Tag: Belgium

The frontrunners for the next European Commission – POLITICO

admin

The European Commission’s top jobs will all soon be up for grabs again after next month’s European election. 

Which country will get the all-powerful trade commissioner job and oversee the EU’s impending trade war with China? Will the Poles secure a newly created defense portfolio to square up to their arch-rivals the Russians? And who will get to police U.S. tech giants like Apple and Google as Europe’s next competition chief?

Even before the June 6-9 election, maneuvering is underway

… Read more

Eurovision 2024 semi-finals: Fan favourites Malta and Belgium exit the competition in shock result as Israel defies pro-Palestinian crowds and goes through to the final

admin

Eurovision fans expressed shock as fan favourites Malta and Belgium failed to make it through Thursday’s semi-final show in a shock result.

Israel’s Eden Golan defied thousands of protestors demonstrating in Malmo calling for her to be excluded from the competition as she made it through to the final.

Latvia, Austria, Netherlands, Norway, Greece, Estonia, Switzerland, Georgia and Armenia were the other countries who made it through to Saturday’s final.

Malta was represented by Sarah Bonnici with the song Loop

… Read more

A global call for policy action – POLITICO

admin

*Speak Up for COPD is supported by a coalition of partners across industry and the non-profit sector to raise awareness and understanding of COPD amongst policymakers and healthcare decision makers by amplifying the voices of patients, the COPD community and the public. All partners contribute time and expertise to the coalition actitivies. Our one critical goal is to establish COPD as a public health priority.

Coalition partners: Global Allergy & Airways Patient Platform (GAAPP), International Federation of Ageing (IFA),

… Read more

The Godfather of Maasmechelen — How Italy’s ‘ndrangheta mafia went global – POLITICO

admin

Press play to listen to this article

Voiced by artificial intelligence.

Speaking Italian can get you a long way in this sleepy postindustrial town on Belgium’s eastern edge. The empty sidewalks of Maasmechelen are studded with shabby pizzerias, delis, coffee bars and sports shops showcasing selections of Italy merch — the legacy of a wave of Italian immigration that started in the late 1940s.

Recently however the Flemish town was also the site of another, more sinister Italian import. On

… Read more

Emmanuel Macron warns of the ‘return of Islamist terrorism’ and says ‘all European states are vulnerable’ after ISIS fanatic gunned down two Swedish football fans in Brussels and teacher was knifed to death in France

admin

Emmanuel Macron has declared that Europe must be wary of ‘Islamist terrorism’ in the wake of two fatal attacks by extremists on the continent in the past four days. 

Speaking to media today, the French President said: ‘All European states are vulnerable… there is a return of this Islamist terrorism.

‘We all have a vulnerability. It’s what comes with being a democracy, a rule-of-law state where there are individuals who can decide at a given moment to commit the worst

… Read more

Puigdemont sets high price to break Spanish vote impasse – POLITICO

admin

Press play to listen to this article

Voiced by artificial intelligence.

Spain’s political future will be decided by one secluded man in a damp corner of Belgium.

Six years after organizing an illegal referendum that sought to make Catalonia an independent republic, the region’s former President Carles Puigdemont is once again positioned to shake Spain to its core.

With left and right-wing forces technically tied in the Spanish parliament, the country’s next government now depends on the support of seven

… Read more

EU countries cut firefighter jobs despite climate crisis, new data shows – POLITICO

admin

The number of firefighters in the EU is declining, even as the bloc faces more wildfires as a result of climate change.

The bloc counted a total of 360,000 firefighters last year — 2,800 fewer than in 2021, according to new data released by EU statistics office Eurostat.

“Cutting the number of firefighters in the midst of a climate crisis is a recipe for disaster,” Esther Lynch, general secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation, said in a statement Tuesday.

… Read more

Far-right Vox vows to back conservative Feijóo ‘for free’ – POLITICO

admin

Spain’s far-right Vox party on Sunday backed down from its long-held position on being included in any national government requiring its support, saying it’s willing to back a minority government headed by the center-right Popular Party even if a future cabinet doesn’t include any of its members.

In a statement, the group said its deep concern over Socialist Pedro Sánchez’s plans to remain Spain’s prime minister had led it to revise its position and offer the unconditional support of its

… Read more

Commission VP spars with outgoing top economist over industrial policy – POLITICO

admin

In his first interview since stepping down as the European Union’s chief competition economist, Pierre Régibeau told Belgian newspaper L’Echo that fear of European deindustrialization was unjustified.

If European heavy industry disappears, “so be it, because it has to. What’s the point of producing basic steel here if we can buy it three times cheaper in Indonesia?” Régibeau said, answering a question about the major concerns of steel manufacturer ArcelorMittal.

However, European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas isn’t buying it.

… Read more

9 ways Dutch political paralysis hits the EU – POLITICO

admin

Press play to listen to this article

Voiced by artificial intelligence.

It’s hard to punch above your weight if you’re handcuffed. 

In Brussels, the Netherlands is known for its assertive positioning in EU legislation in a wide range of policy files. Despite its relatively small size, the Netherlands has a tendency to get involved, even on files that are not at the core of the Dutch domestic debate.

Its prime minister, Mark Rutte, is the second-longest serving European Union leader

… Read more