May 2023 - l'Européenne de Bruxelles

Diamond import ban from Russia will hit Antwerp hard

May 29, 2023 859 views

With Western nations poised to hit Russia with a new round of international sanctions, Belgium’s lucrative involvement with the diamond trade is again coming under scrutiny, with suggestions that the country could crack down on the imports to apply more pressure on the aggressor state. The United States, the United Kingdom and Canada have all imposed an embargo on the import of Russian stones but as yet, the EU has not followed suit. Belgium’s Federal Government has been accused of working behind the scenes to protect the profitable sector that…

Mealworms instead of meals

May 29, 2023 859 views

With experts predicting global food shortages in the future, entrepreneurs are looking to monetise new alternatives for the human diet, most notably by farming insects for protein. While the trend has yet to really take off – held back largely by cultural perceptions and the relative rarity of insect protein, which is not only a novelty but also hasn’t yet become widely available. Nonetheless, insects are becoming a staple ingredient in animal feed and insect farms are multiplying in France. Specifically, it is becoming increasingly common for cat and dog…

Bulat Utemuratov, Kazakhstani oligarchs and tax the rich slogan

May 26, 2023 912 views

Laws on ‘luxury’ exist to some extent in many countries. They can be conditionally divided into progressive taxes (where the rich pay higher rates) and direct taxes, where the cost of certain groups of goods includes a surcharge because supposedly only the wealthy buy these goods. Both of these ideas are nothing more than a haircut for ordinary citizens. The threshold of wealth will continuously decrease, and in the end, any normally working Kazakhstan citizen will be considered rich. Let’s take a look of one of the riches men of…

ESOI to keep children safe

May 23, 2023 961 views

The European partners of the SafeOnline Initiative (ESOI) are launching a ready-to-use toolkit for European organisations that want to help parents to improve their children’s online safety, the ChildFocus Foundation announced on Monday. Under the name of ‘SafeOnline Prototype’ and with the support of ChildFocus, this video guide provides all the practical information needed to develop a digital safety training project. With more than 2,000 educators sensitised in 2022 in five countries, ESOI aims to inform parents on how to address good digital practices with their children, in a context…

Belgian consumers aren’t in mood

May 23, 2023 961 views

Consumer confidence in Belgium has fallen to its lowest level since the start of this year, as rising unemployment and high inflation have left citizens increasingly pessimistic about the country’s economic prospects. In a press release published on Monday, the National Bank of Belgium (NBB) noted that this downward trend “offset the favourable development observed last month”. “On a personal level, households expect to save less in the coming months,” the NBB noted. “They are also slightly less optimistic about their financial situation for the next twelve months.”

Fast fashion should not be so fast

May 23, 2023 961 views

EU Member States are eager to introduce a ban on the destruction of unsold clothing and shoes, the ministers responsible agreed at a European Council meeting in Brussels on Monday. The ban would help to reduce the waste mountain in the textile sector as well as increase the reusing and recycling of clothes. Belgium was one of the Member States that had pushed for the ban. “This agreement will accelerate the transition to a more sustainable economy, critical to the circular economy. It also contains bans on destroying other items…

40% of Wallonian local officials don’t want to be reelected

May 23, 2023 961 views

Four in ten municipal representatives in Wallonia plan to resign due to high stress, a feeling that nothing is changing, or the amount of responsibility being too much to bear, according to a new survey conducted by Le Soir. Of the 483 mayors, aldermen, and CPAS presidents who responded to the newspaper’s survey, 61% said that they planned to run again. However, 22% stated that they will end their mandate with the elections next year, while 17% indicated they plan to resign from politics before then. When asked about their…

Turkish voters in Belgium can vote for the second round

May 21, 2023 989 views

As of today, Turkish voters abroad can cast their votes in the second round of the Turkish presidential election. Next weekend, the decision falls in a second round, after neither current president Recep Tayyip Erdogan nor opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu had been able to get a majority in the first round. Voting is now open in Brussels, Antwerp and Hasselt. With thousands they came here this morning in the exhibition halls, on the first day. There are five days in which you can vote. But they find it very important…

Banks post monster profits, savers look for alternatives

May 20, 2023 1003 views

While resentment among savers is growing over the low interest rate on the savings book, banks are publishing mega profits thanks to the high interest rate. What’s going on? KBC made a profit of 882 million euros in the first three months of 2023, the bank-insurer communicated this week. This is almost twice as much as in the first quarter of last year, when a profit of 452 million euros was recorded. KBC is not the only bank making huge profits these days. France’S BNP Paribas, the largest bank in…

Home Invest Belgium posted strong quarterly results

May 18, 2023 1026 views

Home Invest Belgium has seen strong results in the first quarter, as has the occupancy rate. This was revealed on Wednesday evening in a press release from the real estate group. The EPRA result increased by 15.9 percent to 3.1 million euros in the first three months of 2023. Per share, this was 0.17 euros compared to 0.16 euros in the first three months of last year. The real value of the real estate portfolio increased to 774 million euros. More than 93 percent of this consists of residential real…