they carry out their mandate. (Code of Ethics of Public Officials of 2014, as amended in 2018, Art. 4 (e))
Ownership of state-owned enterprises (SOEs)	No. Absent from legal framework.
Holding government contracts	No. Absent from legal framework.
Board member, advisor, or company officer of private firm	No. Absent from legal framework.
Post-employment	Yes. Federal civil servants face post-employment restrictions in public procurement: for 2 years after leaving a contracting authority, they may not intervene in public-contract activities; authorities must prevent, identify and resolve COI (Art. 6 Public Procurement Act). Duty of confidentiality also applies. (Federal Circular No. 735 of 13 June 2024 (revolving-door measures, procurement cooling-off))
Simultaneously holding policy-making position and policy-executing position	No. Absent from legal framework.
Participating in official decision-making processes that affect private interests	No. Absent from legal framework.
Assisting family or friends in obtaining employment in public sector	Yes. A conflict of interest arises when a public official has a private or personal interest that is likely to affect the impartial and objective exercise of his or her official duties. Where a conflict of interest exists on his or her part, the public official is required to disclose it in advance and, where appropriate, to refrain from further action at a later date. Particular or personal interests include any actual or potential benefit to the public official himself, to members of his family or to his family environment. Particular attention must be paid to any advantages which the spouse or partner and their children might enjoy. (Code of Ethics of Public Officials of 2014, as amended in 2018, Art. 4 (b))
Sanctions
Fines are stipulated for violations of COI regulations restricting behavior	No. Absent from legal framework.
Administrative sanctions are stipulated for violations of COI regulations restricting behavior	No. Absent from legal framework.
Penal sanctions are stipulated for violations of COI regulations restricting behavior	No. Absent from legal framework.
Monitoring and Oversight
Monitoring body specified (guidance, training, data tracking)	Yes. The Ethics Commission monitors the application of the Code of Ethics of Public Officials. Its duties are set out in Article 4 of the Law of 6 January 2014 (the same that establishes the Code of Ethics). (Code of Ethics of Public Officials of 2014, as amended in 2018, Art. 5 (1), Public Procurement Act of 17 Jun 2016, Art. 6 (amended 2022/2023, consolidated 8 Jan 2024); Federal Circular No. 735 (13 Jun 2024).)
Enforcement body specified (sanctions, hearings)	No. Absent from legal framework.

Legislation

Constitution of Belgium of 1994 (French)	pdf
Penal Code of 1867 (French)	pdf
Law Regulating the Criminal Liability of Ministers of 1998 (French)	pdf
Code of Ethics for Members of the House of Representatives (French)	pdf
Rules on the Belgian House of Representatives 2020 (French)	pdf
Rules on the Belgian Senate 2020 and Code of Ethics for Members of the Senate (Annex) (French)	pdf
Code of Ethics of Public Officials of 2014 (French)	pdf

*Last update: 2017

Freedom of Information

The right to information is affirmed in the Belgian Constitution, and the information access regime is governed by the Right of Access to Administrative Documents held by Federal Public Authorities (1994, amended 2010). The FOI law applies only to administrative functions and documents in the executive, legislative, and judicial branch.

Specific exemptions to disclosure are outlined in the aforementioned FOI law, the Law relating to classification and to authorizations of security (1998, as amended 2016), and the Law on the protection of privacy in relation to the processing of personal data (1992, last amended 2008). There is a public interest test whereby exemptions to disclosure may be overridden in cases where the public interest outweighs the prohibition on disclosure.

Requesters may file an internal appeal with public bodies, and external appeals with the courts. The law also establishes the possibility of asking the Commission on Access to and Reuse of Official Documents for an opinion on the case. However, any opinion issued by the Commission is not binding.

There are no sanctions specified in the law for violations of FOI provisions, nor are there any enforcement or oversight bodies tasked with managing implementation.

Quantitative Data
Qualitative Data
Laws

Quantitative Data

Primary Metric	2012	2015	2016	2017	2020	2024
Scope and Coverage	40	40	40	40	51	76
Information access and release	54	54	54	54	54	54
Exceptions and Overrides	50	50	50	50	50	83
Sanctions for non-compliance	0	0	0	0	0	0
Monitoring and Oversight	0	0	0	0	0	0

Values lie in range between 0 and 100, higher values implying higher legislation comprehensiveness

Qualitative Data

Scope and Coverage
Scope of disclosure
Existence of legal right to access	Yes. Everyone has the right to consult any administrative document and to have a copy made, except in the cases and conditions stipulated by the laws, decrees, or rulings referred to in Article 134. (Article 32 of the Constitution of Belgium, amended 2014)
"Information" or "Documents" is defined	Yes. Administrative document: any information, in any form whatsoever, from which an administrative authority possesses (Article 1(b)(2) Law 94-1724 on the Right of Access to Administrative Documents held by Federal Public Authorities, 1994, amended 2010)
Proactive disclosure is specified	No. Absent from legal framework
Coverage of public and private sectors
Executive branch	Yes. The law applies to all federal administrative authorities including the archives, with the exception of two of them which are covered by the law on archives. (Article 1(b)(1) and Article 11 Law 94-1724 on the Right of Access to Administrative Documents held by Federal Public Authorities, 1994, amended 2010)
Legislative branch	Yes. The law only applies to administrative bodies, which would include the administrative functions of the legistlature. (Article 1(b)(1) Law 94-1724 on the Right of Access to Administrative Documents held by Federal Public Authorities, 1994, amended 2010)
Judicial branch	Yes. The law only applies to the administrative functions of the judicial power. The Belgian Constitution, however, specifically proposes a theme of openness in respect of the judiciary, allowing court hearings to be open, unless public access should jeopardize morals or order. (Article 1(b)(1) Law 94-1724 on the Right of Access to Administrative Documents held by Federal Public Authorities, 1994, amended 2010 Article 148, Belgian Constitution)
Other public bodies	No. Absent from legal framework ( )
Private sector	No. Absent from legal framework
Access to specific documents (subject to reactive and/or proactive disclosure)
Draft legal instruments	Yes. Proactive disclosure is not required. However the law defines the scope of the law as all administrative information held by the body, in whatever format. In practice draft laws are published on the websites of both chambers of parliament. (Article 1(b)(2) Law 94-1724 on the Right of Access to Administrative Documents held by Federal Public Authorities, 1994, amended 2010)
Enacted legal instruments	Yes. The Constitution requires all new laws to be published. Since 1845, any new law or changes to a law can only take effect once published in the Belgian Official Gazette (Moniteur Belge). The FOI law also requires all administrative information held by a public body to be disclosed. (Article 190, Belgian Constitution Article 1, Law of 24 December 1865 modifying Article 1 of Law of 28 February 1845 Article 1(b)(2) Law 94-1724 on the Right of Access to Administrative Documents held by Federal Public Authorities, 1994, amended 2010)
Annual budgets	Yes. The Constitution requires the House of Representatives to set and publish in a law the annual national level budget. All state receipts and expenditures must be included in the budget and accounts. Regions can set their own budgets but the Constitution requires the to disclose their budgets and accounts. (Article 174 and Article 162(5) Belgian Constitution Annual Budget Laws and updates at national and regional level)
Annual chart of accounts (actual expenditures)	Yes. The Constitution requires the House of Representatives to set and publish in a law the annual national level budget. All state receipts and expenditures must be included in the budget and accounts. Regions can set their own budgets but the Constitution requires them to disclose their budgets and accounts. The FOI law also requires all administrative information held by a public body to be disclosed. (Article 174 and Article 162(5) Belgian Constitution Annual Budget Laws and updates at national and regional level Article 1(b)(2) Law 94-1724 on the Right of Access to Administrative Documents held by Federal Public Authorities, 1994, amended 2010)
Annual reports of public entities and programs	Yes. The law defines the scope of the law as all administrative information held by the body, in whatever format. Proactive disclosure is not specified by law however. (Article 1(b)(2) Law 94-1724 on the Right of Access to Administrative Documents held by Federal Public Authorities, 1994, amended 2010)
Information access and release
Procedural access
Universal access (agencies, citizens and non-citizens)	Yes. The law provides that everyone can consult and have a copy of an administrative document. (Article 4 Law 94-1724 on the Right of Access to Administrative Documents held by Federal Public Authorities, 1994, amended 2010 Article 32 Constitution (1994, last amended 2007))
Type of request is specified (written, electronic, oral)	Yes. Applications must be in writing. (Article 5 Law 94-1724 on the Right of Access to Administrative Documents held by Federal Public Authorities, 1994, amended 2010)
Assistance to requesters must be provided by law (includes barriers due to language differences, illiteracy, complexity of requests, etc.)	No. Absent from legal framework
Cost of access is specified (free, request fees, photocopying costs, other administrative costs)	Yes. The law provides that only direct costs can be charged. The cost of copies is set by the King via a Royal Decree. (Article 3 and Article 12 Law 94-1724 on the Right of Access to Administrative Documents held by Federal Public Authorities, 1994, amended 2010 Article 2, Royal Decree on the cost of accessing copies of public information 2007)
Deadlines for release of information
20-day response deadline	No. The deadline is 30 days. (Article 6(5) Law 94-1724 on the Right of Access to Administrative Documents held by Federal Public Authorities, 1994, amended 2010)
Agency granted right to extend response time	Yes. The agency may extend the response time by 15 days. (Article 6(5) Law 94-1724 on the Right of Access to Administrative Documents held by Federal Public Authorities, 1994, amended 2010)
Maximum total response time of no more than 40 days	No. The total response time with the extension period is 45 days. There is no requirement to reply; if there is no response within 45 days the application is deemed to have been rejected. (Article 6(5) Law 94-1724 on the Right of Access to Administrative Documents held by Federal Public Authorities, 1994, amended 2010)
Exceptions and Overrides
Exemptions to disclosure
Existence of secrecy/states secrets law	Yes. Includes regulations on the classification and types of secret documents and informations. Classifications are determined by the King. (Law relating to classification and to authorizations of security, 1998, amended 2016)
Existence of personal privacy/data law	Yes. Includes regulations on the protection of personal privacy and data protection. The Constitution enshrines the right to respect for private and family life. (Act of 30 July 2018 on the Protection of Natural Persons with Regard to the Processing of Personal Data Article 22 Constitution of Belgium, amended 2014)
Specific exemptions to disclosure	Yes. Exempted information includes information on public safety, people’s fundamental rights and freedoms, international relations, public order, national defence, internal and external security of the state, criminal investigations, scientific and economic interests of the country, trade secrets, protection of sources of confidential information, personal information, a secret established by law, confidential discussions, incomplete information, confidential opinions, abusive information. (Article 12 Law relating to classification and to authorizations of security (1998, as amended 2016) Article 6 Law 94-1724 on the Right of Access to Administrative Documents held by Federal Public Authorities, 1994, amended 2010 Act of 30 July 2018 on the Protection of Natural Persons with Regard to the Processing of Personal Data)
Public Interest test: Specified exemptions to disclosure may be overridden in cases where disclosure of information benefits the public interest.
Appeals
Appeals allowed within public entities	Yes. Where an authority has refused to disclose information, the applicant can request that it reconsider it's action. They authority has 15 days to answer. If they don't answer, the "administrative silence" is interpreted as a refusal. (Article 8(2) Law 94-1724 on the Right of Access to Administrative Documents held by Federal Public Authorities, 1994, amended 2010)
Independent, non-judicial appeals mechanism, e.g., information commissioner. Does not include Ombudsman unless appeals decisions are binding.	No. The law establishes the possibility of asking the Commission on Access to and Reuse of Official Documents for an opinion on the case at the same time as appealing to the authority to reconsider (internal appeal). Any opinion issued by the Commission is not binding. (Article 8 Law 94-1724 on the Right of Access to Administrative Documents held by Federal Public Authorities, 1994, amended 2010)
Judicial appeals mechanism	Yes. An appeal can be lodged with the Council of State under the Royal Decree of 1973 (Article 8 Law 94-1724 on the Right of Access to Administrative Documents held by Federal Public Authorities, 1994, amended 2010)
Sanctions for non-compliance
Administrative sanctions are specified for violations of disclosure requirements	No. Absent from legal framework
Fines are specified for violations of disclosure requirements	No. Absent from legal framework
Criminal sanctions are specified for violations of disclosure requirements	No. Absent from legal framework
Monitoring and Oversight
Information officers must be appointed in public agencies	No. Absent from legal framework ( )
Public body that is responsible for applying sanctions	No. Absent from legal framework
Public body that is responsible for public outreach (raising public awareness)	No. Absent from legal framework
Nodal agency for RTI (implementation support/compliance within public sector). Does not include Ombudsman.	No. Absent from legal framework ( )
Ombudsman involvement in implementation is specified by law	No. Absent from legal framework
Reporting of data and/or implementation is required	No. Absent from legal framework

Legislation

Constitution of Belgium of 1994_FRA (French)	pdf
Law of 11 April 1994 on Administration Publicity_FRA (French)	pdf
Royal Decree of 17 August 2007 on the Cost of Accessing Copies of Public Information_FRA (French)	pdf
Law of 11 December 1998 on the Classification and Authorizations of Security_FRA (French)	pdf
Law of 30 July 2018 on the Protection and Processing of Personal Data_FRA (French)	pdf

*Last update: 2017

Public Procurement

The Belgian public procurement system is regulated primarily by the Act of 15 June 2006 and several further Royal Decrees. There is no separate public procurement body.

The lowest minimum threshold for conducting a public procurement tender is:

EUR 30,000 for goods, works and services

The minimum number of bidders is 5 for restricted procedures and 3 for negotiated procedures and competitive dialogue. The minimum submission period is 36 days for open procedures, 15 days for restricted procedures and 15for negotiated procedures from dispatch date. The final beneficial owners do not have to be disclosed when placing a bid.

There is a possibility for preferential treatment for SMEs in case of below EU threshold tenders, and environmental considerations can be included in the award criteria. Furthermore, there are several options for bid exclusion: participation in organized crime, corruption, fraud and money laundering.

In the bid evaluation phase, there are conflict of interest restrictions on the composition of the evaluation committee and provisions on the independence of the contracting authority.

There is no regulation on a payable fee in case of an arbitration procedure and no regulation on whether decisions have to be publicly released or not.

No sanctions are stipulated for late-filling, whilst non-filling or making false disclosure leads to a fine between EUR 600-800 for Ministers and MPs. Civil Servants may face the same fines, but additional prison sentences apply for false disclosure. The Implementing Disclosure Law (1995, last amended 2004) specifies the Court of Auditors as depository body responsible for verifying submissions and enforcing disclosure legislation. At the same time, no institution is charged with verifying the accuracy of declarations. Belgium does not make any officials’ declarations public.

(Note: The Head of State is a monarch and thus exempted from disclosure laws).

Quantitative Data
Qualitative Data
Laws

Quantitative Data

Primary Metric	2015	2016	2017	2020	2024
Scope	47	43	57	76	93
Information availability	21	21	21	96	32
Evaluation	69	69	69	62	81
Open competition	78	78	78	72	75
Institutional arrangements	36	36	36	29	21

Values lie in range between 0 and 100, higher values implying higher legislation comprehensiveness

Qualitative Data

Scope
Threshold - lowest PP
What is the minimum contract value above which the public procurement law is applied? (Product type GOODS)	EUR 30000. For supply contracts, the national threshold for full procurement law application is EUR 30,000. (Royal Decree of 14 January 2013; Law of 17 June 2016; Ministerial Decree of 13 Dec 2023)
What is the minimum contract value above which the public procurement law is applied? (Product type WORKS)	EUR 30000. The national threshold for works contracts is EUR 30,000; for contracts exceeding EUR 5,538,000, EU procedures and publication requirements are triggered. (Royal Decree of 14 January 2013; Law of 17 June 2016; Ministerial Decree of 13 Dec 2023)
What is the minimum contract value above which the public procurement law is applied? (Product type SERVICES)	EUR 30000. The public procurement regime applies to all service contracts above EUR 30,000; for those above EUR 143,000/221,000, EU requirements for competitive process and publicity apply. (Royal Decree of 14 Jan 2013; Law of 17 June 2016; Ministerial Decree of 13 Dec 2023)
Threshold - by PP type
What are the minimum application thresholds for the procurement type? (Entity: PUBLIC SECTOR)	EUR 30000. The Law requires publication and competitive procedure for public sector contracts above EUR 30,000 (national) and above the updated EU thresholds as specified by type and authority. (Royal Decree of 14 January 2013, as amended, Art. 5 Royal Decree of 18 April 2017, as amended, Art. 11)
What are the minimum application thresholds for the procurement type? (Entity: UTILITIES)	EUR 30000. Utilities contracts are subject to the Belgian minimum of EUR 30,000. (Royal Decree 14 Jan 2013; Royal Decree 18 Apr 2017; Ministerial Decree 13 Dec 2023)
What are the minimum application thresholds for the procurement type? (Entity: DEFENCE)	EUR 30000. For defence contracts, Belgian law applies from EUR 30,000. (Royal Decree of 14 January 2013, as amended, Art. 5 Royal Decree of 23 January 2012, as amended, Arts. 4 and 33 Law of 13 August 2011, as amended, Art. 11/1)
Threshold - by product type
What are the minimum application thresholds for the procurement type? (Product type GOODS)	EUR 30000. Royal Decree of 14 January 2013, which regulates Law of 17 June 2016 on public procurement, applies to contracts for which the estimated amount is over EUR 30,000. This minimum applies to goods, services, works, utilities and defence. (Royal Decree 14 Jan 2013; Ministerial Decree 13 Dec 2023)
What are the minimum application thresholds for the procurement type? (Product type WORKS)	EUR 30000. Royal Decree of 14 January 2013, which regulates Law of 17 June 2016 on public procurement, applies to contracts for which the estimated amount is over EUR 30,000. This minimum applies to goods, services, works, utilities and defence. (Royal Decree 14 Jan 2013; Ministerial Decree 13 Dec 2023)
What are the minimum application thresholds for the procurement type? (Product type SERVICES)	EUR 30000. Royal Decree of 14 January 2013, which regulates Law of 17 June 2016 on public procurement, applies to contracts for which the estimated amount is over EUR 30,000. This minimum applies to goods, services, works, utilities and defence. (Royal Decree 14 Jan 2013; Ministerial Decree 13 Dec 2023)
Information availability
Publishing and record keeping
Is there a requirement that tender documents must published in full?	Yes. The contracting authority shall provide by electronic means free, unrestricted, direct and full access to tender documents. The tender notice or invitation shall specify the internet address from which tender documents can be retrieved. (Law of 17 June 2016 on Public Procurement, as amended, Arts. 64 and 145)
Are any of these documents published online at a central place?	Yes. https://www.publicprocurement.be/bda (Royal Decree of 18 April 2017, as amended, Arts. 8, 14, 15, 20 and 21 Royal Decree of 23 January 2012, as amended, Art. 30)
Is it mandatory to keep all of these records? -Public notices of bidding opportunities, -Bidding documents and addenda, -Bid opening records, -Bid evaluation reports, -Formal appeals by bidders and outcomes, -Final signed contract documents and addenda and amendments, -Claims and dispute resolutions, -Final payments, -Disbursement data (as required by the country’s financial management system)	Yes. The contracting authority keeps a record of the progress of all procurement procedures, whether or not they are conducted by electronic means. To this end, they ensure that sufficient documents are kept to justify the decisions taken at all stages of the award procedure, in particular documents concerning exchanges with economic operators and internal deliberations, the preparation of contract documents, dialogue or negotiation where appropriate, selection and award of the contract. These documents are kept at least for a period of ten years from the date of conclusion of the contract and in any event until the expiry of the warranty period, without prejudice to the provisions of laws, decrees and ordinances relating to archives. This paragraph is applicable for each contract or framework agreement which falls under the scope of Title 2 or 3, as well as for contracts for which the estimated value is lower than the thresholds set for European advertising. This paragraph does not, however, apply to small-value public contracts referred to in Chapter 7 of Title 2 or Chapter 7 of Title 3. (Law of 17 June 2016 on Public Procurement, as amended, Art. 164 §4)
Are contracts awarded within a framework agreement published (ie mini contracts)?	No. There is a general requirement to publish a contract award notice with tender results in case of contracts the estimated amount of which surpasses European thresholds. However, the Law on Procurement specifically stipulates that the contracting authority is not obliged to send a notice concerning the results of the award procedure for each contract based on a framework agreement. (Law of 17 June 2016 on Public Procurement, as amended, Arts. 62 and 143 §2)
Sub-contracting
Is it mandatory to publish information on subcontractors (ie names) in some cases?	No. There is no general duty to publish information on subcontractors in all contracts covered by Royal Decree of 14 January 2013 and Law of 17 June 2016. In case of a contract for the procurement of works, the contracting authority must mention in the tender documents whether there is direct action of subcontractors, in accordance with article 1798 of the Civil Code. In case of a contract in a sector sensitive to fraud, the successful bidder must send to the contracting authority the following information on subcontractors: name, contact details and legal representatives of all subcontractors participating in the works or the provision of services. This is regardless of the extent to which they participate in the subcontracting chain and regardless of their place in this chain. This information must be included in the Single European Market Document (DUME, in french) for contracts the estimated amount of which is equal to or greater than the European thresholds, in accordance with the provisions of Commission Regulation 2016/7 of 5 January 2016. Subject to exceptions, information on subcontractors must also be published in connection to procurement in the defence sector. (Royal Decree of 14 January 2013, as amended, Arts. 12 §4 and 12/1 Royal Decree of 23 January 2012, as amended, Art. 140)
If yes, what is the threshold for publication (i.e. the % of total contract value subcontracted)? For example, if the threshold is 75%, and you have subcontracted out only 40% of your contract, no disclosure is required. Consultant will insert 75% in the short answer column.	Information on subcontractors must be included in the SEMD (DUME) regardless of the extent to which they participate in the subcontracting chain and regardless of their place in this chain. No threshold is specified for the procurement of works. (Royal Decree of 14 January 2013, as amended, Arts. 12 §4 and 12/1)
Evaluation
Preferential treatment
Is there a ban on mentioning specific companies or brands in tender specification/call for tender?	Yes. Technical specifications may not refer to a specific manufacture or origin or to a particular process which characterizes the products or services provided by a specific economic operator, nor to refer to a trademark, a patent or a specific type, origin or production which would have the effect of favoring or eliminating certain companies or certain products. (Law of 17 June 2016 on Public Procurement, as amended, Art. 53 §4 Royal Decree of 23 January 2012, as amended, Art. 8)
Is there a preferential treatment for small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs)?	No. Although there is no direct provision about SMEs, the Law of 17 June 2016 contemplates that a contact point is responsible for drawing up, every three years, a report for the European Commission including the results of spot checks of the application of the public procurement rules and information on the level of participation of SMEs in procurement procedures. This only applies to procedures/contracts that exceed European thresholds. The Belgian government has, through its "Service public fédéral Economie, P.M.E., Classes moyennes et Energies", enacted a Charter in 2018 comprising of 13 principles that, if observed, should help increase the participation of SMEs in tenders (can be found at: https://www.publicprocurement.be/fr/documents/charte-acces-des-pme-aux-marches-publics). To this end, the strategic consultation network for federal purchasing (CSAF), as set up by the Royal Decree on centralized federal public contracts within the framework of the federal purchasing policy, will implement a general policy concerning SME participation rate in public procurement, including targets and indicators. Monitoring will be carried out within the framework of the CSAF network. The policy has not been made public yet. (Law of 17 June 2016 on Public Procurement, as amended, Art. 163, §2, §3 and §4)
Is there a preferential treatment for local/national companies? (companies from other EU MS are considered foreign companies)	No. Contracting authorities must act in accordance with the principles of non-discrimination and equality of treatment of economic operators and act in a transparent and proportionate manner.Furthermore, they must take the necessary measures to effectively prevent, detect and correct conflicts of interest arising in connection with the award and performance of the contract in order to avoid any distortion of competition, ensure the equal treatment of all economic operators and the transparency of the award procedure. (Law of 17 June 2016 on Public Procurement, as amended, Arts. 4 and 6 §1 Law of 13 August 2011, as amended, Art. 5)
Is there a specific set of rules for green/sustainable procurement?	Yes. Environmental criteria can be included in the technical specifications, but these must be clearly defined so as to allow the bidders to determine the object of the contract and the contracting authorities to award the contract. Where contracting authorities lay down environmental characteristics in terms of performance or functional requirements, they may use the detailed specifications, or, if necessary, parts thereof, as defined by European or (multi-) national eco‑labels, or by and any other eco-label, provided that those specifications are appropriate to define the characteristics of the supplies or services that are the object of the contract,the requirements for the label are drawn up on the basis of scientific information,the eco-labels are adopted using a procedure in which all stakeholders, such as government bodies, consumers, manufacturers, distributors and environmental organisations can participate, and they are accessible to all interested parties. (Law of 17 June 2016 on Public Procurement, as amended, Arts. 7, 53 §3 1ş, 66 §1, 69 1ş, 77, 81 §2 3ş, 82, 87, 147 §5, 152, 157 Royal Decree of 23 January 2012, as amended, Arts. 15 and 83)
Bid evaluation
Are there restrictions on allowable grounds for tenderer exclusion?	Yes. Allowable grounds for compulsory bidder exclusion are: (i) final decisions delivered by a competent court (res judicata) in matters concerning: participation in a criminal organisation; corruption; fraud; terrorism-related offenses or crimes; money laundering or financing of terrorist activities; child labor and other forms of human trafficking; employment of third country nationals who do not have the necessary immigration documentation. This exclusion is only applicable for a period of 5 years, counted from the date of the delivery of the decision or from the end of the infraction concerning third country nationals' immigration status. The contracting authority is only obliged to previously verify the absence of compulsory exclusion grounds for tenders whose value falls above EU thresholds and for sectors deemed more susceptible to fraud. These rules are applicable to subcontractors. The contracting authority may, exceptionally and for imperative reasons of general interest, authorise a derogation from compulsory exclusion; (ii) existance of debt in relation to taxes or social contributions. (Law of 17 June 2016 on Public Procurement, as amended, Arts. 67, 68, 69, 75, 86 1ş, 89 §3 §5, 151 §1 and 156 §1 Royal Decree of 14 January 2013, as amended, Art. 12/2 Royal Decree of 23 January 2012, as amended, Art. 63)
Are some bids automatically excluded? e.g., lowest/highest price; unusually low price, etc.	No. Contracting authorities shall, before they reject abnormally high or low tenders, request further information from bidders. If, after further examination, the contracting authority deems the information insufficient to explain the low offer, they shall reject it. Low offers due to non-compliance with environmental and social obligations should also be discarded. (Law of 17 June 2016 on Public Procurement, as amended, Art. 153 and 164 §1 3ş Royal Decree of 18 April 2017, as amended, Art. 36 §3 Royal Decree of 23 January 2012, as amended, Arts. 102 §3 and 104)
Is scoring criteria published?	Yes. Selection criteria must be indicated in the contract notice or in another tender document. (Law of 17 June 2016 on Public Procurement, as amended, Art. 66, 71, 81 §3 Law of 13 August 2011, as amended, Art. 24)
Are decisions always made by a committee?	No. No committee is specified in legilation. Within the limits of their powers, each minister is competent to take decisions relating to the award and execution of contracts of the federal authority and of bodies under their hierarchical authority. For entities governed by public law other than federal authorities, the powers relating to the award and execution of contracts are exercised by the competent authorities and bodies by virtue of the provisions of a law, a decree, an ordinance, or a regulatory or statutory provision governing them. (Law of 17 June 2016 on Public Procurement, as amended, Arts. 66, 147 and 169)
Are there regulations on evaluation committee composition to prevent conflict of interest?	Yes. It is prohibited for any civil servant, public officer or any other person linked to an adjudicator in any way, including the provider of ancillary purchasing activities acting on behalf of the adjudicator, to intervene in any way, directly or indirectly, in the award or performance of a public contract, as soon as they may find themselves, either personally or through an intermediary, in a situation of conflict of interest with a candidate or bidder. However, in exceptional circumstances, this prohibition does not apply where it would prevent the adjudicator from meeting their needs. Those who find themselves in a situation of conflict of interest must withdraw from taking part in the tender and inform the adjudicator in writing and without delay. The existence of a conflict of interest is presumed if: (i) there is kinship or marriage, in direct line up to the third degree and, in collateral line, up to the fourth degree, or in the event of legal cohabitation, between the civil servant, the public officer or the person linked to the adjudicator, and one of the candidates or bidders or any other natural person who exercises on behalf of one of these a power of representation, decision or control; (ii) the civil servant, the public officer or the person linked to the adjudicator, is, himself or through an intermediary, owner, co-owner or active partner of one of the candidate or bidder companies or exercises, in law or in fact, himself or, where appropriate, through an intermediary, a power of representation, decision or control. Furthermore, when the civil servant, the public officer or the natural or legal person linked to the adjudicator, holds, either themselves or through an intermediary, one or more shares or shares representing at least five percent of the share capital of one of the bidder companies, they have the obligation to inform the adjudicator. (Law of 17 June 2016 on Public Procurement, as amended, Art. 6 Royal Decree of 18 April 2017, as amended, Art. 51 Law of 13 August 2011, as amended, Art. 9 Royal Decree of 23 January 2012, as amended, Arts. 23 and 24)
Is some part of evaluation committee mandatorily independent of contracting authority?	No. In case of design contests ("Concours") and competition of works ("Concours de travaux"), the jury is composed of at least five members, including at least one chosen from persons outside the contracting authority. The jury members are also independent of participants in the contest. (Law of 17 June 2016 on Public Procurement, as amended, Art. 2, 31° Royal Decree of 18 April 2017, as amended, Art. 119 §1 Royal Decree of 23 January 2012, as amended, Art. 139 §2, 1°)
Are scoring results publicly available?	No. Above EU thresholds, an award notice must be published ("avis d'attribution de marché"). However, Royal Decree of 18 April 2017 does not specify whether scoring results are included in such notice. (Law of 17 June 2016 on Public Procurement, as amended, Arts. 62 and 143 Royal Decree of 18 April 2017, as amended, Art. 17)
Does the law specify under which conditions the tender can be cancelled?	Yes. The tender can be cancelled if: 1. there is inaction by the winning company after the award; 2. the awarding entity is comprised of a single physical person who deceases, 3. the awarding entity is in any of the situations listed in the Royal Decree; 4. the contracting authority has not set a date for the start of the works in due time. These conditions apply to framework agreements and to all subsequent contracts within said agreement (mini-contracts). (Royal Decree of 14 January 2013, as amended, Arts. 47 §2 1ş, 61, 62, 61/1, 76 §3)
Open competition
CFT publication
Does the law specify the location for publicizing open calls for tenders?	Yes. Bulletin des Adjudications and the Official Journal of the European Union for tenders over the relevant EU thresholds (Law of 17 June 2016 on Public Procurement, as amended, Arts. 139, 140, 142 and 160 Royal Decree of 18 April 2017, as amended, Art. 8 Law of 13 August 2011, as amended, Art. 19 Royal Decree of 23 January 2012, as amended, Art. 30 Royal Decree of 18 June 2017, as amended, Art. 8)
Does the law specify the location for publicizing restricted calls for tenders?	Yes. Bulletin des Adjudications and the Official Journal of the European Union for tenders over the relevant EU thresholds (Law of 17 June 2016 on Public Procurement, as amended, Arts. 139, 140, 141, 142 and 160 Royal Decree of 18 April 2017, as amended, Art. 8 Law of 13 August 2011, as amended, Art. 19 Royal Decree of 23 January 2012, as amended, Art. 30 Royal Decree of 18 June 2017, as amended, Art. 8)
Does the law specify the location for publicizing negotiated calls for tenders?	Yes. Bulletin des Adjudications and the Official Journal of the European Union for tenders over the relevant EU thresholds, but only if the tender is of the modality "negotiated procedure with prior call for competition". (Law of 17 June 2016 on Public Procurement, as amended, Arts. 61 1ş, 139, 140, 141, 142 and 160 Royal Decree of 18 April 2017, as amended, Art. 8 Law of 13 August 2011, as amended, Art. 19 Royal Decree of 23 January 2012, as amended, Art. 30 Royal Decree of 18 June 2017, as amended, Art. 8)
Minimum # of bidders
What is the minimum number of bidders for restricted procedures?	5. Law of 17 June 2016, Art. 79 §2; Royal Decree 23 Jan 2012, Art. 60 §2 (Law of 17 June 2016 on Public Procurement, as amended, Art. 79, §2 Royal Decree of 23 January 2012, as amended, Art. 60 §2)
What is the minimum number of bidders for negotiated procedures?	3. Law of 17 June 2016, Art. 79 §2; Royal Decree 23 Jan 2012, Art. 60 §2 (Law of 17 June 2016 on Public Procurement, as amended, Art. 79, §2 Royal Decree of 23 January 2012, as amended, Art. 60 §2)
What is the minimum number of bidders for competitive dialogue procedures?	3. Law of 17 June 2016, Art. 79 §2; Royal Decree 23 Jan 2012, Art. 60 §2 (Law of 17 June 2016 on Public Procurement, as amended, Art. 79, §2 Royal Decree of 23 January 2012, as amended, Art. 60 §2)
Bidding period length
What are the minimum number of days for open procedures?	35. It can be reduced to 15 days where prior notice has been published or in case of urgency. In the defence sector, the minimum bidding period length for open procedures is 36 days below EU thresholds; it can be reduced to 10 days in case of urgency. (Law of 17 June 2016 on Public Procurement, as amended, Arts. 36 and 118 Royal Decree of 23 January 2012, as amended, Art. 50)
What are the minimum number of days for restricted procedures?	30. It can be reduced to 10 days where prior notice has been published, in case of urgency or in the absence of an agreement, between the contracting authority and selected candidates, on the time limit for receipt of tenders. In the defence sector, the minimum bidding period length for restricted procedures is 40 days (above EU thresholds) or 15 days (below EU thresholds); it can be reduced to 10 days in case of urgency. (Law of 17 June 2016 on Public Procurement, as amended, Arts. 37 and 119 Royal Decree of 23 January 2012, as amended, Arts. 48 §2 and 51 §2)
What are the minimum number of days for competitive negotiated procedures?	30. It can be reduced to 10 days where prior notice has been published, in case of urgency or in the absence of an agreement, between the contracting authority and selected candidates, on the time limit for receipt of tenders. (Law of 17 June 2016 on Public Procurement, as amended, Arts. 38 §3)
Institutional arrangements
Institutions and regulations
Does the law specify the main EXCEPTIONS preventing the application of the public procurement law for tenders/organisations?	Yes. Some of the main exceptions are contracts: 1. for insurance services, banking services and services relating to investments of financial institutions, as well as services provided by certain financial within the scope of the defence sector; 2. relating to certain social and health services within the scope of the defence sector; 3. relating to other social services and specific services; 4. which are jointly drafted by contracting authorities from several countries; 5. relating to the creation and operation of a mixed company for the performance of a contract; 6. concerning techniques and instruments for electronic tenders, which are awarded either by persons benefiting from special or exclusive rights or by public enterprises (in case of contracts whose object is not related to their tasks); 7. for the appointment of a company auditor; 9. for the appointment of a lawyer for legal representation or preparation of legal proceedings. (Law of 17 June 2016 on Public Procurement, as amended, Arts. 2, 1ş 2ş 3ş 4ş 5ş, 3 and 25 Royal Decree of 14 January 2013, as amended, Art. 6)
Does the law specify the main types of institutions that must apply the public procurement law?	Yes. Contracting authorities and entities are: 1. the State; 2. local authorities; 3. public bodies and legal persons created specifically to meet the needs of general interest, and whose activity is mainly financed or managed by the authorities or bodies previously mentiond; 4. associations formed by one or more contracting authorities; 5. public companies; 6. other private entities which have been granted special rights. (Law of 17 June 2016 on Public Procurement, as amended, Arts. 2, 1ş 2ş 3ş 4ş 5ş and 17 Royal Decree of 14 January 2013, as amended, Art. 2, 26ş Law of 13 August 2011, as amended, Art. 2, 1ş 2ş 3ş 4ş)
Does the law specify the main procedure types or procurement methods permitted?	Yes. For general procurement, procedure types are: open procedure; restricted procedure; competitive procedure with negotiation; negotiated procedure with prior call for competition (prior notice); negotiated procedure without prior publication; negotiated procedure without prior call for competition; competitive dialogue; direct negotiated procedure with prior publication; direct negotiated procedure with prior call for competition; contest, innovation partnership and framework agreements. For the defence sector, only the restricted procedure (either by restricted invitation to tender or by negotiated procedure with publicity) or competitive dialogue are allowed. In this sector, contracts can only be awarded by open procedure (either by open invitation to tender or by open call for tenders) if their amount does not reach European thresholds. (Law of 17 June 2016 on Public Procurement, Arts. 2, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42 and 43 Law of 13 August 2011, as amended, Art. 22, 25, 26, 27, 28 and 29)
Is there a procurement arbitration court dedicated to public procurement cases?	No. The appeal body is, as a rule: 1. the administrative litigation section of the Council of State when the contracting authority is an authority referred to in Article 14, § 1 of the coordinated laws on the Council of State (not specialised); 2. a (judicial) judge when the contracting authority is not an authority referred to in Article 14, § 1 of the coordinated laws on the Council of State (not specialised). The appeal body can cancel, suspend or declare the tender devoid of effects, and award damages. (Law of 17 June 2013, Art. 24)
Is there a procurement regulatory body dedicated to public procurement?	No. No regulatory body dedicated solely to procurement; main oversight is the Public Procurement Department of the Prime Minister’s Chancellery. (Law of 17 June 2013, Art. 24)
Does the law specify procurement advisors' profession (i.e. degree to be obtained, official list of members of the professional association) and its role in the tendering process (e.g. right to draft tender documentations, conduct market research identifying bidders)?	No. The only relevant provision contemplates that where a particular professional qualification is required of participants in the modality contest ("Concours"), at least a third of the jury members shall have the same or an equivalent qualification. (Royal Decree of 18 April 2017, as amended, Art. 119 §1)
Is disclosure of final, beneficial owners required for placing a bid?	No. Belgian procurement legislation does not require disclosure of final beneficial owners as a condition for placing a bid; transparency duties mainly arise from corporate/AML rules outside the procurement-law bidding step. (Royal Decree 18 Apr 2017; Belgian UBO / AML framework (outside procurement-law bid-admission rules))
Complaints
Is there a fee for arbitration procedure?	No. Law of 17 June 2013 on remedies does not mention any fee. (Law of 17 June 2013, Arts. 46, 47, 48 and 49)
Is there a ban on contract signature until arbitration court decision (first instance court)?	Yes. The rule is that there is a ban on contract signature until the court's decision is issued. However, exceptions to this rule apply: 1) when the publication at European level of a contract notice or a concession notice is not mandatory; 2) when the only tenderer concerned is the one to whom the contract or concession is awarded and in the absence of candidates concerned; or 3) in the case of a contract based on a framework agreement. (Law of 17 June 2013, Arts. 11, 12, 43 and 44)
What is the maximum number of days until arbitration court decision from filing a complaint in the case of awarded contracts?	N/S. Law of 17 June 2013 does not specify a maximum number of days for the court to reach as decision. Moreover, in the absence of express derogation by Law of 17 June 2013, the rules of jurisdiction and procedure before the appeal body are those set by the laws and decrees relating to the appeal body. (Law of 17 June 2013, as amended, Art. 25)
Is there a requirement to publicly release arbitration court decisions ?	No. There is no requirement to publish court/arbitration decisions in procurement disputes; decisions may be accessible per standard judicial transparency rules. (Law of 17 June 2013, as amended, Art. 25)

Legislation

Law of 13 August 2011 on public procurement and certain contracts in the fields of defence and security (French)	pdf
Law of 17 June 2013 on motivation, information and legal remedies in respect of public procurement and certain contracts for works, supplies and services (French)	pdf
Law of 17 June 2016 on public procurement (French)	pdf
Ministerial Decree of 13 December 2023 on the European thresholds applicable to public procurement and concessions for 2024-2025 (French)	pdf
Royal Decree of 14 January 2013 establishing the general rules for the execution of public contracts and concessions for public works (French)	pdf
Royal Decree of 18 April 2017 on the award of public contracts in the classical sectors (French)	pdf
Royal Decree of 18 June 2017 on the award of public contracts in the special sectors (French)	pdf
Royal Decree of 23 January 2012 on public procurement in the fields of defence and security (French)	pdf

*Last update: 2017

Anti Money Laundering

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Quantitative Data
Qualitative Data
Laws

Quantitative Data

Primary Metric	2012	2015	2016	2017	2020	2024	Trend
Risk-based approach						100
Sanctions for natural persons						100
Sanctions for legal persons						50
Pecuniary sanctions for obliged entities						0
Beneficial ownership of legal persons and legal arrangements						57
Supervision of obliged entities						100
Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs)						100
Mutual legal assistance (MLA) and International Cooperation						100

Values lie in range between 0 and 100, higher values implying higher legislation comprehensiveness

Qualitative Data

Country score
Risk-based approach
Each Member State shall be legally required to prepare a national risk assessment that outlines appropriate steps to identify, assess, understand and mitigate the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing affecting it.	Yes. The 2017 AML law requires the coordination bodies to identify, assess, understand and mitigate Belgium’s ML/TF risks through a national risk assessment process. (Loi du 18 septembre 2017 relative ŕ la prévention du blanchiment de capitaux et du financement du terrorisme et ŕ la limitation de l'utilisation des espčces, arts. 68-71)
Member states shall be legally required to keep the national risk assessment up to date and review it at least every 4 years.	Yes. Article 68 requires the coordination bodies to update the national risk assessment report every two years, which is more frequent than the at-least-every-four-years standard. (Loi du 18 septembre 2017 relative ŕ la prévention du blanchiment de capitaux et du financement du terrorisme et ŕ la limitation de l'utilisation des espčces, art. 68)
Member states should legally designate an authority or mechanism to co-ordinate actions to assess risks.	Yes. The law designates coordination bodies for national ML/TF risk work: the Ministerial Committee and the National Security Council. (Loi du 18 septembre 2017 relative ŕ la prévention du blanchiment de capitaux et du financement du terrorisme et ŕ la limitation de l'utilisation des espčces, art. 4, 12°-14°; arts. 68-71)
Sanctions for natural persons
The following conduct, when committed intentionally, is punishable as a criminal offence: the conversion or transfer of property, knowing that such property is derived from criminal activity, for the purpose of concealing or disguising the illicit origin of the property or of assisting any person who is involved in the commission of such an activity to evade the legal consequences of that person’s action;	Yes. Money laundering includes conversion or transfer of criminal property to conceal its illicit origin or help a person evade legal consequences. (Code pénal, art. 505, al. 1er, 3°)
The following conduct, when committed intentionally, is punishable as a criminal offence: the concealment or disguise of the true nature, source, location, disposition, movement, rights with respect to, or ownership of, property, knowing that such property is derived from criminal activity;	Yes. Money laundering includes concealment or disguise of the nature, source, location, disposition, movement or ownership of criminal property. (Code pénal, art. 505, al. 1er, 4°)
The following conduct, when committed intentionally, is punishable as a criminal offence: the acquisition, possession or use of property, knowing at the time of receipt, that such property was derived from criminal activity.	Yes. Money laundering includes acquiring, receiving, possessing, keeping or managing criminal property with the required knowledge. (Code pénal, art. 505, al. 1er, 2°)
Aiding and abetting, inciting and attempting a money laundering offence is punishable as a criminal offence.	Yes. Attempt of the laundering offences in Article 505 is punishable, and the general rules on participation apply to criminal offences. (Code pénal, art. 505, al. final; arts. 66-67)
Money laundering offences are punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least four years.	Yes. Money laundering offences under Article 505 are punishable by imprisonment of up to five years. (Code pénal, art. 505, al. 1er)
A prior or simultaneous conviction for the criminal activity from which the property was derived is not a prerequisite for a conviction for money laundering offences	Yes. Article 505 criminalises the laundering conduct itself and does not make a prior or simultaneous conviction for the predicate offence a prerequisite. (Code pénal, art. 505)
A conviction for money laundering offences is possible where it is established that the property was derived from a criminal activity, without it being necessary to establish all the factual elements or all circumstances relating to that criminal activity, including the identity of the perpetrator;	Yes. Article 505 requires that the property derive from an offence, but it does not require establishing all factual elements of that offence or identifying the perpetrator as a condition of the laundering offence. (Code pénal, art. 505)
Sanctions for legal persons
Legal persons can be held liable for the breaches of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 or Regulation (EU) 2023/1113 committed on their behalf or for their benefit by any person, acting individually or as part of a body of that legal person and having a leading position within that legal person, based on any of the following: a power to represent the legal person; an authority to take decisions on behalf of the legal person; an authority to exercise control within the legal person.	No. Absent from legal framework
Legal persons can be held liable where the lack of supervision or control has made possible the commission of any money laundering offences for the benefit of that legal person by a person under its authority.	No. The Criminal Code provides general criminal liability of legal persons, but no explicit lack-of-supervision or lack-of-control rule specific to money laundering offences was identified in the terms of the indicator. (Code pénal, art. 5)
Legal persons held liable are punishable by criminal or non-criminal fines.	Yes. Legal persons can be punished by fines for criminal offences, including where the underlying sanction for a natural person is imprisonment. (Code pénal, arts. 7bis et 41bis)
Legal persons held liable are punishable by other sanctions, such as: exclusion from entitlement to public benefits or aid; temporary or permanent exclusion from access to public funding, including tender procedures, grants and concessions; temporary or permanent disqualification from the practice of commercial activities; placing under judicial supervision; a judicial winding-up order; temporary or permanent closure of establishments which have been used for committing the offence.	Yes. Additional sanctions for legal persons include dissolution, prohibition to carry on an activity, closure of establishments and publication of the decision. (Code pénal, art. 7bis)
Pecuniary sanctions for obliged entities
In the event of a breach of Regulations (EU) 2024/1624 and (EU) 2023/1113, where obligations apply to legal persons, pecuniary sanctions can be imposed and administrative measures can be applied not only to the legal person, but also to the senior management and to other natural persons who under national law are responsible for the breach.	No. Absent from legal framework
Pecuniary sanctions shall be imposed on obliged entities for serious, repeated or systematic breaches, whether committed intentionally or negligently, of the requirements laid down in the following provisions of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624: Chapter II (Internal policies, procedures and controls of obliged entities); Chapter III (Customer due diligence); Chapter V (Reporting obligations); Article 77 (Record retention).	No. Absent from legal framework
Supervisors are able to apply administrative measures to an obliged entity, where they identify: breaches of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 or Regulation (EU) 2023/1113, either in combination with pecuniary sanctions for serious, repeated and systematic breaches, or on their own; weaknesses in the internal policies, procedures and controls of the obliged entity that are likely to result in breaches of the requirements; that the obliged entity has internal policies, procedures and controls that are not commensurate with the risks of money laundering, its predicate offences or terrorist financing to which the entity is exposed.	No. Absent from legal framework
Where obliged entities fail to comply with administrative measures applied by the supervisor within the applicable deadlines, supervisors are able to impose periodic penalty payments in order to compel compliance with those administrative measures.	No. Absent from legal framework
Supervisors are required to publish on their website, in an accessible format, decisions imposing pecuniary sanctions, applying administrative measures or imposing periodic penalty payments.	No. Absent from legal framework
Beneficial ownership of legal persons and legal arrangements
Beneficial ownership information must be held in a central register in the Member State where the legal entity is created or where the trustee of an express trust or person holding an equivalent position in a similar legal arrangement is established or resides, or from where the legal arrangement is administered.	Yes. The 2017 AML law creates a central UBO register for Belgian companies, associations, foundations, trusts and similar legal arrangements administered from Belgium. (Loi du 18 septembre 2017 relative ŕ la prévention du blanchiment de capitaux et du financement du terrorisme et ŕ la limitation de l'utilisation des espčces, art. 74, § 1er)
Member States shall ensure that the entities in charge of the central registers are empowered to request from legal entities, trustees of any express trust and persons holding an equivalent position in a similar legal arrangement, and their legal and beneficial owners, any information necessary to identify and verify their beneficial owners, including resolutions of the board of directors and minutes of their meetings, partnership agreements, trust deeds, power of attorney or other contractual agreements and documentation.	Yes. Belgium’s framework substantively empowers the Treasury, as UBO-register authority, to obtain and verify the information and supporting documents needed to identify and verify beneficial owners. In practice, the register requires supporting documentation such as share registers, general-meeting minutes and shareholders’ agreements, which fits the indicator’s substance even without mirroring its wording. (Loi du 18 septembre 2017, art. 74/1, § 2; art. 110, al. 2; Arręté royal du 30 juillet 2018 relatif aux modalités de fonctionnement du registre UBO; UBO register guidance (supporting documents).)
Where no person is identified as the beneficial owner, the central register shall include: (a) a statement that there is no beneficial owner or that the beneficial owners could not be determined, accompanied by a corresponding justification (b) the details of all natural persons who hold the position of senior managing officials in the legal entity equivalent to the following information: all names and surnames, place and full date of birth, residential address, country of residence and nationality or nationalities of the beneficial owner, number of identity document, such as passport or national identity document, and, where it exists, unique personal identification number assigned to the person by his or her country of usual residence, and general description of the source of such number	Yes. Belgium’s framework covers this in substance. Where no beneficial owner can be identified after exhausting the ordinary criteria, senior managing officials are recorded as beneficial owners of last resort, and that residual identification must be documented and justified. That satisfies the indicator’s combined requirement for senior-managing-official details plus a justified statement that no beneficial owner could be determined. (Loi du 18 septembre 2017, art. 4, 27°; art. 75, § 1er; Belgium national BOR information (residual senior-managing-official category must be documented and justified).)
Entities in charge of the central registers are required to verify, within a reasonable time upon submission of the beneficial ownership information, and on a regular basis thereafter, that such information is adequate, accurate and up to date.	Yes. Belgium should be treated as compliant. The legal framework imposes concrete timing rules that satisfy the indicator in substance: beneficial-ownership information must be updated within 30 days of a change and confirmed annually even if unchanged, while the Treasury controls data quality and the register uses preventive and cross-checking mechanisms. Under the methodology, those fixed updating and review rules are enough. (Loi du 18 septembre 2017, art. 74, § 1er; Arręté royal du 30 juillet 2018, art. 5; official UBO register guidance.)
Competent authorities, if appropriate and to the extent that such requirement does not interfere unnecessarily with their functions, are required to report to the entities in charge of the central registers any discrepancies they find between information available in the central registers and the information available to them.	Yes. Obliged entities must report discrepancies, and competent authorities other than the FIU must also report discrepancies where this does not unnecessarily interfere with their functions. (Loi du 18 septembre 2017 relative ŕ la prévention du blanchiment de capitaux et du financement du terrorisme et ŕ la limitation de l'utilisation des espčces, art. 74/1, § 1er)
The information contained in the central registers must include any change to the beneficial ownership of legal entities and legal arrangements and to nominee arrangements, following their first recording in the central register.	Yes. Belgium’s register includes changes in beneficial ownership after first recording in substance. The framework requires updates when information changes, keeps the history of changes, and is designed to reconstruct control over time. That is sufficient even though the Belgian provisions do not use the indicator’s exact terminology on nominee arrangements. (Loi du 18 septembre 2017, art. 75, § 1er; Arręté royal du 30 juillet 2018, arts. 6-7; Belgium national BOR information.)
The entity in charge of the central register is empowered, whether directly or by application to another authority, including judicial authorities, to carry out checks, including on-site inspections at the business premises or registered office of legal entities, in order to establish the current beneficial ownership of the entity and to verify that the information submitted to the central register is accurate, adequate and up-to-date.	No. The Treasury has control powers and may use databases and cooperate with third parties, but no explicit rule was identified authorising checks including on-site inspections at business premises or the registered office to establish current beneficial ownership. (Loi du 18 septembre 2017 relative ŕ la prévention du blanchiment de capitaux et du financement du terrorisme et ŕ la limitation de l'utilisation des espčces, art. 74, § 1er; Arręté royal du 30 juillet 2018 relatif aux modalités de fonctionnement du registre UBO, art. 17, § 2)
Where verification leads an entity in charge of a central register to conclude that there are inconsistencies or errors in the beneficial ownership information, the entity in charge of a central register is able to withhold or refuse to issue a valid certificate of proof of registration, or to suspend the validity of an existing certification of proof of registration.	No. No explicit rule was identified empowering the register authority to withhold, refuse or suspend a certificate of proof of registration because of inconsistencies or errors in beneficial ownership information. (Arręté royal du 30 juillet 2018 relatif aux modalités de fonctionnement du registre UBO)
The entity in charge of the central register is empowered to, whether directly or by application to another authority, including judicial authorities, apply effective, proportionate and dissuasive measures or impose such pecuniary sanctions for failures, including of a repeated nature, to provide the central register with accurate, adequate and up-to-date information about their beneficial ownership.	Yes. Administrative fines can be imposed for infringements of the UBO registration and updating obligations. (Loi du 18 septembre 2017 relative ŕ la prévention du blanchiment de capitaux et du financement du terrorisme et ŕ la limitation de l'utilisation des espčces, art. 132, § 6; Arręté royal du 30 juillet 2018 relatif aux modalités de fonctionnement du registre UBO, art. 18)
Competent authorities have immediate, unfiltered, direct and free access to the information held in the interconnected central registers without alerting the legal entity or legal arrangement concerned. These competent authorities include: self-regulatory bodies in the performance of supervisory functions of AML rules; tax authorities; national authorities with designated responsibilities for the implementation of Union restrictive measures; AMLA for the purposes of joint analyses; EPPO; OLAF; Europol and Eurojust when providing operational support to the competent authorities of Member States.	No. Belgian law grants unrestricted access to competent authorities and certain other authorities, but no explicit rule was identified covering the full list in the indicator, including AMLA, EPPO, OLAF, Europol and Eurojust. (Loi du 18 septembre 2017 relative ŕ la prévention du blanchiment de capitaux et du financement du terrorisme et ŕ la limitation de l'utilisation des espčces, art. 75, § 2; Arręté royal du 30 juillet 2018 relatif aux modalités de fonctionnement du registre UBO, arts. 6-8)
Beneficial ownership information held in central registers may be made available to obliged entities upon payment of a fee, which shall be limited to what is strictly necessary to cover the costs of ensuring the quality of the information held in the central registers and of making the information available. Those fees shall be established in such a way as not to undermine effective access to the information held in the central registers.	Yes. Belgium should be marked compliant because access for obliged entities is free of charge. The indicator sets a ceiling for fees if fees are charged; it does not require a fee. Free access is at least as transparent and therefore satisfies the indicator a fortiori. (Loi du 18 septembre 2017, art. 75, § 2; Belgium national BOR information.)
Any natural or legal person that can demonstrate a legitimate interest in the prevention and combating of money laundering, its predicate offences and terrorist financing has access to the following information on beneficial owners of legal entities and legal arrangements held in the interconnected central registers, without alerting the legal entity or legal arrangement concerned: the name of the beneficial owner; the month and year of birth of the beneficial owner; the country of residence and nationality or nationalities of the beneficial owner; for beneficial owners of legal entities, the nature and extent of the beneficial interest held; for beneficial owners of express trusts or similar legal arrangements, the nature of the beneficial interest.	Yes. Natural and legal persons demonstrating a legitimate interest may access specified beneficial-ownership data, and consultations must occur without informing the entity or beneficial owner concerned. (Loi du 18 septembre 2017 relative ŕ la prévention du blanchiment de capitaux et du financement du terrorisme et ŕ la limitation de l'utilisation des espčces, art. 75, § 2; Arręté royal du 30 juillet 2018 relatif aux modalités de fonctionnement du registre UBO, arts. 10 et 15)
The following natural or legal persons shall be deemed to have a legitimate interest to access the information listed above: persons acting for the purpose of journalism, reporting or any other form of expression in the media, that are connected with the prevention or combating of money laundering, its predicate offences or terrorist financing;	No. Belgian law requires a legitimate interest related to combating money laundering, terrorist financing or related predicate offences, but it does not expressly deem journalism or media expression to satisfy that test. (Arręté royal du 30 juillet 2018 relatif aux modalités de fonctionnement du registre UBO, art. 10, § 3)
The following natural or legal persons shall be deemed to have a legitimate interest to access the information listed above: civil society organisations, including non-governmental organisations and academia, that are connected with the prevention or combating of money laundering, its predicate offences or terrorist financing;	No. Belgian law requires a legitimate interest related to combating money laundering, terrorist financing or related predicate offences, but it does not expressly deem civil society organisations or academia to satisfy that test. (Arręté royal du 30 juillet 2018 relatif aux modalités de fonctionnement du registre UBO, art. 10, § 3)
The following natural or legal persons shall be deemed to have a legitimate interest to access the information listed above: natural or legal persons likely to enter into a transaction with a legal entity or legal arrangement and who wish to prevent any link between such a transaction and money laundering, its predicate offences or terrorist financing;	Yes. Belgium’s legitimate-interest regime substantively covers persons likely to enter into an economic relationship or transaction with a registered entity. The current explanation was too narrow: the Belgian criteria expressly include applicants who will have economic relations or transactions with an entity required to register UBOs, provided the AML/CFT connection is present. (Arręté royal du 30 juillet 2018, art. 10, § 3, as amended; Belgian Treasury presentation on legitimate interest (3 possibilities).)
The following natural or legal persons shall be deemed to have a legitimate interest to access the information listed above: Member States’ public authorities in the context of public procurement procedures, in respect of the tenderers and operators being awarded the contract under the public procurement procedure;	No. Absent from legal framework
Member States shall ensure that the information provided by central registers does not lead to the identification of any person consulting the register where such persons are: persons acting for the purpose of journalism, reporting or any other form of expression in the media, that are connected with the prevention or combating of money laundering, its predicate offences or terrorist financing;	No. Belgian law prevents alerting the entity or beneficial owner concerned, but no explicit rule was identified preventing identification of journalists or media actors consulting the register. (Arręté royal du 30 juillet 2018 relatif aux modalités de fonctionnement du registre UBO, art. 15)
Member States shall ensure that the information provided by central registers does not lead to the identification of any person consulting the register where such persons are: civil society organisations that are connected with the prevention or combating of money laundering, its predicate offences or terrorist financing.	No. Belgian law prevents alerting the entity or beneficial owner concerned, but no explicit rule was identified preventing identification of civil society organisations consulting the register. (Arręté royal du 30 juillet 2018 relatif aux modalités de fonctionnement du registre UBO, art. 15)
Where entities in charge of central registers decide to grant access to beneficial ownership information, they shall issue a certificate granting access for 3 years. Entities in charge of central registers shall respond to any subsequent request to access beneficial ownership information by the same person within 7 working days.	No. Absent from legal framework
Member States shall ensure that entities in charge of central registers shall only refuse a request to access beneficial ownership information on one of the following grounds: the applicant has not provided the necessary information or documents pursuant to paragraph 1; a legitimate interest to access beneficial ownership information has not been demonstrated; where on the basis of information in its possession, the entity in charge of the central register has a reasonable concern that the information will not be used for the purposes for which it was requested or that the information will be used for purposes that are not connected to the prevention of money laundering, its predicate offences or terrorist financing; one or more of the situations referred to in Article 15 applies; the legitimate interest to access beneficial ownership information granted by the central register of another Member State does not extend to the purposes for which the information is sought; where the applicant is in a third country and responding to the request to access information would not comply with the provisions of Chapter V of Regulation (EU) 2016/679.	Yes. Belgium should be treated as compliant. The royal decree contains multiple legal grounds for refusing access, including failure to provide required information, failure to satisfy legitimate-interest conditions, suspicion of improper purpose, and derogation-risk situations. Under the methodology for AML-39, the existence of at least one operative refusal ground is enough. (Arręté royal du 30 juillet 2018, art. 10, § 4.)
In exceptional circumstances to be laid down in national law, where the access to beneficial ownership information would expose the beneficial owner to disproportionate risk of fraud, kidnapping, blackmail, extortion, harassment, violence or intimidation, or where the beneficial owner is a minor or otherwise legally incapable, Member States shall provide for an exemption from such access to all or part of the personal information on the beneficial owner. Member States shall ensure that such exemptions are granted on a case-by-case basis upon a detailed evaluation of the exceptional nature of the circumstances and confirmation that those disproportionate risks exist. The right to an administrative review of the decision granting an exemption and the right to an effective judicial remedy shall be guaranteed.	Yes. The Treasury may grant access limitations case by case in exceptional circumstances, and the beneficial owner may request administrative review of a refusal. (Arręté royal du 30 juillet 2018 relatif aux modalités de fonctionnement du registre UBO, art. 16, §§ 1-2)
Supervision of obliged entities
Each Member State shall ensure that all obliged entities established in its territory are subject to adequate and effective supervision. To that end, each Member State shall appoint one or more supervisors to monitor effectively, and to take the measures necessary to ensure compliance by the obliged entities with Regulations (EU) 2024/1624 and (EU) 2023/1113.	Yes. Belgium designates multiple competent authorities to supervise compliance of obliged entities with the AML Law and related AML/CFT instruments in their respective sectors. (Loi du 18 septembre 2017 relative ŕ la prévention du blanchiment de capitaux et du financement du terrorisme et ŕ la limitation de l'utilisation des espčces, art. 85, § 1er)
Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs)
Each Member State shall establish an FIU in order to prevent, detect and effectively combat money laundering and terrorist financing.	Yes. The AML Law establishes the CTIF-CFI as Belgium’s financial intelligence unit, constituted as an administrative authority with legal personality. (Loi du 18 septembre 2017 relative ŕ la prévention du blanchiment de capitaux et du financement du terrorisme et ŕ la limitation de l'utilisation des espčces, art. 76, § 1er)
The FIU as the central national unit shall be responsible for receiving and analysing suspicious transaction reports and other information relevant to money laundering, associated predicate offences or terrorist financing.	Yes. The CTIF-CFI is the central national unit responsible for receiving and analysing suspicious transaction reports and other information relevant to money laundering or terrorist financing. (Loi du 18 septembre 2017 relative ŕ la prévention du blanchiment de capitaux et du financement du terrorisme et ŕ la limitation de l'utilisation des espčces, art. 79, §§ 1er-2)
The FIU shall be responsible for disseminating the results of its analyses and any additional relevant information to the competent authorities where there are grounds to suspect money laundering, associated predicate offences or terrorist financing.	Yes. Where its analysis reveals a serious indication of money laundering or terrorist financing, the CTIF-CFI must transmit the information to the competent prosecutor; the law also requires onward transmission to specified competent bodies in defined cases. (Loi du 18 septembre 2017 relative ŕ la prévention du blanchiment de capitaux et du financement du terrorisme et ŕ la limitation de l'utilisation des espčces, art. 82, § 2)
The FIU shall be operationally independent and autonomous, which means that the FIU shall have the authority and capacity to carry out its functions freely, including the ability to take autonomous decisions to analyse, request and disseminate specific information. It shall be free from any undue political, government or industry influence or interference.	Yes. The AML Law states that the CTIF-CFI is operationally independent and autonomous, including the authority to decide autonomously to analyse, request and transmit specific information. (Loi du 18 septembre 2017 relative ŕ la prévention du blanchiment de capitaux et du financement du terrorisme et ŕ la limitation de l'utilisation des espčces, art. 76, § 2)
The FIU, regardless of their organisational status, is authorised to have access to the information that they require to fulfil their tasks, including financial, administrative and law enforcement information.	Yes. The CTIF-CFI may require all additional information it considers useful from obliged entities, supervisors, police services, state administrative services, public social welfare centres, insolvency trustees, provisional administrators and judicial authorities. (Loi du 18 septembre 2017 relative ŕ la prévention du blanchiment de capitaux et du financement du terrorisme et ŕ la limitation de l'utilisation des espčces, art. 81, §§ 1er-2)
FIUs are empowered to take urgent action, directly or indirectly, where there is a suspicion that a transaction is related to money laundering or terrorist financing, to suspend or withhold consent to that transaction.	Yes. When seized of a suspicious transaction report or related information, the CTIF-CFI may oppose execution of the transaction and thereby block it for up to five working days; the same mechanism may also be used at the request of another FIU. (Loi du 18 septembre 2017 relative ŕ la prévention du blanchiment de capitaux et du financement du terrorisme et ŕ la limitation de l'utilisation des espčces, art. 80, §§ 1er-2 et 4)
Mutual legal assistance (MLA) and International Cooperation
Member States shall ensure that the FIU to whom the request is made is legally required to use the whole range of its available powers which it would normally use domestically for receiving and analysing information when it replies to a request for information from another FIU.	Yes. When another FIU requests information, the CTIF-CFI must respond as quickly as possible, using all the powers available to it that it normally uses under the law to receive and analyse suspicious transaction reports. (Loi du 18 septembre 2017 relative ŕ la prévention du blanchiment de capitaux et du financement du terrorisme et ŕ la limitation de l'utilisation des espčces, art. 123, § 3)
Member States shall ensure that FIUs are legally required to exchange, spontaneously or upon request, any information that may be relevant for the processing or analysis of information by the FIU related to money laundering, its predicate offences, or terrorist financing, and the natural or legal person involved, regardless of the type of predicate offences that may be involved, and even if the type of predicate offences that may be involved is not identified at the time of the exchange.	Yes. The CTIF-CFI must cooperate and exchange information with other FIUs as widely as possible and must exchange, spontaneously or on request, all information that may be relevant to analysis, even where the underlying predicate offence has not yet been identified. (Loi du 18 septembre 2017 relative ŕ la prévention du blanchiment de capitaux et du financement du terrorisme et ŕ la limitation de l'utilisation des espčces, arts. 122 et 123, § 1er)

Legislation

Act of 4 July 1989 on the limitation and control of election expenses, amended 2015	missing file:
Electoral Code [Algemeen Kieswetboek], 1894, amended 2014	missing file:

*Last update: 2017

Asset Recovery

Quantitative Data
Qualitative Data
Laws

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Primary Metric	2012	2015	2016	2017	2020	2024	Trend
Asset Offices						100
Confiscation						56
International cooperation						50

Values lie in range between 0 and 100, higher values implying higher legislation comprehensiveness

Qualitative Data

Country score
Asset Offices
Each Member State shall legally designate at least one asset recovery office to facilitate cross-border cooperation in relation to asset-tracing investigations and to conduct asset recovery functions in both criminal matters and civil or administrative matters.	Yes. Belgium has a national Asset Recovery Office through the Central Office for Seizure and Confiscation (COSC/OCSC), designated by the Belgian Government to exchange information with other AROs (Law of 26 March 2003 on the Creation of a Central Office for the Seizure and Confiscation of Assets; COSC presentation, slide 19; article 23, §2 COSC)
Each Member State shall legally designate at least one competent authority to function as an asset management office for the purpose of the management of frozen and confiscated property until the disposal of that property further to a final confiscation order.	Yes. COSC also functions as an Asset Management Office and is legally empowered to manage seized assets, including sale before confiscation, preservation, (Law of 26 March 2003 on the Creation of a Central Office for the Seizure and Confiscation of Assets; Criminal Procedure Code, arts. 28octies and 61sexies; Act of 18 April 2024 amending the COSC)
Confiscation
Member States shall take the necessary measures to enable the freezing of property necessary to ensure a possible confiscation of that property. The freezing measures shall consist of freezing orders and immediate action. (Freezing measures)	Yes. Belgian law provides seizure as a precautionary measure to secure later confiscation, including seizure of assets corresponding in value to criminal proceeds, and urgent freezing decisions can be taken without delay or within 48 (Code of Criminal Procedure, arts. 35, 35bis, 35ter; EJN Belgium)
Member States shall take the necessary measures to enable the confiscation, either wholly or in part, of instrumentalities and proceeds stemming from a criminal offence subject to a final conviction, which may also result from proceedings in absentia. (Conviction based confiscation)	Yes. Belgian criminal law allows confiscation of the object of the offence, instrumentalities, direct proceeds, (Belgian Criminal Code, arts. 42 and 43.)
Member States shall take the necessary measures to enable the confiscation of property the value of which corresponds to instrumentalities or proceeds stemming from a criminal offence subject to a final conviction, which may also result from proceedings in absentia. (Confiscation of equivalent value)	Yes. Belgium has a value-confiscation regime; when the relevant goods cannot be found in the convicted person’s assets, (Belgian Criminal Code, art. 43bis; art. 505.)
Member States shall take the necessary measures to enable the confiscation of proceeds, or other property the value of which corresponds to proceeds, which, directly or indirectly, were transferred by a suspected or accused person to third parties, or which were acquired by third parties from a suspected or accused person. (Third-party confiscation)	Yes. Belgian law allows confiscation even where relevant goods do not belong to the convicted person, (Belgian Criminal Code, art. 505; arts. 42-43bis.)
Member States shall take the necessary measures to enable the confiscation, either wholly or in part, of property belonging to a person convicted of a criminal offence where the offence committed is liable to give rise, directly or indirectly, to economic benefit, and where a national court is satisfied that the property is derived from criminal conduct. (Extended confiscation)	Yes. Belgian confiscation covers substituted assets and income generated from invested criminal benefits, (Belgian Criminal Code, arts. 42(3), 43bis.)
Member States shall take the necessary measures to enable the confiscation of instrumentalities, proceeds or property, or proceeds or property transferred to third parties, where criminal proceedings have been initiated but could not be continued because of illness, absconding, or death of the accused or the limitation period of the offence is below 15 years and has expired. (Non-conviction based confiscation)	No. The sources reviewed confirm strong criminal confiscation and seizure mechanisms, (No general non-conviction based confiscation rule covering all listed situations was identified in the Belgian)
Confiscation without a prior conviction shall be limited to cases where, in the absence of the circumstances above, it would have been possible for the relevant criminal proceedings to lead to a criminal conviction for, at least, offences liable to give rise, directly or indirectly, to substantial economic benefit, and where the national court is satisfied that the instrumentalities, proceeds or property to be confiscated are derived from, or directly or indirectly linked to, the criminal offence in question. (Non-conviction based confiscation)	No. No sufficiently clear general standalone non-conviction based confiscation mechanism matching this indicator was identified in the Belgian (No such general regime identified in the Belgian)
Member States shall take the necessary measures to enable the confiscation of property identified in the context of an investigation in relation to a criminal offence, provided that a national court is satisfied that the identified property is (i) derived from criminal conduct committed within the framework of a criminal organisation and (ii) that conduct is liable to give rise, directly or indirectly, to substantial economic benefit. A ‘criminal offence’ in this case is punishable by deprivation of liberty of a maximum of at least four years. (Confiscation of unexplained wealth)	No. The (No distinct unexplained-wealth confiscation provision identified in the Belgian)
Member States are legally required to adopt a national strategy on asset recovery and update it at regular intervals of no longer than five years. (Deadline of 24 May 2027)	No. No legal requirement for a national asset recovery strategy was identified in Belgian law as of 31 December 2024. (No such strategy requirement identified in the Belgian)
International cooperation
To facilitate cross-border cooperation, Member States shall legally require measures to enable the swift tracing and identification of instrumentalities and proceeds, or of property which is, or might become, the object of a freezing or confiscation order in the course of proceedings in criminal matters.	Yes. Belgium provides for swift tracing and freezing through its judicial cooperation framework, and the investigating judge must decide without delay or within 48 (Code of Criminal Procedure, arts. 35, 35bis, 35ter; Law of 5 August 2006 on mutual recognition; EJN Belgium)
Member States shall legally require the necessary measures to ensure that their asset recovery offices provide, upon request from an asset recovery office in another Member State, any information that those asset recovery offices have access to, and that is necessary for the performance of the tasks of the asset recovery office requesting that information	Yes. COSC is the national ARO and exchanges information with other Asset Recovery Offices, (Law of 26 March 2003 on the Creation of a Central Office for the Seizure and Confiscation of Assets, art. 23, §2; COSC presentation, slide 21.)
Member States may legally allow for cost-sharing agreements with other Member States on the execution of freezing and confiscation orders.	No. No express legal basis for cost-sharing agreements with other Member States on execution of freezing and confiscation orders was identified in the Belgian (No express cost-sharing rule identified in the Belgian)
Countries should be able to share confiscated property with other countries, in particular when confiscation is directly or indirectly a result of co-ordinated law enforcement actions	No. Belgium has extensive cooperation rules on seizure and confiscation, (No)

Legislation

Act of 4 July 1989 on the limitation and control of election expenses, amended 2015	missing file:
Electoral Code [Algemeen Kieswetboek], 1894, amended 2014	missing file:

*Last update: 2017

Belgium

Country Facts

Political Financing

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Is it specified that a particular institution(s) is responsible for examining financial reports and/​or investigating violations?

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Financial Disclosure

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Head of State

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Ministers

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Income and Assets

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Filing frequency

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Monitoring and Oversight

Public access to declarations

Members of Parliament

Disclosure items

Income and Assets

Incompatibilities

Filing frequency

Sanctions

Monitoring and Oversight

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Civil servants

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Income and Assets

Incompatibilities

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Conflict of Interest

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Head of State

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Ministers

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Members of Parliament

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Civil servants

Restrictions

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Freedom of Information

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Scope and Coverage

Institutions receiving financial reports from political parties and/or candidates

Is it specified that a particular institution(s) is responsible for examining financial reports and/or investigating violations?