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In order to indicate clearly where passengers can declare their goods, Brussels Airport has invested in improving the visibility of the red and green exits (for goods to declare or nothing to declare respectively). Furthermore, Brussels Airport Company also installed new baggage search benches which provide more privacy for travellers if they are checked by customs.

Alexander De Croo, Minister for Finance, said: « Customs officers at Brussels Airport check more than 100,000 passengers on the import and export of goods every year. Thanks to the efforts of Brussels Airport, the customs staff will from now on perform their duties under better conditions, including more privacy for travellers when they are checked. This is a nice improvement for the customs service at Brussels Airport. »

Arnaud Feist, CEO of the Brussels Airport Company, said: “In line with our objective of constantly improving passenger experience at the airport, Brussels Airport has invested in an entirely new customs control zone. This new zone will provide a more pleasant passage through customs for all our passengers and guarantees the necessary privacy in case their baggage is checked. The signage to and visibility of the customs control zone was also improved. This investment offers the customs officers a contemporary and comfortable workplace where they can perform their duties in serenity.”

Just before the holiday season, it is important to make travellers aware of what they can and cannot bring when they return from holiday.

The customs officers who check the luggage of travellers look in particular for:

– Rare plants and animals [CITES – Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora].

– Purchases from outside the EU for which import duties and taxes may be due.

– Counterfeit products

– Cigarettes and alcohol subject to strict restrictions

– The documents of pets

– Amounts in cash of more than €10,000

In 2019, Customs will focus in particular on the quantity of cigarettes and alcohol and the presence of CITES products and bushmeat in the baggage.

Some figures on customs controls at Brussels Airport:

In 2018:

• 117,482 travellers from third countries (coming from outside the EU)

• 9,262 Intra-Community travellers (travelling only within the EU)

• 1066 incidents of illegal importation

• 49,578 travellers got a cash check

• €1,740,439 of customs and excise duties and VAT on imported goods 1/2

In 2019:

• 89,428 travellers from third countries (coming from outside the EU) checked

• 6,386 Intra-Community travellers (travelling only within the EU) checked

• 503 cases of illicit imports

• 23,743 travellers were checked for the amount of cash they had on them

• €2,023,019 of customs and excise duties and VAT on imported goods

Forewarned is forearmed, so it is better to bear in mind that Customs will monitor strict compliance with the rules during the holiday period. For more information, travellers can always consult the brochure ‘Wijs op Reis’ [Travel Wisely].

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Alexander De Croo: “In the past four years, Belgium has risen from the 49th to the 18th place in the Aid Transparency Index. On the list of all bilateral donors, our country ranks 7th. With openaid.be, we make our way to the absolute top.”

“Transparency is of vital importance if we want our development policy to enjoy broad support. Thanks to the new data portal OpenAid.be, everyone can see which projects Belgium supports where with just the click of a mouse. »

Stories and Projects

The new data portal openaid.be offers an overview of all projects, programs and organizations that have received support from the Directorate-general Development Cooperation since 2014. Furthermore, on openaid.be one can discover several stories that paint a good picture of Belgium’s development activities: ranging from combatting early school leaving in Niger to the deployment of engine ambulances to save lives in Congo.

The importance of aid transparency is widely recognized and can be found in international agreements such as the “Paris Declaration of Aid Effectiveness” (2005), the “Accra Agenda for Action” (2008) and the “Busan Partnership Agreement” (2011).

Avoid Overlaps

Transparency helps donors coordinate their efforts in order to avoid overlaps and gaps. With this knowledge, partner countries will be able to plan their budgets more efficiently. Finally, transparency places all those involved before their responsibilities.

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For almost four years already, Yemen is drenched in a bloody conflict, which led to more than 10.000 civilian casualties. More than 22 million people – about 80% of the Yemeni population – are in desperate need of humanitarian aid. For more than 14 million people the famine caused by the conflict will soon be particularly acute.

Cholera on the rise

The humanitarian crisis in Yemen is by far the worst in the world. Therefore, Minister De Croo provides € 5,5 million extra humanitarian aid. The funds will go to the UN children’s rights fund UNICEF and the UN refugee fund UNHCR. Since the beginning of the war in Yemen, Belgium has already donated € 25 million for the humanitarian aid in the country.

Because of the war, the Yemeni government is no longer able to deliver basic services such as health care. Doctors are no longer paid and there is a lack of medicines.

Alexander De Croo: “After war and hunger, Yemen is now also struck by cholera. Every week there are 10,000 new cases of cholera, a doubling since the beginning of this year. Especially children are vulnerable. UNICEF estimates that every minute a child is infected with cholera in Yemen. If left untreated, within a few hours children are so weakened that they are barely able to breath anymore.”

Stop fuelling the conflict

Minister De Croo also calls upon the regional authorities in Belgium again to take the humanitarian situation in Yemen seriously and to stop fuelling the conflict with weapons. By doing this, De Croo joins UN aid coordinator Mark Lowcock and his appeal to the warring parties to avoid civilian targets and give humanitarian goods unobstructed access.

“As long as we continue to foster this conflict with arms supplies, the humanitarian madness will not stop. It is up to every government at its own level to take appropriate measures. Follow the example of Germany and stop the arm sales. From a humanitarian point of view, this can no longer be justified. This humanitarian crisis will only get worse in the following months. People have to realize what their actions entail”, says Minister De Croo.

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