Sector federations Horeca Vlaanderen, Horeca Wallonia and Horeca Brussel received an explanation of the first version of the draft change in the cabinet for the expansion of the smoking ban. According to the federations, this includes a general smoking ban on terraces from January 1, 2026, a smoke -free zone of 10 meters around these terraces, a shared responsibility for managers and consumers as well as the abolition of smoke rooms.
On 1 July 2011, the Belgian hospitality industry became completely non -smoking and the federal coalition agreement provides an extension of that prohibition to the terraces and an abolition of the smoke rooms. Horeca Flanders immediately expressed this and proposed alternatives such as the introduction of individual smoke and non-smoking zones on terraces or the preservation of freedom of choice for entrepreneurs.
According to Matthias de Caluwe, CEO of Horeca Vlaanderen, the provisional text now does not take into account the proposals or practical objections of the federation. “The message was clear: the plans as they were written in the coalition agreement must be implemented from 1 January 2026. Yet we repeated our concerns and asked for a longer transition period.”
No ‘patio agent’
Horeca Vlaanderen explicitly requires responsibility for compliance with the legislation on terraces not to put the manager if they follow the rules. “There is not always an employee present on a terrace, unlike interior spaces. We cannot and do not want to play ‘patio agent’,” the CEO said. Horeca Vlaanderen therefore wants the manager to be exempted if there is clear signage and there are no ashtrays. That must ensure legal certainty.
No more smoking on terraces: “Where can we still smoke?”
