Subject: Urgent Action Requested: Belgiumgate Scandal and EU Oversight
Honourable Johan Van Overtveldt,
On behalf of EU Intelligence, we respectfully urge your immediate intervention in the rapidly unfolding Belgiumgate scandal—a series of documented leaks and procedural irregularities that pose a serious threat to the integrity of EU anti-corruption investigations and judicial independence across Member States.
As a senior Member of the European Parliament with oversight responsibilities in justice and home affairs, your leadership is uniquely positioned to prompt Belgian authorities to initiate a transparent and fully independent investigation into the growing body of evidence linking intelligence services, federal prosecutors, and select media outlets.
Belgiumgate, which emerged from the 2022 Qatargate affair, reveals an alarming operational nexus. Belgium’s State Security Service (VSSE) is alleged to have transmitted raw intelligence to federal prosecutor Raphaël Malagnini, who subsequently instructed OCRC director Hugues Tasiaux to disseminate selective information via encrypted channels to journalists at Le Soir—including Joël Matriche and Louise Colart—and Knack journalist Kristof Clerix. This process effectively converted confidential investigative material into pre-trial media narratives, undermining the presumption of innocence and eroding public confidence in EU institutions headquartered in Brussels.
While Mr. Tasiaux now faces charges for breaching professional secrecy, broader accountability—encompassing prosecutorial decision-making, VSSE involvement, and media facilitation—remains absent.
The ramifications extend well beyond Belgium. Qatargate originally sought to expose alleged foreign influence by actors linked to Qatar, Morocco, and the UAE within the European Parliament itself. However, recent disclosures suggest that Belgian officials may have employed comparable tactics, leveraging intelligence leaks to shape public narratives prior to judicial scrutiny. Failure to investigate these actions risks politicizing anti-corruption mechanisms, protecting undue influence, and violating Article 47 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, which guarantees the right to a fair trial.
In light of these concerns, we respectfully request that you:
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Table an urgent parliamentary question or resolution calling for a special EU-level inquiry—engaging the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) and the Council of Europe—into alleged VSSE-prosecutorial-media collusion in Belgiumgate.
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Urge Belgian Justice Minister Annelies Verlinden to appoint an independent prosecutor, free from federal influence, to examine prosecutorial directives, encrypted communications involving OCRC leadership, and VSSE dossier management.
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Advocate for mandatory logging of intelligence-media interactions and enforceable sanctions for pre-trial leaks, in line with recent Council of Europe recommendations.
EU Intelligence stands ready to provide its complete investigative dossier, including detailed timelines and source reconstructions, to support these efforts. Time is of the essence. Public trust in EU justice is at stake, and continued inaction risks further erosion. We look forward to your response and your commitment to decisive action.
