News

Tax shift: the long-awaited reduction in labour costs

13 October 2015
Tax shift: the long-awaited reduction in labour costs

The federal government has finalised the budgetary control and the tax shift. “The outcome is the biggest tax reform since 1963,” says Finance Minister Johan Van Overtveldt. “A reform that benefits citizens and companies. We lower the cost of labour and strengthen purchasing power and …

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Targeted police efforts against people smuggling is bearing fruit

8 October 2015
Targeted police efforts against people smuggling is bearing fruit

At the request of Minister of Security and Internal Affairs Jan Jambon, the federal police have launched targeted control campaigns since last month in an effort to combat human smuggling and illicit human trafficking. “After just two weeks we already arrested 350 people without documents and two …

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N-VA strengthens ties with the British Conservatives

8 October 2015
N-VA strengthens ties with the British Conservatives

The N-VA seconded a delegation of two party members to Great Britain, to the party congress of the British Conservatives in Manchester. Sander Loones, vice-chairman and MEP, and MP Brecht Vermeulen, president of the Home Affairs Committee, look back at four fascinating days. “It is clear that the …

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Forced returns on the rise

8 October 2015
Forced returns on the rise

The number of individuals that are forced to return to their country of origin after an illegal stay in Belgium this year increased to 481 a month, compared with only 421 last year. “This figure increased by almost 15 percent,” according to a calculation by state secretary for Asylum and Migration, …

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Dieselgate must serve as an incentive for compliance with European emission standards

7 October 2015
Dieselgate must serve as an incentive for compliance with European emission standards

The European Parliament adopted new measures on European emission standards for combustion plants. They must influence air quality favourably, also in Flanders. MEP Mark Demesmaeker emphasises the need for European standards. “Firstly because air pollution is definitely a cross-border issue, but …

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N-VA receives European support for its opposition to forced labour

6 October 2015
N-VA receives European support for its opposition to forced labour

The European Parliament massively supported a report by MEP Helga Stevens, in which she supports the European Council’s decision to have all the EU Member States rapidly adopt a new protocol of the International Labour Organisation (ILO). This protocol must protect employees from misleading …

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