Belgium Lifts Asbestos Company Immunity in Landmark Victory
Asbestos victims in Belgium are celebrating a historic breakthrough after the federal government voted on June 12 to lift the legal immunity that protected asbestos companies from prosecution. The decision means victims who were not employees of asbestos companies can now take those companies to court for damages, ending what campaigners describe as decades of impunity.
A Decade-Long Struggle
The immunity clause had forced victims to choose between accepting compensation from the Asbestos Fund (Asbestfonds) or pursuing legal action against asbestos producers. For years, this dilemma left many with no real choice — court cases can take years, and mesothelioma patients typically survive only 1 to 1.5 years after diagnosis.
According to VRT NWS, the measure was included in the coalition agreement of the new federal government. Previous attempts to end immunity had failed five times over the past decade, blocked primarily by the liberal party Open VLD (now renamed “Anders”).
N-VA chairwoman Valerie Van Peel championed the cause, having attempted to pass legislation to end immunity five times as a member of parliament. “Five times over the past ten years I tried to lift that immunity. Five times it was blocked,” Van Peel told reporters. “And five times people like Eric Jonckheere and Erik Meersschaert sat in the audience — men who devoted their lives to the fight against the asbestos producers. Both died of asbestos disease, Jonckheere after first losing his entire family to it.”
Victims React with Relief
Marijke van Buggenhout, chair of Abeva (the Belgian Association of Asbestos Victims), described the decision as having “enormous symbolic value.” Speaking on Radio 1’s De Ochtend, she said: “This is not about revenge or demanding punishment. Great damage was caused and it was not rectified by the one who caused it.”
Van Buggenhout said she was thinking especially of Eric Jonckheere, the former chair of Abeva who died of asbestos-related cancer on December 13, 2024 — the fifth member of his family to succumb to the disease. “He always fought very hard against this impunity,” she said, as reported by VRT NWS.
What Has Changed
The government’s decision eliminates the forced choice that victims previously faced. Now, those harmed by asbestos exposure can seek full damages in court without forfeiting access to the Asbestos Fund. Additionally, convicted polluting companies will be required to make extra contributions to the fund.
Minister of Public Health Frank Vandenbroucke (Vooruit) called the move “an important step forward towards more justice for asbestos victims.” He added: “We also ensure that convicted polluting companies will be required to make extra contributions to the Asbestos Fund, while we structurally strengthen the fund’s operations through sustainable financing. This links responsibility to solidarity.”
The Human Toll of Asbestos in Belgium
Asbestos was widely used in Belgium for decades, particularly in construction materials. Eternit, based in Kapelle-op-den-Bos, was the country’s largest asbestos producer, manufacturing asbestos cement until 1997 — decades after the company became aware of the carcinogenic dangers, according to investigative reporting by VRT’s Pano program.
About 300 people in Belgium are diagnosed with mesothelioma each year, and the disease is almost always caused by asbestos exposure. One in three new patients are “environmental victims” — people who never worked in the asbestos industry but were exposed through family members or proximity to factories.
Van Peel underscored the ongoing crisis: “Asbestos is not a problem of the past: it still claims more lives in this country every year than traffic does.”
What Comes Next
The decision restores what Van Peel called a “basic right” — the right to face asbestos producers in court. It opens the door to potential lawsuits against Eternit (now Etex) and other asbestos producers. The company has already appealed a 2023 conviction secured by Eric Jonckheere, who successfully argued that his disease was caused deliberately, bypassing the immunity clause.
Van Buggenhout confirmed that victims and their families are considering legal action. “The door is now open,” she said.
While the decision marks a major victory for victims’ rights, challenges remain. Court cases can still take years, and many current victims have limited life expectancy. Asbestos also remains present in countless buildings across Belgium, with safe removal and remediation expected to take decades and cost billions.
For now, however, victims and their advocates are celebrating a long-fought victory against impunity — one that Het Laatste Nieuws described as correcting “a historic injustice.”