News

Wallonia is playing with fire, and it risks getting burnt

18 October 2016
Wallonia is playing with fire, and it risks getting burnt

The Greek Communist government is ready to sign the Canada trade deal, CETA. The Walloon Socialist Government is not. Much of Europe cannot understand how a region of 3.5 million inhabitants is threatening to derail an international trade deal that will save European exporters hundreds of millions …

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Budget: government won’t undermine purchasing power

15 October 2016
Budget: government won’t undermine purchasing power

The Belgian government has reached an agreement on the budget and on several major structural reforms worth a total of 3 billion euros. Deputy Prime Minister Jan Jambon is pleased: “We have managed to comply with European rules, while remaining in a position to weather any opposition that comes our …

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Correct use of taxpayer’s money essential for EU support

13 October 2016
Correct use of taxpayer’s money essential for EU support

The European Court of Auditors has presented its analysis of the implementation of the EU budget for 2015 and estimates the error rate for payments at 3.8%. “In plain numbers that means that 5.5 billion euros in European subsidies were not allocated in accordance with the rules,” explains MEP …

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EU to crack down hard on illegal trade in animals

13 October 2016
EU to crack down hard on illegal trade in animals
EU to crack down hard on illegal trade in animals

The Environment (ENVI) Committee of the European Parliament has accepted a resolution to crack down hard on the illegal trade in wild animals and plants. That European Action Plan brings three priorities to the fore: preventing illegal trade, upholding the existing legislation better and …

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Non-European criminals out of EU more quickly

13 October 2016
Non-European criminals out of EU more quickly

State Secretary for Asylum and Migration Theo Francken is going to present his European colleagues with a proposal that is intended to make it easier to revoke the residence permit of criminals from outside the EU who have been given an effective (non-suspended) prison sentence of more than one …

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CETA: is Brussels sidelining Belgium too?

10 October 2016
CETA: is Brussels sidelining Belgium too?

Seven years after the Brussels parliament gave a negotiation mandate to the EU and two years after the conclusion of those negotiations, it looks like Brussels, following in the footsteps of Wallonia, wants to torpedo the European Trade Agreement with Canada (CETA). “With this attitude, Brussels is …

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