Federal force unable to afford to bring fleet into line with new regulations in major cities

This article is more than 8 months old

This article is more than 8 months old

Belgium’s federal police have fallen foul of tighter emissions controls that come into force at the start of the year, with some of its cars and vans now too dirty to enter the cities of Brussels, Antwerp and Ghent.

The force said it was unable to afford to renew its entire fleet of several thousand vehicles and had already told the authorities about the situation.

A spokeswoman declined to say how many vehicles failed to comply with the new regulation. Some exceptions have been made for those clearly marked as for police use.

Other vehicles have been shifted to duties outside the major cities. Belgium also has local police forces, six of which cover Brussels.

The EU introduced rules in 1992 to reduce emissions from new cars, with an initial set of standards known as Euro 1.

Brussels, Antwerp and Ghent have now introduced the Euro 3 standard, which covers vehicles registered between 2001 and 2005.

The standards govern the emission of nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and particulates.