On Monday 16 October 2023, a terrorist attack left two people dead and one injured, all three Swedish, in the centre of Brussels. The perpetrator of the attack was identified as Abdesalem L., a man in his forties of Tunisian origin who was under an order to leave Belgian territory after his application for international protection was refused in 2020.

The day after the terrorist attack, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo declared that orders to leave the territory should be enforced more readily. The Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration Nicole de Moor said she wanted to react more firmly if countries do not cooperate with Belgium to take back their nationals subject to an order to leave the territory. She added that she wanted to use commercial investments, development cooperation and visa policy measures to put pressure on these countries.

Speaking in a joint press conference on 18 October, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, issued a joint call for stricter rules to return people who have been ordered to leave Europe. Mr De Croo stated: "We will work together with the other Member States to bring the new Pact on Asylum and Migration to a successful conclusion. We will then be able to exercise more surveillance at the borders and adopt stricter return policies."

For further information, please read the following press releases from VRT news and from The Brussels Times. You can also read the press statement by the President of the European Commission von der Leyen with Belgian Prime Minister De Croo and Swedish Prime Minister Kristersson following the memorial for the victims of the Brussels attack of 16 October 2023.