Belgium’s transport minister resigned Friday after a secret European Union report detailing lapses in airport security oversight was leaked in the wake of the deadly March 22 bombings at Brussels Airport and subway.
Prime Minister Charles Michel said after his talks with Transport Minister Jacqueline Galant, “the minister presented her resignation to the King and the King accepted it.”
Galant said the leak was part of a vendetta against her by a disgruntled senior transport official and insisted that she always paid very close attention to security concerns.
The confidential EU document from last year was made public by two Belgian opposition parties.
It called the oversight of security measures at the nation’s airports flawed and cited serious deficiencies in the way safety checks were managed.
The revelations came after the March 22 attacks in Brussels killed 32 people, including 16 at the national airport, and left 270 people wounded. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Galant says she had not seen the EU report but Michel said “a summary of this report was discussed and sent to the minister’s cabinet in June 2015.” Read More