As the title suggests, this is supposed to be a space to update you on the latest in Belgium and, by political extension, related developments close at hand in the EU. And with the bloc's heads of state converging today in Brussels for a consequential summit on economic and energy matters, there is plenty to discuss.
But as a Brit abroad, I can't help but compare life on the continent to things back home. When it comes to politics, Belgium presently seems quaint and affably docile by comparison to the UK. This doing Belgium – packed full of political quirks – a great disservice (though the situation across the Channel is anything but enviable).
Yet with Brussels so often being the focus of anti-EU vitriol from the likes of Truss and the jingoistic Brexit fanatics that have (until recently) taken her side, the antics of a government supposedly now liberated from the scourge of "unelected bureaucrats" are impossible to ignore.
My editor's sensibilities make me uncomfortable with hyperbole: inflating language to overstate minor affairs devalues future attempts to express the magnitude of serious issues. And with "unprecedented crises" apparently unravelling wherever we look, it seems inevitable that the media will start wearing out superlatives like "cataclysmic" or "earth-shattering".
Then again, when public figures and ministers such as recently-departed UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman go to such extremes to present odious and absurd visions for a Britain that gleefully mistreats migrants and will sacrifice any social protection for the financial gain of the richest, it is very difficult not to descend to these depths.
After Braverman's ridiculous tirade against anti-oil climate activists that fixed her firmly in the limelight, she was fired a few hours later for breaching the ministerial code. Yet if the government is now deciding to uphold conduct standards, it might struggle to fill the Cabinet after last night's chaotic scene, where MPs were physically bullied into voting on a government bill.
The debacle left some party members apoplectic and sparked further calls for Truss to go, after just six weeks in office. But it will take more than another Prime Minister to calm the turmoil and instability left in her wake. Until then, the impulse to ogle is irresistible. Sorry.
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1. National strike: All unions will participate in 'day of action' on 9 November
Following a call for a general strike by the socialist trade union (ABVV/FGTB), the Christian (ACV/CSC) and liberal (ACLVB/CGSLB) unions announced that they would participate in the national "day of action" on 9 November to demand more purchasing power. Read more.
2. The EU's dirty secret: Coal consumption grows while rest of world cuts back
The European Union is facing a potential backlash from environmental groups after a recent study found that the bloc’s coal consumption has significantly increased over the past year, while global consumption of the highly polluting fossil fuel has declined. Read more.
3. People in Belgium get married at later stage in life
The age at which people enter their first marriage has been rising for several years, a trend that was once again confirmed in the latest figures published by Statbel, the Belgian statistics office. Read more.
4. Belgium to ban tobacco vending machines in hospitality industry
Belgium's Federal Government will soon ban all tobacco vending machines in bars or restaurants, but not in supermarkets which are exempted, the Parliamentary Committee on Public Health decided on Wednesday. Read more.
5. Belgian provider installs 6,000 free solar panels with more to come
Following Prime Minister Alexander De Croo's visit to one of their sites on Wednesday, Ghent and Brussels-based EnergyVision reported that further 15,000 households have signed up to have solar panels installed on their roofs for free. Read more.
6. Extending Doel 4 and Tihange 3 nuclear reactors not ruled out, say Flemish liberals
The president of the Flemish liberal Open VLD party Egbert Lachaert is not ruling out a push from the Federal Government to force nuclear operator Engie to extend the lifespan of the Doel 4 and Tihange 3 reactors if negotiations do not yield the desired result. Read more.
7. Hidden Belgium: The Begijnhof in Kortrijk
It’s easy to walk straight past the entrance to Kortrijk’s Begijnhof. A small gate leads into a hidden warren of cobbled lanes lined with old whitewashed houses. A statue near the entrance represents Johanna of Constantinople who founded the Begijnhof in 1238. Read more.
