Brussels: Europe and the Arabs

The Belgian federal government has allocated at least €30 million in development aid to Morocco during this legislative session. This was revealed in the response of the Minister of Development Cooperation, Maxime Prévost (of the Pledge party), to a question from MP Bert Huybrechts (of the far-right Vlaams Belang party). A party statement quoted Huybrechts as saying: "The current government of Bart De Wever intended to tighten the conditions of development aid to countries that refuse to take back their illegally residing citizens or criminals. Instead of the agreed-upon number of 4,422 illegally residing citizens, Morocco only took back 391 people in 2025. Moreover, our prisons are overcrowded with Moroccans. Yet, Morocco receives €6 million annually in aid, almost double the amount it received in the previous legislative session. Is this a stricter policy?" During the period 2024-2029, Belgium is providing a €30 million government cooperation program to Morocco, in addition to further funding through NGOs and other channels. The Flemish nationalist party Vlaams Belang has questioned whether this financial support is explicitly linked to concrete results regarding the return of undocumented migrants and human rights. This question is particularly relevant now that the government itself has announced its intention to critically review development aid. However, the minister's response remains remarkably vague. Huybrechts continues, "Prevot refers primarily to broad cooperation encompassing migration, justice, security, and human rights as part of a wider partnership, but there are no specific conditions or measurable objectives."

"Development aid should not be a blank check." According to the Flemish nationalist party, the government is completely failing to deliver on its promises of a more robust development policy. “Taxpayer money continues to flow to Morocco, while the results on their end remain minimal,” says Huybrechts. “If cooperation on returns is so successful, why is the proportion of detainees of Moroccan origin still so disproportionately high? At least 1,133 of the 6,100 foreign detainees in Belgian prisons are of Moroccan origin—the largest group among foreigners. Meanwhile, the government talks about tangible, measurable results, but delivers none at all.”

Vlaams Belang points out that Belgium continues to waste millions of euros on development projects, while fundamental questions regarding effective cooperation on migration and human rights remain unanswered. Therefore, the party calls for a radical change of course. “Development aid should not be a blank check,” Huybrechts concludes. “As long as countries do not cooperate sufficiently on returns or make sufficient progress on human rights, Belgium should stop the flow of funds. In our view, these development programs should be stopped altogether.”