Brussels Extends City Centre Alcohol Ban by Four Years

The city council of the City of Brussels voted on Monday evening to extend the ban on consuming alcohol in public space in several districts of the city centre by four years, replacing the annual renewals that had governed the measure until now. The ban, which aims to reduce public nuisance and improve safety, will remain in force until the end of the current legislative term in 2030 and does not apply to the city’s many bars, cafes and their outdoor terraces.

According to VRT NWS, the restricted zone covers the central pedestrian area as well as a large part of the city centre, spanning the area around and between the Rogier, IJzer (Yser) and Sint-Katelijne (Sainte-Catherine) metro stations. It also includes the Dansaertstraat, the Nieuwe Graanmarkt, the Hopstraat, the Sleutelstraat, the Leon Lepagestraat and the Kaaienbuurt, while RTBF describes the perimeter as running from Place Fontainas to Sainctelette, taking in the pedestrian zone, Sainte-Catherine and the Beguinage.

What the Ban Covers

The prohibition applies 24 hours a day. Exceptions are made for hospitality terraces and for all commercial, festive or sporting events that are officially permitted or organised by the City. Anyone who breaches the rule risks an administrative fine of up to 500 euros.

The measure has been in place in Brussels for several years and has been repeatedly renewed and expanded. BRUZZ notes that a ban on drinking in public space in the central pedestrian zone dates back to 2019, initially covering six months, and was expanded in 2021 to the Alhambra district and the area around the Fish Market (Vismarkt). Until this week’s vote, the regulation had been extended one year at a time.

Encouraging Figures Behind the Decision

The move to a longer, four-year term follows an analysis of two reports — one from the Brussels-Capital Ixelles police zone and one from the City’s prevention service — which the authorities read as evidence the ban is working. According to BRUZZ, the number of police reports (PVs) for nuisance in the affected area fell by 30 percent this year, and in the pedestrian zone alone the decline was roughly half compared with the previous year. Between October 2025 and July 2026, Brussels police still issued 408 reports for nuisance linked to alcohol consumption.

“The results are fairly encouraging,” mayor Philippe Close (PS) said through his spokesperson. “There are almost 250 fewer fines in the area concerned — the pedestrian zone plus the harbour district — compared with last year. So the ban is effective.” Close added that habits appear to be changing and that, unlike the previous year, there is no sign of problems shifting to other districts.

Speaking to RTBF, Maude Glorieux, who heads the City’s public tranquility service, attributed the decline to a combination of factors. “We explain it notably by the reinforced support and the integrated system for the care of the public particularly targeted by this regulation, but also by reinforced communication and information dissemination,” she said.

A Repressive Tool in a Wider Approach

Close has consistently framed the ban as only one part of a broader policy mix. “We need prevention, our social policies, our public health policies, but sometimes the repressive tool is indeed necessary,” he told RTBF. “It is part of a whole that helps to calm public space.” He also acknowledged that the measure is “not an agreeable measure” and described it as “one of the instruments in the toolbox” used to tackle addiction problems, insisting that no other municipality takes as many measures on the issue as the City of Brussels.

The extension was not unanimous. Ecolo voted against it, while PTB abstained. Jerome Jolibois of Ecolo questioned whether the ban would be more effective if it included a component of social support measures. Bruno Bauwens of PTB said police officers had told him they no longer issue fines to certain people “because they cannot pay them,” arguing that the policy “criminalises people and solves nothing,” especially as the Brussels Region has fewer and fewer resources to support the target group.

What’s Next

The ban now runs until 6 October 2030, anchoring a measure that has evolved from a six-month pilot in the pedestrian zone into one of the longest-standing public-space regulations in the capital. The debate it has triggered — between those who point to falling nuisance figures and critics who say fines fall hardest on those who cannot pay them — is likely to persist as the city balances enforcement with social and public-health support.