Two weeks after the worst attack on his country’s soil since World War II, Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel tells CNN there are “successes” and “failures” in the fight against terrorism.
“In this fight against terrorists,” he said, “against these enemies who are hiding, who are more and more professional in their way, in the way they communicate — everywhere in the world, including in Belgium, there are successes and there are failures.”
It was his first interview with the foreign media since the March 22 attacks on a metro station and airport, which killed 32 people and left more than 300 injured.
Belgian security services have come under heavy scrutiny for their failure to thwart the attack, and for not catching Saleh Abdeslam, who is alleged to have participated in the November 22 Paris attacks, sooner.
Two days after the Brussels attacks, Interior Minister Jan Jambon tendered his resignation over the failure. Michel rejected the resignation, and Jambon remains in office.
“We’ve met successes,” the Prime Minister told Amanpour, “in Verviers for example, when we were able to thwart a terrorist attack, we neutralized terrorists, and the whole world at the time congratulated Belgium for its good results.”
“We are working with hundreds of investigators. We’ve been working with them for the past months. Our intelligence services are mobilized. And I think that we need to do everything we can do to improve international cooperation within Europe and also beyond Europe.”