It is a moment for Belgium to shine: the rest of Europe, and indeed the world, will be watching as the country takes command of the complex EU institutional machinery. With the EU tentatively emerging from an economic downturn – and stumbling through crises like the recent euro debt threat – the Belgian presidency comes at a particularly sensitive moment.
At the same time, search warrants was also carried out at the Sint- Rombout cathedral in the city and in the offices of the commission set up by the church to look into abuse complaints, located in Leuven. More than 450 case files were seized.
The raids provoked immediate criticism from the church; from Peter Adriaenssens, the respected child psychiatrist who chairs the commission; and from the Pope himself. On Monday this week, Adriaenssens announced that he would not continue in his post.
The job he is undertaking is known in Belgian politics as informateur in both Dutch and French. The informateur is charged with sounding out the parties to discover the likelihood of some of them being able to form a majority coalition. The job is entirely informal; no law or regulation governs the practice. In fact, the king is not obliged to follow the informateur procedure at all and could simply appoint a party leader to form a government following the talks he routinely has with the main figures on the political scene.
N-VA has only been around since the beginning of this century. In the 2003 election, it earned just one seat. Seven years on, no less than 27 representatives will take up seats in the newly elected Chamber of Representatives. Except for the greens, the results of all the other parties dropped to historic lows.
What caused this tsunami vote?
A new coordinator and better publicity boosted turnout and so did the strategic actions before pride, which drew media attention. And this year for the first time there was a unified political message – or three, in fact: a strengthened focus on gender issues, problems with the adoption law and the European directive.
He was evicted from his apartment and has had no fixed address since. He bought the gun he used to kill Brandon and her court clerk, André Bellemans, shortly after his eviction. According to one report, he made verbal threats of revenge at the time of the judgement. The incident happened at 11.20 on Thursday, 3 June, in the courtroom of the fourth canton of the Brussels small claims court, which is presided over by justices of the peace. The court is situated on the Ernest Allardstraat in the shadow of the Justice Palace.
The majority of the addresses were in the vicinity of Lemmensplein in the part of Anderlecht known as Kuregem, the scene of violent clashes between police and youths earlier in the year and a part of the city claimed by some to be a police no-go area. Property seized included equipment for growing cannabis, seven luxury cars and €280,000 in cash.
Two-thirds of the population in Flanders eats fruit every day (compared to 60% in Wallonia and 64% in Brussels). However, only 39% eat two or more portions a day. Women are more conscientious than men, but 15 to 24-year-olds are the worst performers: fewer than half eat fruit (not counting fruit juice) daily. In the age group 55 to 64, the reverse is true: 50% eat at least two portions a day.
The two men are suspected arms dealers and allegedly part of an Albanian gang involved in weapons smuggling. They are among a group of 11 suspects detained three months ago. Following the arrests, Audenaert held a press conference praising the intensive year-long enquiry carried out by police, which culminated in an action in which 180 police swooped on 22 different locations and netted firearms and ammunition, explosives, police uniforms and bulletproof vests.
Belgian elections, unlike the British elections which took place last week, are run on a form of proportional representation. Parties present lists of candidates to the voters, who may choose a whole list or vote for the individuals on it.
The formation of the lists is of supreme importance to politicians because one’s position on the list more or less determines one’s chances of being elected. If a party is expected to pick up four seats, for example, then the fifth person on the list has a slim chance of being elected, but the sixth does not.
Flanders Today is a 
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