About 10,000 inspections took place at Brussels Airport last year, one-quarter of the total reached five years ago. Inspections at Ostend Airport went down from 717 to 532 over the same period, while Deurne Airport plummeted from 630 to 202. C&E is also responsible for inspections at the Flemish ports. According to figures obtained by De Tijd newspaper, C&E had a target of carrying out physical inspections on 1.3% of all cargoes, or one in 76. Neighbouring countries have a similar quota. C&E is unable to achieve it and has dropped the target to 1.1%, or one cargo in 90.

In reality, inspections are only carried out in 0.9% of cases of goods being imported, or one in 111. For goods being exported, the rate is one in 256, De Tijd said, citing confirmation from the federal finance ministry.

The federal government has set aside €5 million this year for new appointments and €10 million for next year, intended to allow C&E to carry out inspections round the clock, rather than only during office hours as at present.

“More inspections is one thing, but increased and longer availability for businesses – a continuous service – is at least as crucial,” commented Van Eetvelt. “The international competitive position of our businesses will be weakened if this doesn’t happen.”

According to a study carried out last October by Unizo and DHL Express, about one in three small businesses experience problems with C&E at the import and export of goods, with 8% of them suffering financial penalties as a result, running as high as €10,000.

“Time is money,” Van Eetvelt said. “A customs service that performs well is crucial for our position. A strengthening of the cooperation between the various parties could contribute to that.”