Incoming Danish Presidency Faces Challenges

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MEPs will debate the start of the latest EU presidency, now held by Denmark. They will discuss Denmark’s agenda for its six-month Council Presidency, which started on 1 July, with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. The debate will take place this week in Strasbourg where MEPs are meeting for the last plenary before the summer break….

EU a Reliable Partner for Moldova

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Photo by Sasha Pleshco on Unsplash Moldova’s future is in the European Union, says EU council president Antonio Costa. “This is our common goal, and the European Union is here to support Moldova every step of the way,” he said after the first ever EU-Moldova summit. Costa praised the Moldovan government for leading Moldova and…

EU Urged to Spend More on Affordable Housing

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Photo by Maximillian Conacher on Unsplash Re-imagining the design of cities, communities and housing is essential to face the current challenges, a recent EESC conference was told. It also heard that civil society organisations (CSOs) have a key role to play in steering this transformation. Sustainability and the right to housing must be at the…

Why Climate Action Matters

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Photo by Javier Miranda on Unsplash Politicians who deny the obvious climate emergency put our children and grand-children at risk. That is the claim of European Greens and comes in the wake of a major announcement by the EU on climate change. After years of deliberation, the European Commission has now presented the EU’s 2040…

Little Progress in Combatting Roma Attacks

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Photo by Michael Schmid on Unsplash The Roma Foundation for Europe has condemned what it claims is a sharp rise in racist attacks and discrimination against Roma and Sinti in Germany, calling it a test of political will and journalistic responsibility. The Foundation’s attack follows the latest annual report by Germany’s Anti-ziganism Reporting and Information…

Brussels Cathedral Organ Concerts

Church Organ

Fancy listening to some great church organ music this summer? If so, every Tuesday evening at 8pm, from July 29 to August 26, the Ars in Cathedrali Festival will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the great Grenzing organ of the Cathedral of Saints Michael and Gudula in Brussels with a dazzling programme concocted by the…

Expat Rights

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Photo by Daria Mamont on Unsplash Are you an expat in Belgium with concerns about your rights? If so, an upcoming meeting could be just for you. It is organised by New Europeans UK and will be held both in person and online. The UK based group was launched in 2013 to help protect the…

Napoleon and Wellington Return to Combat

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Photo by Mayumi Maciel on Unsplash Battle-lines will be drawn this weekend  of 22/23 June when Napoleon and Wellington again go head to head on the fields of Belgium. This time, though, no blood will be shed and the combatants are more likely to get together at the finale to give each other a pat…

Americans See Benefit of NATO

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Photo by Jannik on Unsplash Most Americans see the benefit of NATO according to the latest poll. As world leaders gathered for a crunch NATO summit, new polling says that nearly two-thirds of U.S. adults see a benefit to NATO membership. The Pew Research poll comes amid what has been called the most important NATO…

Europeans Prepare for War

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Photo by Sander Sammy on Unsplash A new poll says most Europeans accept they must prepare for war. This comes in the wake of President Trump’s decision to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities at the weekend. The multi-country polling report, published ahead of the 2025 NATO Summit, shows widespread support across Europe for increases in defence…