To prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus, many European countries imposed drastic restrictions on foreign travel for a while. In addition, the PLF was also introduced for those who crossed the border or came to our country: they had to indicate the details of their journey. According to the government, this was necessary to have a good overview of travel to and from areas where a new, dangerous variant of Covid-19 emerged.
Such measures were already very controversial during the height of the corona crisis. The usefulness of a PLF was not always clear, and moreover, these interventions clashed with the limits of privacy and freedom of movement in Europe.
Nevertheless, this week the House gave the green light to introduce travel restrictions and a PLF without there being a pandemic. According to Minister of Health Frank Vandenbroucke (Vooruit), there was a need for a new legal framework in the event of “an epidemic emergency or situations in which a contagious disease in another country or continent could pose such a threat to public health in Belgium that measures for travelers should be considered to limit the impact.”
After all, not every outbreak of a dangerous virus is immediately labeled as a pandemic. But if Ebola breaks out again somewhere, it is important to keep some control over travel from those countries, it is said.
From now on, the federal government can reintroduce the PLF in such situations and impose travel restrictions for a maximum period of three months. Anyone who does not complete the PLF can expect to be fined.
The law was approved by the entire majority, although the measures are sensitive. Moreover, the law is drafted in a very general manner. The text talks about infectious diseases with cross-border risks for Belgian public health. That could cover a lot of things.
It is agreed within Vivaldi that rapid action must be taken in the event of a new worrying virus outbreak. But parliament must be able to have the final say. During the corona crisis, there was great criticism that the government was taking too much power through the pandemic law.
According to opposition party N-VA, that problem has still not been solved. “There is no provision for any parliamentary control whatsoever. That is not possible for us in a modern democracy,” said party leader Peter De Roover. He also thinks the law is drafted too hypothetically. “Under what circumstances could this legal framework be activated? And how will future infectious diseases manifest themselves? Nobody knows that. European travel restrictions should not be taken lightly.”
