Politics

Belgian Court Strikes Down Law Criminalizing Journalists’ Leaks

Journalists interviewing Emmanuel Macron at the European Council in Brussels. Photographer: Jennifer Jacquemart. © EU, 2026.

BRUSSELS — Belgium’s Constitutional Court has blocked a law that threatened journalists with up to five years in prison for possessing leaked state documents. While the ruling protects press freedom for Brussels’ EU press corps, Belgium’s updated penal code still significantly broadens the definition of “state secrets.”