Belgium has finalized an action plan to remove dangerous e-scooters from the market more quickly and prevent them from entering the market in the first place. As part of this effort, 75,000 euros will be allocated this year for technical testing, and a safety label for e-scooters will be introduced in January.
With this action plan, a joint initiative by Minister of Consumer Protection Rob Beenders (Vooruit) and his colleagues from Mobility and Economy, Jean-Luc Crucke (Les Engagés), and David Clarinval (MR), they aim to maximize consumer protection and ensure that e-scooters are safe.
At the same time, they hope that Europe will join in and that a (stricter) European label will be introduced, mandated by the EU across all of Europe.
The label applies to all e-scooter manufacturers worldwide
Starting in January, the ‘Safe e-scooters’ label will apply to all e-scooter manufacturers worldwide who wish to sell safe e-scooters in Belgium. The label ensures that manufacturers provide a maximum speed of 25 kph, effective brakes, wide tires, reliable batteries, and more.
According to Minister Beenders, this new label gives people real assurance that they are buying a safe e-scooter. “This way, we protect consumers better and make it easier for them to recognize a safe e-scooter,” says Minister Beenders.
Belgian certification mark
Starting January 20, 2027, the European Machinery Regulation 2023/1230 will also come into full effect. It imposes strict technical safety requirements on e-scooters as a category. And starting in February 2027, mandatory digital battery passports will be introduced, along with the requirement that consumers must be able to replace batteries themselves.
In other words, the ‘Safe e-scooters’ label responds to this new legislation and is a Belgian certification mark that proves to manufacturers that their product complies with the European Machinery Directive, which will also come into effect in January, making it obvious that other EU countries could introduce a similar system/label, but that is not yet a given.
Stricter EU legislation
Currently, every e-scooter sold in the European Union must bear a CE marking. This is not a quality seal that guarantees quality, but a declaration by the manufacturer that the product complies with minimum European requirements regarding electrical safety and stability, the absence of hazardous substances, and guidelines for battery disposal.
But the three Ministers are seeking a response from the European Commission regarding whether e-scooters should be subject to stricter European regulations, specifically the ‘Machinery Regulation’. If so, manufacturers would be required to have their products inspected by an independent organization before they can be sold.
In many countries, e-scooters are still treated as “bicycles,” even though they are technically complex machines. By explicitly subjecting them to the stricter Machinery Regulation, manufacturers will be forced to meet much higher technical safety requirements than is often the case today.
Helmet requirement
In addition to introducing that quality label, the Belgian government will also organize technical tests worth 75,000 euros this year. These will focus on the maximum speed and braking systems of e-scooters. Systematic administrative and technical tests will continue through 2029.
Recent inspections of e-scooters by the FPS Economy, both online and in stores, revealed serious shortcomings in compliance with Belgian legislation. Of the 40 e-scooters inspected, only 5 were fully compliant.
Earlier this year, Minister Crucke announced that he is working on a helmet requirement for anyone riding an e-scooter capable of speeds exceeding 20 kph. In the first half of 2025, there were 384 e-scooter-related injury accidents in Brussels. Last year, the number of accidents involving e-scooters in Belgium rose by 33,7%.
