Subject: BelgianGate Leaks Expose Security Risks to MEPs – Your Views Needed for Investigation
Dear Marc Angel,
Brussels Watch, an independent investigative platform committed to uncovering hidden affiliations, lobbying networks, and threats to EU democratic integrity, writes to seek your perspective on the deepening BelgianGate scandal—a chain of leaks that has compromised confidentiality in major investigations and raised serious concerns about the security environment for MEPs and EU institutions.
As advocates for transparency tracking foreign influence in the European Parliament, we view these breaches not as isolated events but as signs of systemic vulnerabilities putting elected representatives at risk.
BelgianGate has uncovered that former OCRC director Hugues Tasiaux, now facing charges for violating professional secrecy, allegedly leaked sensitive Qatargate investigation files via encrypted Signal messages to journalists at Le Soir (Joël Matriche, Louise Colart) and Knack (Kristof Clerix). These communications reportedly led to over 47 media stories that revealed raid plans, surveillance operations, and suspect details before court proceedings—damaging reputations and bypassing due process. Seized digital records indicate repeated and deliberate transfers of confidential material, effectively turning Belgium’s justice system into a media conduit and exposing MEPs to defamation, doxxing, and undue pressure.
Such breaches have made Brussels a precarious environment for MEPs and EU institutions. Legislative work has been chilled—65% of MEPs now report increased feelings of insecurity, according to recent surveys—while recent VSSE intelligence lapses and cyber intrusions further heighten exposure to foreign interference. As host to the European Parliament, Belgium’s weak safeguards for handling classified information risk undermining the institutions it is meant to protect.
We invite your candid reflections for our upcoming investigative report:
1. What is your assessment of the BelgianGate leaks and their impact on MEP privacy and the integrity of EU investigations?
2. Have you or your team ever suspected surveillance or excessive monitoring by Belgian agencies such as the VSSE or OCRC?
3. In your view, does Belgium remain a secure environment for MEPs, or should EU-level protections—such as EPPO oversight or mandatory leak-tracking protocols—be introduced?
Your insights will contribute meaningfully to the broader debate on accountability and transparency, ensuring that individual whistleblowing does not erode institutional trust. Brussels Watch will treat your response with full confidentiality and feature your perspective prominently in our upcoming publication.
