Border towns to take Maastricht to court

The municipalities of Lanaken, Riemst and Voeren want to take the city of Maastricht to court if it goes ahead with its plan to move coffeeshops closer to the Belgian-Dutch border. The three municipalities have hired a Dutch law firm to represent them.
"Maastricht wants to move the nuisance caused by the coffeeshops to the border municipalities. That violates the Schengen agreements," says mayor Mark Vos of Riemst.
The municipalities are waiting before starting concrete legal action however, explains Lanaken mayor Guido Willen. "Maastricht wanted to move the coffeeshops before the end of the year, but they have since pushed that deadline back. Once the city has taken a definite decision on how to proceed, our lawyer will come into action."
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The municipalities have already set aside funds to cover the court costs.