No fines for Euro 4 diesel cars in Brussels until summer

No fines will be issued for drivers of Euro 4 diesel cars in Brussels before July 2022, even though these vehicles have been officially banned from the capital since 1 January 2022. 

Drivers of such cars were told they’d risk a fine of €350 from 1 April after the three-month tolerance period ends next week, but L'Echo learned that no fines will actually be collected until summer.

Pending the official decision of the Brussels government on Thursday, the cabinet of regional environment minister Alain Maron (Ecolo) did not want to comment.

One source said the reason there were no fines yet was due to vehicle supply problems caused by both the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, which have made it difficult for drivers of older vehicles to replace their car.

But L’Echo says the real reason is government dysfunction: the Brussels administration is thought to have not sent the required warnings to the drivers of Euro 4 diesel cars during the past three months because of a computer bug.