News

The defence budget increases by a mere 0.01%: Belgium becomes “a pariah within NATO”

7 June 2023

The Court of Audit is critical of the defence budget for 2023: despite clever tricks, the defence budget will increase by a mere 0.01% this year, and our defence effort will remain stuck at just 1.20% of GDP. MP Theo Francken: “The NATO guideline for the defence budget is further away than ever …

Brussels municipalities looking for money: “A new bill looming for the middle class”

6 June 2023

Brussels municipalities want to introduce differentiated surcharges. This would allow them to apply variable amounts of these surcharges according to certain specific circumstances. But it is clear that the Brussels municipalities’ main aim is to patch up their precarious financial situation at the …

The first crypto legislation officially signed in the European Parliament

31 May 2023

The very first law on cryptocurrency transactions was signed in the European Parliament today. MEP Assita Kanko was one of the two chief negotiators and took part in the official ceremony in the presence of Roberta Metsola, the President of the European Parliament, and Peter Kullgren, a minister of …

EU due diligence requirements are well-intentioned but unachievable and ill-conceived

31 May 2023

The European Union wants to identify and address abuses in production and supply chains, such as child labour and environmental damage. European group chair Geert Bourgeois wholeheartedly supports this objective, but is critical of the implementation of the regulations: unworkable, legally …

A year of compulsory civic integration in Brussels: a false start

30 May 2023

On 1 June, compulsory civic integration in Brussels blows out its first candle. But according to Flemish MP Annabel Tavernier and Brussels MP Gilles Verstraeten, there is little to celebrate: “Even before the start, we had serious reservations about the way in which the entire system is put …

The N-VA is calling for an audit of Beliris funds spending

26 May 2023

Federal Minister Karine Lalieux (PS party) received a barrage of questions about Beliris’ decision to suspend the Metro 3 project in Brussels. According to MP Wouter Raskin, the fact that an important mobility project is at risk proves that his long-standing criticism of the improper use of the …

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