Stories about Belgium
European Citizens Call for the Protection of Media Pluralism
“European institutions should safeguard the right to free, independent and pluralistic information”. The quote, from the Media Initiative website, summarizes the main idea behind a pan-European campaign that aims at urging the European Commission to draft a Directive to protect Media Pluralism and Press Freedom. The Media Initiative is running a European Citizens’ Initiative – a tool...
“Beyond Brazil”: European Journalists Wanted for Reporting Trips
Coolpolitics in Portugal announces [pt] an open call for European journalists who want to go on a reporting trip to Brazil in 2014. Twenty-one young reporters from Portugal, The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, United Kingdom and Bulgaria will be selected to take part of three different groups that will cover events in Brazil,...
Racism, the United Nations, and the Dutch Saint Nicholas Tradition
While the children of Belgium, The Netherlands and other European countries prepare for the arrival of Saint Nicholas on December 6, the shadow of racism hangs over this tradition.
Interview with Guinea Boxing Champ Turned Belgian Politician
Making the transition between the worlds of high level sport and politics has never been easy. It is even more difficult when two different countries are involved. Bea Diallo explains his remarkable career.
Belgium FEMEN Leaves The International Movement
“We are announcing the closure of the branch FEMEN Belgium. We took this decision unanimously because of different views upon the internal organization of the international movement FEMEN. We have no regrets, we conducted our actions with sincerity. We will continue the fight, there is no question about that, but...
“I Know A Rapist”: The Blog that Won't Stay Silent
A Tumblr blog collects testimonies [fr] of people who know a sexual predator. The “About” page of the site states that the goal is to show that rapists are not just psychopaths who are statistical outliers but people we know (80% of rape victims knew their aggressors). One contributor recalls one...
Croatia's EU Membership Off to Rocky Start Over Extradition Law
Croatia agrees to fully apply EU extradition law after Brussels raises possibility of sanctions against the new EU member state.
Italian Appeals Court Upholds Guilty Verdict in Historic Eternit Asbestos Case
An appeals court in Turin, Italy has affirmed Swiss billionaire Stephan Schmidheiny, former owner of cement manufacturer Swiss Eternit Group, is responsible for nearly 3,000 asbestos-related deaths.
Royal Abdications: Netherlands, Belgium, Will Spain be Next?
Abdications by two European kings within few months have unleashed in Spain speculations about a possible stepping down by king Juan Carlos in favour of his son Felipe. Meanwhile, Belgium is getting ready to receive a new king who is trutsted by few people.
Rwanda: NGO's Pursuit for Justice against Perpetrators of Genocide
Rwanda remembered the start of the genocide on April 7, as they have done every year since 1994. In the 19 years following the genocide, the hunt for the perpetrators of crimes against humanity has never ceased. In France, the Collective of Civil Plaintiffs for Rwanda (CPCR) is one of the organisations that fight against impunity. Its Chairman, Alain Gauthier, answered some questions by Global Voices author Abdoulaye Bah:
Extreme Anti-immigrant Groups Spread Throughout Europe
Plagued by one of the worst economic crises in recent history, extreme anti-immigrant parties are once again on the rise in 21st-century Europe.
Parallels Between Religious and Copyright Wars
Rick Falkvinge, the founder of Pirate Party, reinterprets the wars of religion that devastated Western Europe in the XVI and XVII centuries in terms of the current struggle to control information through overbearing legislation related to copyright and freedom of expression: The religious wars were never about religion as such....
Bulgaria: Independent Journalists Demand EU Intervention
A group of Bulgarian NGOs and individual journalists issued an open letter [bg, en] to Neelie Kroes, Vice-President of the European Commission, asking for a public meeting because “the situation of the media in Bulgaria is a threat not only for the Bulgarian society, but for the EU as a...
Belgium: Police Violence
Here is a video showing police in Brussels arresting a drunk man who was beating a woman, before they then start to beat him. A person in the neighborhood filmed the incident.
France: Stories of Everyday Sexism
After being harassed and insulted by men in the streets of Brussels, Belgian student Sofie Peeters made a hidden-camera film to denounce the male chauvinism experienced every day by unaccompanied women in the streets. Under the hashtag #harcelementderue (street harassment), French women are testifying to the verbal abuse and sexual harassment that they are subjected to in the streets.
European Union: A Survey Among Immigrants about Integration
Le café pédagogique links [pdf, fr] to the results of a survey launched in 15 cities from 7 U.E. countries, among immigrants in possession of their legal documents and with or without citizenship of their host countries. The questions were aimed at integration, which appears to be highly wished for.
Germany: #Blockupy Protests Against Pan-European Austerity
'Blockupy' protests against the austerity measures being implemented in the Eurozone shook the financial epicenter of Europe - Frankfurt - last week. Online social networks buzzed with citizen reports on the mobilizations that occurred under massive police presence and repression.
Belgium: Video Shows Campaign to Curb Texting and Driving
The Impossible texting and driving test is part of a campaign to raise awareness to the dangers of texting using mobile devices while driving in Belgium. Several young people doing their behind the wheel driving test were surprised to know there was a new test section requiring them to text...
France: The Presidential Election Through Foreign Eyes
While the French are preparing to choose a president in the upcoming weeks, French voters overseas and foreign media have reacted as the first round poll came to an end.
European Commission's ‘Clash of Civilizations’ Video Blunder
A video parodying the film Kill Bill and building on a 'clash of civilizations' theme was made to promote enlargement of the European Union to young adults. However, the video was pulled on March 6 after it was subject to virulent accusations of racism.
