Less than a month after the terror attacks on Brussels airport and metro system of 22 March, Belgian Minister for Transport Jacqueline Galant has resigned from her position within the cabinet following accusations that she would have failed to act on reports from 2015 that indicated serious security flaws at Belgian airports. Opposition parties within the Belgian Parliament had put pressure on her to clarify whether she had known about the fact and why the Ministry had refrained from acting on the reports. The EU Commission reports that were provided more than a half year before the attacks had criticised serious deficiencies in security, including insufficient staff training or resources at security checks. While the Minister had earlier declared to have been unaware of the deficiencies, the reports had come to light after the resigned president of the executive committee of the Ministry of Transport accused her of lies.

Minister Galant blamed the criticism on a personalized campaign against her, rejecting claims that she would have neglected security issues. Furthermore, the EU reports were predominantly focussed at the ‘airside’ of the airports rather than the ‘landside’ where the terror attacks were actually committed.

Additionally, the Minister received criticism on her failure to prevent a strike by air-traffic controllers over pension disputes on the 12th and 13th of April which led to severe disruptions at the same airport.

Belgium’s Prime Minster Charles Michel accepted Minister Galant’s resignation as appropriate based on her ministries failure to inform him and the Parliament about the report’s findings.

The resignation is a tough situation for Belgium’s fragile political coalition that came into office in October 2014 after five months of harsh negotiations.

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For more information on the earlier resigned senior civil servant and his accusations, click here.