News

Number of foreign investments in Flanders reaches new high

20 January 2016

Minister-President of Flanders Geert Bourgeois has some good economic news to start this new year. Flanders has never seen as many foreign investment projects as it did in 2015: a total of 227. That is an increase of 23.4%, or almost a quarter more than in 2014. Those projects represent a total …

Europe must tear down obstacles to digital single market

20 January 2016

The European Parliament has approved a report about the completion of the digital single market. In the report, a request is made to allow companies to create and trade digital goods, services and information as easily as possible. “With no unnecessary thresholds or additional burdens,” European …

No sale of tobacco to people under 18

18 January 2016

The N-VA has readied a bill that increases the age from which tobacco products may be purchased from 16 to 18. “While the global number of smokers is in gradual decline, the number of young people that start smoking is on the increase. Increasing the legal age is intended to further discourage them …

Extra Flemish integration programmes in Brussels

14 January 2016

As a result of the asylum crisis, the Flemish Minister for Civic Integration, Liesbeth Homans invests in 2,400 extra civic integration programmes in Brussels. "That will bring the total to a capacity of 5,400 civic integration programmes via the Brussels reception agency for integration," Flemish …

Asylum policy: strict but fair

12 January 2016

After the recent spate of sexual assaults and robberies in Cologne and other German cities, German Chancellor Angela Merkel wishes to tighten asylum legislation. Whoever is sentenced, even if only conditional, will no longer be welcome in Germany as an asylum seeker. This judgement is presently …

Asylum applications by Iraqis dropped by 85 percent

6 January 2016

In 2015, the number of Iraqis voluntarily returning to their country of origin increased by nearly twenty-fold. At the same time, the number of Iraqis applying for asylum dropped by 85 percent in three months time. This is thanks to the information campaigns which State Secretary for Asylum and …

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