Row erupts as Brussels orders shutdown of right-wing meet

BRUSSELS, Belgium — Brussels authorities set off a political firestorm on Tuesday by ordering the shutdown of a hard-right political gathering, in a move denounced by several European leaders including Belgium’s own prime minister as an assault on free speech.

Keynote speakers at the “national conservatism” conference included the eurosceptic populist Nigel Farage and Britain’s former interior minister Suella Braverman, with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban scheduled to address the two-day gathering on Wednesday.

Farage’s speech went ahead amid swirling rumours the event was about to be shut down, followed by Braverman, who took the stage despite police entering the venue to notify organisers of a ban.

France’s far-right former presidential candidate Eric Zemmour was later barred by police from entering the venue to deliver an address on migration.

“I think it’s absolutely monstrous,” Farage told reporters after wrapping up his address.

“This is the complete old Communist style where if you don’t agree with me, you’ve got to be banned, you’ve got to be shut down,” said the Brexit figurehead.

Emir Kir, mayor of the Brussels district of Saint-Josse where the venue is located, said on Facebook he issued a ban in order to “ensure public security” — with anti-fascist protesters vowing to target the venue.

He said the far-right -- which is predicted to surge in EU-wide elections taking place in June -- was “not welcome” in the city.

But Belgium’s Prime Minister Alexander De Croo slammed the move as “unacceptable” and said the Belgian constitution guaranteed freedom of speech.

“Banning political meetings is unconstitutional. Full stop,” the liberal leader wrote on X.

Orban — who will also be attending a two-day summit of EU leaders in Brussels starting Wednesday — vowed “we will not give up” as he railed against the Brussels authorities.

“I guess they couldn’t take free speech any longer,” he wrote on X.

Far-right Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni weighed in to slam “the hateful oppression of freedom of expression taking place in Brussels”.

A spokesperson for Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called the decision “extremely disturbing”.

Despite the order, the conference limped on through Tuesday afternoon with police refraining from forcing out the participants, but also blocking new attendees from entering.

Organisers said they were challenging the mayor’s decision in court and it remained unclear if the gathering would be forced to shift location for its second day or be held at all.

Scramble 

Several hundred people turned up to hear the event’s speakers, including elected officials from across the EU, on themes such as “Why Should We Prefer Our Own Culture to Others?” or “Challenging Wokeism: An International Matter”.

Despite the confusion, speakers on stage pressed on with speeches attacking traditional bogey issues for the right-wing, from transgender rights to the EU “superstate” and multiculturalism.

The “NatCon” organisers had been scrambling for a place to host their event since Friday evening, when the Brussels reception room they initially booked abruptly pulled the plug, reportedly under political pressure.

The event was moved last-minute to a hotel in Brussels’s European quarter — but that too changed its mind on Monday night, apparently fearing disruption from the gathering.

The Belgian League of Human Rights was among the groups opposing the event.

“Freedom of speech may indeed apply to everyone, within the limits of the law, but that does not mean we have to open our home to the far-right,” it said in a statement ahead of the gathering.

Farage spoke to reporters at length to complain about the ban and lambast the EU.

“If anything’s convinced me that leaving the European Union ideology was the right thing to do it’s the events of today,” he said. “It’s monstrous -- but I tell you what, it’s done me a favour,” he said of the ban.