The week in brief: 3 April

This year’s visit.brussels awards have gone to Bozar and Couleur Café, among others, the result of a public vote from a list of 63 projects. Couleur Café (pictured) was voted best international event, while Bozar won for its Electronic Arts Festival. Awards also went to the Brussels Food Truck Festival, the 100 Masters exhibition across the capital’s museums, the JAM Hotel and the Make.Brussels competition.

Brussels Airlines has taken over part of Thomas Cook Airlines Belgium, the charter air service of the travel agency. The deal covers two airplanes and 160 pilots and crew, with the loss of 40 ground-crew jobs. Another three planes are retained by the Thomas Cook group. The merged airline will cover destinations in North America, the Caribbean, Africa and Asia.

Artist Delphine Boël will appeal a decision by a Brussels court that rejected her claim seeking recognition that former king Albert II is her biological father.  Boël, 48, has long argued that her mother had a relationship with the monarch between 1966 and 1984 and sought a court order for a DNA sample. A sample from her legal father, Jacques Boël, has proven that he is not her biological father. But the court ruled that since he was her legal father, it was impossible for anyone else to be named her father. Biological evidence, the court ruled, was not in itself enough to demonstrate paternity.

An initiative to allow householders to sort plastic rubbish not allowed in the blue PMD bag, at present on trial in some Flemish municipalities, will be extended to the whole of Flanders, environment minister Joke Schauvliege has announced. Last year the trial saw nearly 15,000 tonnes of mixed plastic being collected in a pink bag, substantially reducing the amount of rubbish sent to landfills. 

There were 1,214 breaches of regulations in tanning salons across Belgium in 2016, compared to only 357 the year before, according to figures from the economy ministry. The figures are a result of an increased number of inspections ordered by labour minister Kris Peeters after the 2015 figures emerged. Breaches includes not providing the required information on the increased risk of skin cancer and allowing customers to remain under the lights too long.

Belgium is in fifth place for the provision of emergency health care in a survey of 144 countries carried out by the British website Clinic Compare. Monaco headed the list, based on the number of doctors per head of the population and a life expectancy of 90 years. The last on the list was Cameroon. Belgium ranked highly for skills of medical staff, equipment available to medical teams and convenience of location. The rest of the top five was made up of Austria, the Netherlands and France.

Belgium’s road toll for lorries has raised €648 million since it was introduced a year ago, according to Viapass, the company operating the collection system. The largest part of the total – €408 million – came from Flanders. The initial estimate of €500 million for the region was off because of the growth of greener lorries, Viapass said. More environmentally friendly vehicles pay less.

Five people were held by police last week following clashes at the Turkish embassy in Brussels between supporters and opponents of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The embassy was the site of voting in a referendum in Turkey that would give the president wider powers. About 175 people took part in an anti-Erdoğan protest, police said. Six people were injured in the clash; suspects could face two years in jail, which would double if they are found to have acted from political motives. 

Postal service Bpost is considering taking legal action against postal regulator BIPT’s decision to not allow an increase in the price of postage stamps this year. The increase was planned for products for individuals and small businesses, but BIPT said the profits gained would exceed the “reasonable income” level of 15%, in a market where there is not sufficient competition. Bpost argues that the ruling is not in keeping with Belgian and European regulations.

Last year saw more than 700 concerts taking place in Brussels, featuring more Belgian artists than in 2015 and 25,000 more tickets sold than the previous year. Planning for this year shows a continuing increase, with 25% more concerts planned. Last year, Ancienne Belgique accounted for 303 concerts, followed by Botanique on 258 and Vorst Nationaal on 72.

Brussels-Capital Region’s mobility minister, Pascal Smet, is working on a proposal to create a priority lane on motorways heading into capital for vehicles carrying more than two people. The proposal would also introduce a congestion charge for vehicles with fewer than three occupants.

Photo courtesy Couleur Café/ Benjamin Struelens