Speaking Dutch is central to this, van den Broeck believes. “Dutch is part of our DNA” as Flemish people, he said. Migration drives shifts “Brussels has always been a multilingual city because it’s centered at the border between the Roman- and the German-speaking territories,” explained VUB researcher Saeys. Waves of migration after World War II … Read more
We tried the Spaghettone alla Vittorio, spaghetti with incredibly tasty tomato sauce, and their signature Pâtes à la truffe, a type of ribbon-shaped pasta with mascarpone cheese and freshly grated truffle on top. From the fresh bread to dip in olive oil to the creamy tiramisu at the end of the meal, everything was to … Read more
Bernd Lange, the German MEP who heads the Conference of Committee Chairs (CCC), “will summarize” Tuesday’s discussion “and bring both proposals to CoP, highlighting a clear majority in CCC for November,” said two parliamentary officials with knowledge of the process, granted anonymity to speak freely. The only faction pushing for a mid-October start date is … Read more
The European Parliament has around 5,300 permanent staffers and 2,411 of them are in line for a pay rise, according to a document seen by Brussels Playbook. The list of names is so long that the document, dated September, runs to 70 pages. Not all of the 2,411 people on the list will necessarily get a … Read more
1. Farewell to friendship groups Back in the day (read: 2022), you could show your enthusiasm for a country without having to deal with the hassle of sitting on the foreign affairs committee or joining a formal delegation — by becoming a member of a “friendship group.” That provided all the fancy embassy dinners without any … Read more
Let’s start with the basics. What happened? Ursula von der Leyen was elected for a second term as European Commission president in July (more on how that happened later). The former German defense minister has been in the job since 2019 thanks to a backroom deal between then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel … Read more
After a ‘will she, won’t she’ few days, Ursula von der Leyen is on Tuesday set to unveil her top team at the European Commission. But who will get which portfolio? Stay with POLITICO for updates on the big announcement and for instant analysis of what it all means. Read original article here Denial of … Read more
“The name has not yet been decided, but I can tell you that Belgium will be able to submit a name within the deadline,” Georges-Louis Bouchez, the leader of the Reformist Movement (the French-speaking liberal party that’s likely to pick the commissioner), had said on Thursday. But as August ended, that pick had not been … Read more
The deadline for putting forward names for the next European Commission is the end of August. With that date approaching fast, and now that Ursula von der Leyen is back from her summer holiday in Germany, here are the nominees so far (remember that all of them, except for von der Leyen herself, need to … Read more
That’s compared to just five women (including von der Leyen herself) — or six if you include Spain’s expected pick Teresa Ribera, who is yet to be officially nominated. Two moves Thursday tipped the scales further, as Romania confirmed it would nominate Victor Negrescu, then Luxembourg put forward Christophe Hansen for the plum role. If Denmark and Italy … Read more
