This time it gets a bit unsavory for dessert, it’s about garbage. Just over a week ago, some Brussels residents must have been surprised. A letter informed them about a new waste plan. Those initially looking forward to the end of garbage bags on the sidewalks were disappointed.No. Anyone living in Brussels has to get […]
According to the Duden dictionary, a paradox is a seemingly nonsensical, false statement that, on closer analysis, points to a higher truth. This also applies to the Foreign Interference Act, the legislative project against external influences, which the Commission wants to present in the near future: nobody wants it, everybody resists. And the higher truth? […]
Ursula von der Leyen is currently receiving a lot of encouragement for her (as yet undeclared) quest for a second term in office. “All hail Queen Ursula!” was a recent headline in a Brussels gossip magazine. Friedrich Merz and Markus Söder also praise the Commission President. Otherwise, however, the CDU politician is heartily unpopular in […]
Today, the European Parliament is holding a debate on a citizens’ initiative to end finning. You don’t know what finning is? You could be referred to the website of the citizens’ movement. Or to the series “Parliament,” a Belgian-French-German co-production.Set in the European Parliament, the series tells the story of Samy, a young parliamentary assistant […]
“Today We Launch, TOGETHER, With My, Fellow, Colleague, VALDIS, Dom, Brov, Skis, The European, Critical, raw, Materials Act. Here It Is, The List, Of, Strategic, Metals, We Need: Bismuth, Cobalt and Manganese…” What looks like strange spelling and unorthodox punctuation is actually a new playlist by Commissioner Thierry Breton to make European legislation heard. On […]
Emma Wiesner speaks German – very clear German, in fact, as the Swedish Renew MEP proved on Monday evening in the EU Parliament. The fact that Wiesner presented her language skills in such a high-profile way was due to the addressee of her words. She sits in Berlin, in the federal government – more precisely: […]
What if? This question comes up again and again. But politically, one question is not coming up at the moment: What if the EU were to dissolve? But research is free, fortunately. And it is thus allowed to answer questions no one has asked in this form. This is why the renowned economists Gabriel Felbermayr, […]
If you have meat products at home that are no longer quite fresh, you may disparagingly call them old sausage – but only in very special cases Ahle Wurscht. That’s because the name is now an EU-protected geographical indication for a northern Hessian specialty – just like Beelitz asparagus, Nuremberg gingerbread, Swabian spaetzle or Antep […]
A look at the average Belgian to-do list on Tuesday, Nov. 8 – strike eve:Buy toilet paper – check.Stock up fridge – check.Pump up bicycle tires – check.Refuel cars – check.Cancel appointments – check.Put social life on hold – check.Wrap kids in bubble wrap – double check.No, Covid didn’t strike again. Instead, “French conditions” took […]
Until 2013, all was still well with the world for Luxembourg’s Christian Democrats: Jean-Claude Juncker was prime minister and the parliamentary elections were merely a routine exercise. The Christian Social People’s Party (CSV for short) was the governing party. Period.But then came the “Bommeleeër affair”: The CSV twisted itself out of a series of attacks […]