Latest Belgium government News

A major European nature protection plan stumbles at the final hurdle. 'How could we give that up?'

Mar. 25, 2024 12:54 PM EDT

BRUSSELS (AP) — A major European Union plan to better protect nature in the 27-nation bloc and fight climate change was indefinitely postponed Monday, underscoring how farmers' protests sweeping the continent have had a deep influence on politics. The deadlock on the bill, which...

French President Macron regrets the Senate's vote to reject the EU-Canada trade deal

Mar. 22, 2024 11:22 AM EDT

BRUSSELS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday he “regrets” the Senate’s vote to reject legislation to ratify a trade deal between the European Union and Canada that has been criticized by farmers as bringing unfair competition from abroad. The EU-Canada...

EU Commission proposes to impose tariffs on imports of grain from Russia

Mar. 21, 2024 18:33 PM EDT

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, is proposing to member countries to impose tariffs on grain imports from Russia and Belarus, commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Thursday. Speaking at the end of the opening day of a summit...

EU leaders to drum up more support for Ukraine amid appeals for a new sense of urgency

Mar. 20, 2024 10:05 AM EDT

BRUSSELS (AP) — There is a new sense of urgency in the European Union over the war in Ukraine. As the 27-nation bloc’s leaders prepare to gather on Thursday, Ukraine’s munition stocks are desperately low. Russia has more troops. They are better provisioned and making slow,...

The EU's new import deal would support Ukraine while protecting the bloc's farmers

Mar. 20, 2024 05:38 AM EDT

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union lawmakers agreed Wednesday to renew Ukraine’s import rates, which have been in place since shortly after Russia invaded, while adding protective measures for agricultural products such as grain and honey to address the concerns of farmers across the 27-nation...

Hungary's Orbán rails against the EU and 'the Western world' in a speech on a national holiday

Mar. 15, 2024 13:23 PM EDT

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán sought to mobilize support for his brand of right-wing populism in a holiday speech on Friday, urging his spectators to help him “occupy Brussels” in European Union elections this summer. Orbán’s address,...

EU parliament opens a court case over the decision to release funds to Orban's government in Hungary

Mar. 14, 2024 09:02 AM EDT

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union was embroiled in a legal standoff on Thursday between its legislature and its executive Commission over the release of billions in frozen funds to the government of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban at a time when his consent was essential for a deal to open...

Europe's world-first AI rules get final approval from lawmakers. Here's what happens next

Mar. 13, 2024 08:26 AM EDT

LONDON (AP) — European Union lawmakers gave final approval to the 27-nation bloc’s artificial intelligence law Wednesday, putting the world-leading rules on track to take effect later this year. Lawmakers in the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly in favor of the Artificial...

Sweden’s flag is raised at NATO headquarters to cement its place as the 32nd member of the alliance

Mar. 11, 2024 17:42 PM EDT

BRUSSELS (AP) — Sweden’s flag was raised at NATO headquarters on Monday, cementing the Nordic country’s place as the 32nd member two years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine persuaded its reluctant public to seek safety under the alliance’s security umbrella. ...

Western leaders rally around Kyiv to mark 2 years since Russia's full-scale invasion

Feb. 24, 2024 16:05 PM EST

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed Western leaders to Kyiv Saturday to mark the second anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion, as Ukrainian forces run low on ammunition and foreign aid hangs in the balance. Allies from the EU and the Group of Seven...