Belgium weighs license plates for e-scooters after drug crimes
Belgian Interior Minister Bernard Quintin has called for mandatory license plates on electric scooters, arguing that the vehicles have become a recurring tool in drug-related violence across Brussels. Speaking before the Chamber’s Interior Committee on Wednesday, Quintin cited three incidents in the past 36 hours, two of which involved e-scooters, as evidence of what he called “a clear gap in our security policy.”
“Because those scooters don’t have license plates, they are almost impossible to trace after the incidents,” Quintin said, according to VRT NWS. “Even when they have been filmed by surveillance cameras.”
The joint committee session of the Interior and Justice committees was convened early at the request of the opposition to address the escalating drug violence in the Belgian capital, which has seen a wave of shootings in recent weeks.
E-scooters as a security blind spot
The proposal marks a significant shift in how e-scooter regulation is framed in Belgium. Previously, debates centered on road safety concerns such as speed limits and helmet requirements. Now, the issue has been elevated to a law enforcement priority, with Quintin describing the lack of traceability as a vulnerability that criminals exploit.
Drug-related shootings in Brussels have surged dramatically. According to Brussels prosecutor Julien Moinil, more than 150 shootings and 22 explosions have occurred in the capital over the past year and a half, linked to a conflict between rival drug gangs. In a press conference last week, Moinil warned that “the drug violence in Brussels can affect everyone, including innocent victims,” as reported by VRT NWS.
Shared e-scooters have already been implicated in this violence. According to Moinil, shared e-scooters were used 25 times in shootings in Brussels last year, a factor that contributed to the Brussels government’s decision to ban shared e-scooters from 2027, as VRT NWS reported.
Quintin’s proposal would extend registration requirements to privately owned e-scooters as well, addressing a gap left by the ban on shared vehicles.
A growing political consensus
The Interior Minister’s proposal aligns with earlier calls from across the political spectrum. In August 2025, CD&V proposed mandatory license plates and a reduced maximum speed for e-scooters, arguing that registration would prevent the use of illegally modified vehicles capable of dangerous speeds. Federal Mobility Minister Jean-Luc Crucke (Les Engagés) also proposed mandatory helmets and license plates for e-scooters in September 2025, as reported by VRT NWS.
However, the earlier proposals were met with skepticism from some parties concerned about barriers to soft mobility. Vias, the road safety institute, questioned the feasibility of license plates for e-scooters and prioritized helmet requirements instead.
Broader security measures
Beyond e-scooter registration, Quintin outlined a broader package of measures to combat drug violence in Brussels. He is examining whether additional military personnel can be deployed alongside the 45 soldiers who currently patrol with police around Brussels’ train stations. He also called for more places in closed return centers and closed youth institutions, additional measures to disrupt communication between drug criminals in prison and the outside world, and mandatory registration of other two-wheeled vehicles.
Quintin acknowledged the limits of any single intervention, stating that “a miracle solution to defeat drug trafficking in a few weeks or months does not exist,” as reported by Belga via MSN. He also called on local governments to strengthen their approach to organized crime, including through assembly or area bans and action against fraudulent businesses.
The minister’s comments carried a pointed political edge. “Some have looked away for too long, while the problems have been known for years,” Quintin said, in remarks widely interpreted as criticism of PS-run Brussels municipalities.
A fragmented response
The drug violence has exposed deeper structural challenges in Belgium’s governance. As political analyst Ivan De Vadder noted in a VRT NWS analysis, the response to the crisis is fragmented across multiple levels of authority—Brussels police zones, the regional government, federal police, and the judiciary—each with limited coordination and resources.
Brussels prosecutor Moinil has highlighted several bottlenecks in the justice system, including phones circulating in prisons, waiting lists for alternative sentences, and a shortage of places in closed youth institutions. He warned that “it is too easy to order a murder from prison.”
What’s next
The proposal for e-scooter license plates will need to be developed into concrete legislation. The government must also decide on potential additional military deployment in Brussels. With the joint committee session marking just one step in the parliamentary response, the broader debate over how to address drug-related violence in the capital is likely to continue intensifying in the coming weeks.
For now, the e-scooter proposal represents a notable convergence of two policy debates—mobility regulation and public security—that were previously treated as separate issues. Whether license plates alone will meaningfully reduce drug violence remains an open question, but the proposal signals that Belgian authorities are looking for new tools to address a crisis that shows no signs of abating.