Belgian Health minister Frank Vandenbroucke has said it is up to the Foreign Affairs minister to decide what should happen next in the growing row with US ambassador Bill White.
Speaking on Radio 1 on Monday morning, Vandenbroucke said the ambassador had “crossed several red lines”. “That is hard to accept,” he added.
The dispute escalated after White posted a message on Instagram attacking Vandenbroucke and Vooruit party leader Conner Rousseau. The comment, which has since been deleted, referred to the 1990s Agusta corruption scandal. White claimed that Vandenbroucke had suggested burning illegal party funds at the time. Vandenbroucke has always denied wrongdoing and was never prosecuted.
White also criticised Rousseau, calling both men “fallen figures”. He previously said Rousseau would no longer be allowed to travel to the United States after the party leader criticised political developments in America.
Vandenbroucke said it is unacceptable for a diplomat to interfere in Belgium’s democracy. “In a democracy, you are free to express a political opinion,” he said. “An ambassador cannot decide who may or may not enter his country because of that.”
He also stressed that judges in Belgium are independent. The diplomatic row began last week when White described a judicial investigation into religious circumcisions in Antwerp as anti-Semitic and urged the Belgian government to intervene.
According to Vandenbroucke, the issue goes beyond personal attacks. He claimed that the United States is trying to undermine Europe’s social welfare model, including its healthcare system. “We must stand together in Europe to defend our system of solidarity in healthcare,” he said.
Vandenbroucke repeated that further steps are now a matter for Belgium’s Foreign Affairs minister.
Foreign minister Maxime Prevot on Saturday already condemned the travel ban. “I condemn the idea that an MP and party leader can be denied entry for exercising his freedom of speech,” he said. He called for de-escalation and confirmed that his department would contact the US authorities for clarification.
Health minister Frank Vandenbroucke © BELGA PHOTO VIRGINIE LEFOUR