Brussels extends anti-drug measures in eighteen neighborhoods

The Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region, B. DILLIES, signed an order on September 2, 2026, extending until March 2, 2027, the administrative police measures intended to prevent nuisances and restore public order related to the trafficking, sale, and consumption of drugs. The text, referenced C-2026/006517, is published in the Belgian Official Gazette of September 8, 2026, page 49269, and enters into force exceptionally as of September 3, 2026.

A renewed system in the face of violence

The order is part of the “Regional Strategy to Combat Drug Trafficking and its Impact on Security,” approved on February 27 and March 11, 2024, by the expanded regional security council (the “expanded CoReS”), which brings together the Minister-President, the Brussels public prosecutor’s office, the federal police, the police zones, and the nineteen Brussels mayors. It extends the police orders of April 2, 2024 (applicable from April 3, 2024, to March 2, 2026) and March 2, 2026 (amended on March 27, 2026), whose measures were expiring on September 2, 2026.

The text justifies this extension with numerical data provided by the police services. Between January 1 and August 31, 2026, 70 shootings were recorded in Brussels, resulting in 30 firearm victims, including 2 deaths and 28 injuries; at least 50 of these shootings, or 71%, were linked to narcotics. Furthermore, approximately 147 tons of nitrous oxide canisters (empty, full, or partially filled) were recorded in June 2026 across Brussels municipalities and police zones.

Maintained measures

The system renews a core set of administrative police measures, some of which apply to the entire regional territory and others only to targeted neighborhoods:

• prohibition of performing any preparatory act for ignition, possessing, transporting, displaying, or selling certain categories of pyrotechnic articles (fireworks, firecrackers);
• general prohibition of the sale of nitrous oxide throughout the territory, except to professionals who can prove this status;
• prohibition of the sale of alcoholic beverages for takeout from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., and the consumption of alcohol on public roads 24/7, in the targeted neighborhoods;
• prohibition of entering public spaces for the sole purpose of purchasing illicit drugs;
• authorizations granted to police services to conduct identity checks, administrative seizures, and security searches, 24/7.

Mayors may grant exemptions to alcohol-related prohibitions for activities with very limited or occasional impact, notably authorized beverage outlets on public roads and specific festive events.

Eighteen targeted neighborhoods

Article 6 of the decree lists the eighteen neighborhoods where threats to public order are particularly concentrated, the exact perimeter of which is defined by a police order from the competent mayor:

• Chaussée d’Anvers, Matongé, Yser, Querelle, Versailles, Porte de Hal, Clémenceau, Peterbos, Saint-Antoine;
• Gare du Midi, Gare du Nord, Étangs Noirs, Ribaucourt, Bonnevie, Paal/Kolom, Aumale, Parc Elisabeth, Marbotin.

Infractions of the prohibitions prescribed in Articles 1 and 2 are sanctioned by the penalties provided for by the law of March 6, 1818. An application for annulment may be filed with the administrative litigation section of the Council of State within 60 days of publication in the Belgian Official Gazette.

Scope for residents

The decree, applicable from September 3, 2026, to March 2, 2027, inclusive, is notified by email to all mayors of the Region, who are responsible for posting it and publishing it on their municipality’s website the day after notification. safe.brussels ensures the widest possible dissemination, and the text is communicated to the National Crisis Center (NCCN). For Brussels residents and shopkeepers, this measure maintains concrete restrictions — take-away alcohol sales, consumption on public roads, sale of nitrous oxide — in the most exposed neighborhoods, while strengthening the control powers of police forces until the spring of 2027.

Official source: Belgian Official Gazette of September 8, 2026, page 49269 — Decree of the Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region of September 2, 2026, reference C-2026/006517.