IRSD-KHID-RHID

A year ago, the Jürgen Conings case raised many questions, in particular about the danger of the extreme right in Belgium and its repercussions within Belgian Defence. Although the number of identified right-wing extremists in Belgium is lower than that of radical Islamists, it is nevertheless strongly increasing. In the last three years, the number of people adhering to this ideology and monitored as a priority by the OCAM has risen from about twenty to about fifty. The COVID-19 health crisis and related conspiracy narratives have amplified this phenomenon. Russian interference in election or referendum campaigns in the European Union and its Member States in favour of the far right is of particular concern.

While the extreme right has been well established in Flanders for several decades, it is struggling to establish itself in French-speaking Belgium. However, the south of the country is not spared from this problem. An electoral progression of the far right in the coming years cannot be excluded. What are the characteristics of the extreme right in the north and south of the country? What are the potential risks of this movement for Belgium’s security and democratic system? Are the actors, instruments and strategies available to the Belgian state able to fight the far right effectively?

In order to answer these questions, we will have the pleasure of welcoming Yves ROGISTER, liaison officer of the FPS Foreign Affairs with the Coordination Unit for Threat Analysis (CUTA), as well as Dr Benjamin BIARD, political scientist at the Centre de recherche et d’information socio-politiques (CRISP), who will share their analysis of the risks linked to the extreme right in Belgium.

Evening conference

Extreme right:
what are the risks for Belgium?

Yves ROGISTER
Dr Benjamin BIARD

Moderator: Estelle HOORICKX

Language: French
Simultaneous Interpretation in English and Dutch

19 May 2022, 17:00 – 18:30
> 16:30 – Registration
> 17:00 – Conference
> 18:30 – Reception

Conference video:
> Dr Benjamin BIARD

Campus Renaissance
Rue Hobbema, 8
1000 Brussels