Prosecutors reject pension reforms in unprecedented protest
Belgium's public prosecutors have launched an unprecedented protest against the federal government's proposed pension reforms.
"This has never happened before," said Frédéric Van Leeuw, the attorney general of Brussels. "The government has gone too far."
Prosecutors have suspended cooperation with parliament and the executive, stopped answering parliamentary questions, withdrawn from government working groups and refused requests from the minister of Justice to delay the execution of prison sentences.
The action is intended to express their dismay at the planned reforms, outlined in the coalition agreement and the Easter agreement, which could reduce the purchasing power of retired judges by 30-40 per cent.
Chronic problems
Key concerns include limited indexation above 5,250 euros gross, no transitional measures and new rules requiring early appointment and buy-back of study years to qualify for a full pension.
Van Leeuw also criticised the chronic underfunding of the judiciary and the lack of dialogue or impact assessment. Judges do not enjoy benefits common in other sectors, such as a second pension pillar or second jobs. The changes affect both serving and retired magistrates and judicial staff.
The protest was unanimously supported by the leadership of the Public Prosecution Service, a move that took Pensions minister Jan Jambon of N-VA by surprise.
"According to our calculations, these figures are incorrect"
According to his cabinet, consultations with magistrates only took place on Monday, with a follow-up meeting scheduled for next Tuesday. "We are therefore surprised that they are making these figures public," said communications director Pol Van Den Driessche.
Jambon's cabinet disputes the claim that the reforms would cut judges' pensions by 30 to 40 per cent. "According to our calculations, these figures are incorrect," Van Den Driessche said on Thursday. While the cabinet is closely following the prosecutors' actions, it has declined to comment further.
"We will simply apply the law as written"
A key consequence of the protest is that the public prosecutor’s office will now enforce prison sentences that were previously put on hold. Since October, around 4,000 custodial sentences were postponed as part of a policy to ease prison overcrowding.
“We cooperated in good faith,” said Van Leeuw. “But if the government takes such decisions without involving us, we will simply apply the law as written: a sentence handed down must be carried out.”
© PHOTO BELGIAN FREELANCE
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