Local police: 54.4 million in complementary federal funding for 2026

An additional federal grant of 54,398,877.12 EUR is allocated for the year 2026 to municipalities and multi-municipal police zones, according to a royal decree of October 11, 2026, published in the Belgian Official Gazette of November 9, 2026 (p. 59710, ref. C − 2026/007380). The text, signed by King Philippe and countersigned by the Minister of Security and the Interior B. Quintin, further empowers the Minister of the Interior to conclude police contracts for a total of 5,410,833.40 EUR.

The mechanism renews an allocation created in 2002: the royal decree of January 15, 2003 (Belgian Official Gazette of March 20, 2003), issued in application of the royal decree of August 2, 2002, established this additional federal allocation for the funding of local police. The 2026 amounts are obtained by increasing those set by the royal decree of December 19, 2025, for the 2025 financial year, by the general inflation parameter of 1.3% adopted by the budget circular relating to the prefiguration of the 2026 initial budget and the 2027-2030 multi-annual estimates of the FPS Strategy and Support.

The report to the King specifies that, since 2010, the amounts have been brought into compliance with the case law of the Council of State — judgment 196.373 of September 24, 2009, and judgments 198.867 and 198.868 of December 14, 2009 —, which ruled that limiting two of the six parameters to 25% for zones that had not submitted a file under the “admissible additional cost” framework was contrary to the principle of equality. Consequently, all police zones will receive an amount paid at 100% in 2026.

A budgeted and retroactive envelope

The amounts are entered in section 17 “Federal Police and Integrated Operation” of the 2026 general expenditure budget, program 90/1, basic allocation 11.43.51.01, within the limits of available credits. The decree takes effect on January 1, 2026, although it was not published until November.

• General grant: 54,398,877.12 EUR (the annex totals 54,398,877.15 EUR after rounding)
• Police contracts: 5,410,833.40 EUR (5,410,833.41 EUR in the annex)
• Grand total and contracts: 59,809,710.57 EUR
• Opinions rendered: Inspector General of Finance on July 22, 2026, Council of Mayors on September 4, 2026, agreement of the Minister of Budget on September 1, 2026

By way of comparison, the 2026 basic federal grant, set by a royal decree of October 25, 2026, published in the same issue of the Gazette, is estimated at 906,436,149.53 EUR.

5.4 million earmarked for police contracts

Article 1 authorizes the Minister of the Interior to conclude police contracts with the municipalities or zones listed in the annex, to respond to a specific objective problematic situation and within the maximum amount set for each. Twenty-three zones have a “contract” amount greater than zero; the main contractual allocations are as follows:

• Huy: 652,456.73 EUR (general allocation 277,563.03 EUR)
• Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve: 618,116.90 EUR (85,615.55 EUR)
• Lanaken/Maasmechelen: 465,575.94 EUR (417,541.13 EUR)
• De Panne/Koksijde/Nieuwpoort: 411,665.86 EUR (364,689.54 EUR)
• Sambreville/Sombreffe: 309,058.45 EUR, and Houyet/Rochefort: 309,058.45 EUR
• Several zones at 171,699.12 EUR, including Jalhay/Spa/Theux, Braives/Burdinne/Hannut/Héron/Lincent/Wasseiges, Ath and Anthisnes/Clavier/Comblain-au-Pont/Ferrières/Hamoir/Marchin/Modave/Nandrin/Ouffet/Tinlot

Gaps of one to sixty between zones

The “general 2026” column of the annex reveals significant disparities, reflecting the historical parameters of the distribution key. The highest envelopes go to Mons/Quévy (1,344,816.70 EUR), Heuvelland/Ieper/Langemark-Poelkapelle/Mesen/Moorslede/Poperinge/Staden/Vleteren/Wervik/Zonnebeke (1,319,483.72 EUR), Durbuy/Erezée/Gouvy/Hotton/Houffalize/La Roche-en-Ardenne/Manhay/Marche-en-Famenne/Nassogne/Rendeux/Tenneville/Vielsalm (1,246,094.48 EUR), Genk/Zutendaal/As/Oudsbergen/Houthalen-Helchteren/Bocholt/Bree/Kinrooi (1,236,969.05 EUR), Dison/Pepinster/Verviers (1,059,199.27 EUR) and Bruges (1,043,691.04 EUR).

At the other end, the Brussels zones of Bruxelles/Ixelles (22,434.09 EUR), Auderghem/Uccle/Watermael-Boitsfort (21,049.29 EUR) and Ganshoren/Jette/Koekelberg/Berchem-Sainte-Agathe/Molenbeek-Saint-Jean (22,434.09 EUR) receive only residual amounts, as the Brussels component is funded by another part of the federal basic allocation. Other modest-sized zones such as Cranhem/Wezembeek-Oppem or Aarschot remain below 40,000 EUR.

Impact on local budgets

For the municipalities and police zones, the decree serves as a revenue title for the 2026 financial year and allows the amounts to be entered into the budget, despite a late publication in the Belgian Official Gazette. Zones benefiting from a contractual component must furthermore negotiate and formalize their police contract with the FPS Interior to receive the balance, as the amount listed in the annex constitutes the maximum authorized ceiling. However, the 1.3% indexation only covers part of the increase in salary and operational costs of local police, as the additional costs related to the 2018 sectoral agreement and the Salduz law are the subject of separate royal decrees published on the same day.

Source : Belgian Official Gazette of November 9, 2026, p. 59710 et seq., royal decree of October 11, 2026, granting a supplementary federal endowment for the financing of the local police for the year 2026 (ref. C − 2026/007380).