Belgian authorities in Flanders are examining whether they can quickly approve Tesla’s supervised Full Self-Driving (FSD) software following provisional authorization granted in the Netherlands last month.
Annick De Ridder, transport minister for Flanders - the mainly Dutch-speaking region that borders the Netherlands - said she had asked Tesla to supply documentation to determine whether her region could replicate the Dutch regulator’s decision on a fast track. De Ridder indicated her team would clarify by the end of the week whether expedited regional approval is feasible.
"Because you shouldn’t slow down innovation, but make it possible in a thoughtful and safe way. This way, we keep Flanders at the forefront as a forward-thinking region," she said in her post.
The Netherlands’ regulator provisionally approved the use of the software on Dutch roads last month, making it the first country in the European Union to permit Tesla’s FSD. The system is capable of controlling a car but is designed to require the driver to remain attentive.
Belgium’s central transport ministry, however, said the question of approval rests with the country’s regions rather than the federal government. Separately, Tesla has submitted a request to Wallonia - the mainly French-speaking region - the ministry said. Brussels, which is a distinct third region and the capital, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Tesla’s CEO has publicly expressed confidence that regulators across the European Union will soon grant approval to the FSD system. At the same time, a number of regulators in other European countries have expressed reservations about the technology and its asserted safety benefits. Authorities in Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Norway have shown skepticism toward both the system and the claims surrounding its safety advantages.
The unfolding regional responses in Belgium reflect the broader, uneven regulatory landscape in Europe for supervised autonomous driving technologies. While one EU country has taken the first provisional step to permit Tesla’s software on public roads, other national regulators remain cautious, and internal regional authority within federal states such as Belgium adds an additional procedural layer for approval.
For now, Flanders is awaiting Tesla’s documentation and aims to decide within days whether it can follow the Dutch approach quickly. Wallonia has received a formal application from Tesla, and Brussels’ stance is pending.
What this means
The situation highlights how authorization for supervised driving systems can vary not only between countries but also within them when regional governments retain authority over transport approvals. The commercial rollout of Tesla’s FSD in parts of Europe will depend on a patchwork of regional and national decisions.