Ethics commission warns MPs against seeking foreign help to exert legislative pressure
The ethics commission of Belgium's federal parliament has advised against MPs seeking help from foreign authorities to exert pressure on Belgium's political or judicial institutions. In an opinion issued on Tuesday, the body said such actions could amount to improper interference in the legislative process and called for stronger transparency rules on contacts with foreign actors.
The commission stated that asking foreign authorities to pressure Belgium in order to secure legislative changes or influence the application of laws would be unacceptable if it involved coercive, deceptive, corrupt or otherwise illegal methods. It also warned MPs to exercise caution when questioning judicial institutions.
"Making the public question the independence and objectivity of the judicial authorities by, for example, suggesting underlying motives, political interference or racism and anti-Semitism, is serious," the committee writes in its advice. "Members of Parliament should speak out on such allegations with caution and should only express such doubts on serious grounds."
The commission now recommends that all foreign contacts by MPs be recorded in a "transparency register". That should preferably be integrated into the existing lobbying register, it said.
US lobbying
The advice was requested after controversy surrounding a trip by MP Michael Freilich to the United States in May last year. He stated in interviews with Jewish media that he had been lobbying the White House about Belgian legislation on circumcisions.
At the time of Freilich's trip, police searches were taking place in Antwerp as part of an investigation into Jewish circumcisions. In February, US ambassador to Belgium Bill White called for the possible prosecution of three mohels - Jewish ritual circumcisers - to be stopped, claiming the trial was "anti-Semitic".
Several parties in parliament argued that Freilich had sought foreign interference and had attempted to influence an ongoing judicial investigation. Nearly all MPs supported a request for guidance from the ethics commission, although the opinion was drafted in general terms and did not specifically name Freilich.
Freilich denies wrongdoing
Freilich rejected the criticism on Tuesday, saying the commission had addressed actions he never took. He said he had been approached about the issue while in Washington and had asked US contacts to help think about an appropriate legal framework, noting that circumcision is widely practised in the United States.
"At no time did I attempt to obstruct justice, nor did I ask for any pressure to be exerted in that direction," Freilich said. "I only sounded out American expertise and experience."
#FlandersNewsService | US ambassador to Belgium Bill White shows an image of a ritual circumcision to the press as he arrives for a meeting with the Foreign Affairs department in February 2026. © BELGA PHOTO MARIUS BURGELMAN
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