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Trevi and Belgium

01 May 1992

The Belgian Minister of Internal Affairs, Mr Tobback, told Green MP Hugo Van Dienderen that the Trevi countries (all 12 EC member states) exchange the following information on the maintenance of public order: 1) the modus operandi of the groups and persons, disturbing public order and police methods and tactics; 2) events which could have consequences for other countries; 3) the international movement of hooligans and demonstrators. Each Trevi country, he said, had a contact point which in Belgium is Police General du Royaume. In countering terrorism there is exchange of information: 1) on the institutional and legal framework; 2) ongoing analysis of the threat of terrorism in Europe as well as from within the country and from abroad (third countries).

The Trevi working group on terrorism has prepared a definition of terrorism which has been accepted by all Trevi member states. It is defined as:

The use or attempt to use violence by a organised group to achieve political goals.

The definition of violence is unclear, it could refer to demonstrations or direct action by political groups and one country's interpretation of this definition may be very different from another. Moreover, the storage of information on such groups and individuals on the Trevi-based Europol data system which is currently being considered presents an even greater danger (a working group report on the Europol data system will be considered at the meeting of Interior Ministers in June).

The services involved in Belgium are the civilian security service "Surete", the gendarmerie, the coordinating "Groupe Interforce Antiterroriste" (GIA) and the "Police General du Royaume". The Belgian Trevi contact-point is the GIA. The GIA acts on terrorism with members of the gendarmerie, the "Police General du Royaume", the police judiciaire, the Surete, the SDRA (military security service) and a magistrate.