The Belgian Council of State has suspended the decision of the Minister of Asylum and Migration to limit material reception conditions for applicants for international protection who have already obtained protection in another EU Member State. In its judgment No. 267.364 of 8 July 2026, the Council of State suspended the measure following an urgent appeal introduced by several organisations active in the field of asylum and migration. The decision concerns a measure adopted following the entry into application of the European Pact on Migration and Asylum on 12 June 2026.

On 9 April 2026, the European Court of Human Rights delivered its judgment in M.V. and Others v. Belgium and held that Belgium had violated several provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights in relation to the reception conditions of four applicants for international protection.

The Fedasil Pondrôme reception centre will host a photo exhibition featuring the work of unaccompanied and accompanied minors. The images were created over an eighteen-month project led by CIDJ Rochefort–Beauraing. The exhibition provides insight into the daily lives, experiences, and identities of the young participants. The event is free, open to all, and offers an opportunity to meet the creators.

The Belgian Council of State has suspended a ministerial instruction that systematically limited material assistance to international protection applicants who had already obtained protection in another EU Member State. The court ruled that the instruction exposed these individuals to the risk of severe hardship and potential homelessness. It also noted that, due to its regulatory character, the instruction should have been submitted for review by the Council of State’s Legislation Section.

Belgium plans to progressively return several defence sites used for the reception of applicants for international protection to military use as part of a broader plan to expand defence infrastructure towards 2040. The measure concerns around 4.000 reception places located on military premises across the country. Authorities state that the reduction in capacity can be absorbed within the existing reception network. The transition will take place gradually, with closures scheduled at different times depending on the site.

The Netherlands has decided to resume Dublin transfers of single, non-vulnerable male asylum seekers to Belgium, following a period in which such transfers were suspended after a Dutch court ruling. In April 2025, the District Court of The Hague, sitting in Groningen, found that single male asylum seekers risked being deprived of adequate reception conditions in Belgium, which could expose them to inhumane or degrading treatment. The ruling led to a halt in transfers under the EU Dublin system.

Myria, the Federal Migration Centre, has advised against a draft law proposing to remove the legal possibility of activating a mandatory distribution plan for reception places in times of crisis. The plan allows the federal government to require municipalities to provide local reception initiatives according to objective allocation criteria. Myria stresses that this mechanism is important to safeguard human dignity and the right to reception, particularly during periods of structural shortages. 

CIRÉ, together with partner organisations, has lodged an urgent appeal at the Council of State challenging a ministerial instruction that continues to exclude asylum seekers who have already been granted protection in another EU member state from reception facilities. The move follows a recent temporary suspension of the measure by the Constitutional Court. CIRÉ argues the instruction undermines judicial authority and the rule of law.

The Belgian Constitutional Court has temporarily suspended legislative measures introduced in 2025 that tightened rules on material reception conditions for asylum seekers and family reunification for beneficiaries of subsidiary protection. The suspensions concern two separate laws, and the Court has referred several preliminary questions to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) to clarify their compatibility with EU law.

Fedasil has released its management plan for 2025–2030. Approved in December 2025 and submitted by Director General Pieter Spinnewijn to the Minister for Asylum and Migration, the plan sets out the Agency’s priorities, including restoring the core functioning of the reception system, strengthening its capacity to respond to fluctuations in the number of applicants to be accommodated, and improving the quality, resilience, and effectiveness of services.

At the occasion of the IE EMN NCP conference in Dublin, a wide audience, including national policy makers and experts as well as representatives from the Commission and other NCPs, discussed protection challenges.

On 29th November in Paris, the French NCP organised a conference on the CEAS. The next day there was a EMN-Cluster Meeting on reception conditions for asylum seekers in the EU: "existing mechanisms and good practices”

The Justice and Home Affairs Council (JHA) achieved a Political Agreement on the Reception Conditions Directive, discussed recent developments in Syria and council conclusions were endorsed concerning the new EU strategy to combat human trafficking.

The Belgian Council of Ministers decided to provide a subsidy to finance prefabricated schools in Syrian refugee camps in Turkey. The assistance is provided in the framework of the policy on conflict prevention of Foreign Affairs.

The European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties (LIBE) gave the green light to an agreement to recast the Reception Conditions Directive.

The law of January 19, 2012 introduced the concept of a “return track” for asylum seekers, a framework for individual counseling on return, offered by the Federal Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (Fedasil). New instructions implement this return track in the reception centres.

On 2 May, Representatives of the Parliament of the French community unanimously approved the reform of the reception and education of foreign newcomer children, improving and making "bridging classes" more flexible.

The annual report of the Federal Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (Fedasil) has been launced. Fedasil updates you on the voluntary return program that it runs as well as the reception situation and network in 2011.

On February 17,2012 the law of January 19, 2012: “Law for modification of the legislation regarding the reception of asylum seekers” was published.

The new Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration and for Social Integration, Maggie De Block (Open VLD) presented today her policy paper on reception in the Parliament.