Mayor Marino Keulen (Open VLD) of the Limburg border municipality of Lanaken has given a resident a tip to bypass the police control at the Dutch border. Cologne admits that he made a mistake. I'm sorry,' he says. The police unions want the incident to be investigated by the Ministry of the Interior.
The resident had a partner and child in Dutch Maastricht and wanted to know from the mayor if he could cross the border to visit them. Not in principle. But if you go in the morning or late at night, there is probably no control. You can risk that', the mayor sent back a Facebook message.
When during a check-up during the Easter weekend by federal police officers at the border, the resident showed 'the mayor's permission', the mayor could not count on much understanding. We sent him back. But what are we actually doing here if even the mayors give tips on how to bypass our checks?
The police unions were informed by e-mail and forwarded to the Ministry of the Interior. It is up to the government to investigate this and possibly issue sanctions,' says Cary Devalckeneer of the NSPV. The mayor should set a good example. He undermines the authority of the police and goes against the provisions of the Crisis Centre. This way the lockdown doesn't make sense.
Mayor Marino Cologne acknowledges he's made a mistake. I shouldn't have done that. I wrote that message to that resident on March 20, when the borders were closing. But the measures changed and it was not always clear what was allowed and what was not. I regret this and it was by no means my intention to stab the police in the back. I was gripped by that man's story. Apart from that one slip-up, I strictly adhere to the guidelines. I have not yet signed any 'exit permit' for Dutchmen or Belgians who want to cross the border. And they almost all ask me.'
Don't get why he didn't just sign an exit permits for the kid and partner tho. Seems like an irrational decision from the guy since as he said himself he could've just given an exit permit.
I personally don't think there's foul intent here even though what he did is blatantly wrong.