Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, which borders the Belgian capital’s EU district, cannot pay its massive debts.
Brussels’ regional government on Thursday announced it would move to place the municipality of Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, which borders the EU district, under mandatory supervision citing a dire budgetary state and systemic dysfunction.
Brussels authorities announced they would take the unprecedented move of triggering a mechanism that could result in Saint-Josse’s partial takeover after the municipality— Belgium’s most densely populated and poorest — on Wednesday requested extra time to repay a €7 million loan from the regional government.
Ahmed Laaouej, the regional government minister in charge of local administrations, on Thursday said the municipality is currently in such a perilous financial state that it risks ending up “in a position where it can no longer fulfill its basic functions.”
Laaouej said Saint-Josse’s dire financial situation could not be attributed to the Brussels region’s wider budgetary issues alone, and pointed at “systemic dysfunctions” in the commune, including accounting and budget “irregularities” and “serious shortcomings in personnel management.”
According to the minister, the municipality has racked up a budget deficit of over €30 million despite receiving over €21 million in short-term loans to prevent it from defaulting on its payments since 2025. “The findings show structural problems in management and governance that have contributed to the steady deterioration of the municipality’s financial situation,” Laoouej said in a statement.
Under the mechanism triggered by the regional government, Saint-Josse must now move to address these issues by a set deadline, or risk having Brussels appoint a special commissioner to effectively take over parts of the local administration.
In a reaction, Saint-Josse Mayor Emir Kir called the government’s decision “an act of unprecedented brutality” which was “neither fair nor respectful of the [municipality], local democracy, or, above all, the residents.”
Kir said he’d challenge the decision and complained regional leaders had ignored the explanations given by the municipality to explain the alleged discrepancies.
“If it is about the figures, we dispute them,” he said. “If the aim is to muddy the waters and attempt a diversion from far more serious issues occurring in other municipalities, no one is fooled.”
Saint-Josse borders the Brussels district that houses the headquarters of the EU institutions and hosts the periodic meetings of the bloc’s heads of state and government. Several departments of the European Commission operate out of office buildings located within the municipality.