Vlaams Belang has handed more than 50,000 signatures to Belgian prime minister Bart De Wever in a last-ditch attempt to stop the country from implementing the EU’s Migration Pact, just hours before parliament votes to transpose the legislation into national law on Thursday.
The Flemish nationalist party is demanding a referendum on a possible Belgian opt-out from the Pact, which comes into force across the EU on Friday, June 12th. Vlaams Belang argues that Belgians should have a final say before migration policy is further transferred to Brussels.
“A crystal-clear signal: the Flemish want no more mass migration, and certainly not through a European pact that imposes it on them and further restricts the right to conduct our own migration policy,” said Barbara Pas, the party’s leader in the Belgian parliament.
However, the Belgian government is under no obligation to act on the petition, making it unlikely to affect the outcome of Thursday’s vote. Nevertheless, the initiative allows Vlaams Belang to demonstrate public opposition to the Pact as parliament prepares for a lengthy debate on its implementation.
Vlaams Belang argues that, despite the EU Commission’s claims, the Pact fails to prevent illegal entries and expands family reunification options, while also making it more difficult to deport criminal migrants. The party also says the Pact will force member states to spend significant taxpayer funds on accommodating migrants redistributed across the bloc under a system designed in Brussels.
Vlaams Belang leader Tom Van Grieken referred to the legislation as “the EU Population Replacement Pact,” claiming that its goal is not to prevent but to normalize illegal migration.
The Pact has been in the making for over a decade and was adopted by the EU Council only after Brussels removed the unanimity requirement, meaning the Pact was approved by only 20 of 27 member states voting yes on the entire package.
However, Belgium’s chances of securing an opt-out appear slim, even if a referendum were to produce a majority in favour of one. In 2024, the Netherlands and Hungary officially requested opt-outs from the Migration Pact, which were promptly rejected.
Denmark is the only EU country exempt from the Pact’s migrant redistribution mechanism, but this is due to its existing opt-out from EU justice and home affairs cooperation.
