Category: EU

With its budget for 2023, Belgium is partially outside the European lines. This is what the European Commission states in its analysis of the draft budget submitted a few weeks ago. Against the agreements, our country is allowing primary spending to rise too high. The Commission rejects the automatic indexation of civil servants ‘ salaries and benefits, and also criticises the broad energy support. There will be no sanctions, but the Commission does ask Belgium to ‘keep those expenses within limits’. For its analysis, the Commission relies on the policy…

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After a strong first half of the year, the European Commission says the EU economy has now entered a “much more challenging phase.” The shocks unleashed by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine are denting global demand and reinforcing global inflationary pressures, it says. The EU is among the most exposed advanced economies, due to its geographical proximity to the war and heavy reliance on gas imports from Russia. The energy crisis is eroding households’ purchasing power and weighing on production. Economic sentiment has fallen markedly. As a result, although…

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We’re Smart – a Belgian organisation that highlights more ecological ways of shopping and eating out – has released this year’s Green Guide, which names the best vegetarian restaurants in the world. The top ten features two Belgian eateries. The gastronomic guide created by Belgian chef Frank Fol lists the top 100 finest vegetarian restaurants in the world, with the most recent edition being unveiled at the Barcelona Gastronomy Forum on Tuesday. While this year’s winner comes from the Netherlands (the Nieuwe Winkel in Nijmegen led by chef Emile van…

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The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has determined that Belgian labour law, which sets strict limits on private sector wage increases, is incompatible with the right to collective bargaining. In an official report delivered by the organisation’s Committee on Freedom of Association (CFA), it was noted that Belgian labour law poses “a significant restriction on the ability of social partners to negotiate autonomously the evolution of the level of wages in the private sector”. The CFA further called on the Belgian Government to implement “necessary measures” to ensure that collective bargaining…

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The president of the European Parliament wants to build a hotel for his own MEPs and their entourage. The hotel strengthens the many critics in their objections to the monthly relocation of the EP from Brussels to Strasbourg. With the arrival of the hotel, the Parliament would settle even more firmly in Staatsburg, much to the delight of France. Every month, the European Parliament, with staff, officials and journalists in its wake, departs for a few days from Brussels to the French city on the border with Germany. The dissatisfaction…

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That doesn’t seem to be so bad, for 40 euros refueling. But there are hooks and eyes to it, especially if you have to drive through all of France. As you may have already read, There is turmoil when it comes to the availability of gasoline and diesel. The employees at Total Energy are angry and you know what angry French people like to do, right? Right, strike. And because of this, the country has been facing a huge shortage of fuels for quite some time. In some places, the…

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A new wave of victims of human trafficking in Antwerp threatens to flood the already very tight shelter. Antwerp Mayor Bart De Wever (N-VA) is sounding the alarm at the Cabinet of Minister of welfare Hilde Crevits (CD&V). “Money is urgently needed.’ Last week, the Antwerp City Council sent a brand letter to the Cabinet of Flemish Minister of welfare Hilde Crevits (CD&V). A first letter had gone unanswered at the end of August. In it, the financial situation of the non-profit organization Payoke is called ‘without a doubt very…

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The economic confidence of consumers and businesses in the European Union fell sharply again in september due to concerns about high inflation, the energy crisis and a recession. This was reported by the European Commission on the basis of its confidence index. Economic sentiment in the eurozone has also deteriorated. The Commission speaks of a significant deterioration in sentiment in all business sectors, namely industry, retail, services and construction. There was also another strikingly sharp drop in consumer confidence to a new low, says the commission. For example, the Central…

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In the European Union, consumer prices of dairy products have risen significantly. The level of increase varies considerably between member states. The countries that stand out the most are Germany and France. Where prices rise the most in Germany, inflation lags behind in France. Dutch dairy prices are rising faster than the European average. The rise in the price of cheese (19.1%) will be particularly noticeable in the Netherlands, as half of all Dutch milk is processed into cheese. Of all dairy products, the price of butter is rising the…

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