Brussels Environment has made this decision, whose ultimate aim is to reduce the frequency of traffic jams in Belgium’s capital. Don’t you see the point?

Everyday, about 200,000 employees enter Brussels by car to go to work. Though this is not the only reason for the city’s traffic jams, it is definitely a leading cause of them. To address this problem, Brussels Environment wants parking spaces reserved for private companies in public car parks to disappear.

Since local rules require that parking operators renew their licence every 15 years, every new licence will now only be granted if this condition is met. Thus, operators will only have two options going forward: either they must make those spaces previously reserved for private companies accessible to anyone, or they must render the entire car park a “business car park”, in which private companies will only be able to reserve parking spaces at higher than current prices (because of increased taxes).

“This is one of the remarkable measures the Region has taken in order to fight against traffic jams in Brussels and to support mobility,” Pauline Lorbat, spokesperson for Brussels Environment, explained to Belga.

Brussels Environment’s ultimate goal is to encourage the use of public transportation, bikes, scooters etc. Although this might sound a bit problematic to those who are not used to going to work without a car, such measures are, arguably, necessary to reduce the frequency of traffic jams in Belgium’s capital.

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What do you think about having a business car? Maybe you yourself have one. Does it seem relevant/necessary/needed/responsible?

This debate has been taking place over many years in Belgium, as providing employees with business cars constitutes one way of ‘paying’ them. It is, however, a sensitive issue.

For those who have such a car, it’s almost impossible to even consider whether it is something worth keeping. Those who do not benefit from having a business car, on the other hand, are likely to have different opinions. Indeed, some think it might be useful to reform the tax system, to stop incentivising employers offering business cars to their employees.

This is therefore an economic debate. But it is also a debate about the future of our society. Everyone agrees on the need to have cleaner air in Brussels, and to decrease pollution. But by providing employees with a business car, employers are surely participating in making Brussels a dirtier and more congested city.

If, however, more pedestrian areas were designed and implemented, there would be fewer and fewer reasons to drive as frequently as many Brussels residents do now.

New mobility solutions (such as public transportation, bikes, scooters etc.) have also appeared over the last few years, and they also question our current driving-intensive way of life.

In short: business cars, yes or no?

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What would the EU neighbourhood look like if there were no cars? While millions of cars pass through the district every week and month, making the air quality very bad, this situation might well soon change.

Pascal Smet, the Brussels minister for mobility, would like to make a part of Schuman square pedestrian-friendly. “Schuman is one of the most emblematic places in Brussels and in Belgium, a business card […]. It is also the deadest and ugliest square,” he said.

How would this change be brought about? First of all, Cortenbergh Avenue would only have two lanes (instead of three lanes, as it does today) for cars, and the third lane would be used only by buses. Then, Schuman square itself would only have two lanes, one towards Rue de la Loi and the other one only for buses. The extension of Rue de la Loi (between Schuman and Cinquantenaire) would be fully pedestrian, and no cars would be able to use the lanes at the end of Rue Froissart and Auderghem Avenue.

And finally, in the middle of the square, a massive canopy would be set up, which would be decorated with greenery.

The works for such a purpose would cost about €8 million. The different Brussels authorities would also coordinate with each other in order to make this project successful. However, the project would likely only be completed in several years’ time.

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The new initiative is a consequence of the EU’s DiscoverEU programme. This is the third edition of the scheme, after 15,000 tickets had been granted on the previous two occasions.

The programme provides tickets for train, bus or ferry journeys, although flight tickets might also be offered in exceptional cases.

Since more than 20,000 young people are likely to be interested in the programme, there will be a contest to decide the winners. To take part, you should be born between 2 July 2000 and 1 July 2001, and be free to travel from 1 August 2019 to 31 January 2020 for a maximum period of 30 days. You should apply before noon on the 16th of May by answering a quiz. The winners will be able to choose to travel with friends or by themselves.

For more information about this initiative, please visit this webpage.

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This recommendation follows the terrible attacks Sri Lanka has been subject to during the Easter weekend. The attacks resulted in the death of more than 250 people, according to the last reports.

It seems the Sri Lanka authorities still fear some additional attacks, which explains why some countries have suggested their citizens not to go there, except in cases of absolute necessity. “Some terrorists are actively pursued, and a risk of new attacks could happen in the country. The communitarian tensions might revive”, the minister said.

The attacks might therefore have a significant impact on tourism in this Asian territory. Some tour operators have decided to limit their offers there, and hundreds or thousands of tourists may postpone or cancel their trip.

On Friday to Saturday night, police forces have conducted an assault on the Eastern part of Sri Lanka to neutralise people who are considered terrorists. At least 15 people were found dead after the assault.

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The decision was made after several bus drivers and passengers expressed concern about their safety over the last few months. This in turn was due to the fact that many homeless people and refugees have repeatedly used the bus terminals at Gare du Nord as places to sleep at night.

Last week, the Flemish minister for Mobility, Ben Weyts, asked De Lijn, the Flemish bus operator, to remove its permanent terminal at Gare du Nord, and to set up several temporary ones instead in front of the station. However, several technical and administrative issues have to be settled before this plan can be implemented.

This is why a part of the station is closed at night. Moreover, as the rest of the station will remain open, many refugees and homeless people will still be able to find a place to sleep at the station.

It would appear that the Brussels-Capital Region justified its decision because of a lack of action by the Belgian Federal authorities on the issue of refugee management.

Representatives from De Lijn, Brussels-Capital and the Federal authorities will meet up to discuss the matter further.

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There’s no way of denying the traffic problems in Brussels. Since tens of thousands of cars roam the streets of the Belgian capital every day, parking spots are understandably at a premium.

The statistics released by the Parking Observatory, however, do not spell good news for drivers in the Belgian capital.

While about 496,000 cars are registered in Brussels-Capital region, the Parking Observatory states that there were only 304, 983 parking spots on the streets on 31 December 2018, roughly 1400 fewer than had been recorded two years earlier.

However, the Parking Observatory stresses that its figures are not perfectly precise, as several communes do not normally advertise the parking places they have removed or set up from year to year. Moreover, those parking spots are not the only places you can park, since both private and public parks are not taken into account in this study.

It seems that the City of Brussels is the champion of parking spots on the street, with more than 43,600 available places. This figure is significantly higher than, for instance, Schaerbeek’s, where there are only 25,300 places.

In case you find it difficult to park, it might be a good opportunity to try out new modes of transportation…

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Cleaning the cities is a two-way street. The public authorities should implement some measures and the citizens must contribute, too.

In this framework, the Brussels-Capital region has launched a new pilot project on Monday, which involves issuing ‘premiums’ for recycled cans. But what is that?

Three public areas will be provided with special recycling machines for cans. Every time you put a can into one of those machines, you get a 5 cent voucher ticket back, which you will be able to use in Good Food shops and even in some bars.

“If there’s no bin around, people are throwing their waste on the ground. The main way to change such behaviour lies with education,” said Fadila Laanan, the state secretary for public cleanliness.

The three places where this pilot project will tried out are Solboch campus, Alma-UCL and Place de la Monnaie.

This test is scheduled to last six months. If it is successful, it might well be prolonged and extended to other areas of the Belgian capital.

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Transgender issues are sometimes misunderstood in our societies. When children question their own identity and gender, families might be unprepared and it can lead to disastrous situations.

To try to tackle this, Transkids has been created.

What’s the goal of this foundation? It is both about supporting and informing transgender children and their parents, and it also aims to increase awareness about transgender issues. The foundation provides a forum for transgender children and their parents to interact and engage with each other, which makes it possible for everyone to understand what their life is like.

The foundation will hold several events over the upcoming months. For example, a meeting is scheduled next week, and Transkids will also be taking children to the beach for a day trip. Furthermore, the foundation will be active during the Pride Festival, ahead of Gay Pride in Brussels.

If you’re interested in finding out more about what Transkids does, please have a look at the Facebook page.

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The Ethiopian Airlines flight ET302 crash, which took place on March 10th, has had significant effects on the flights operating with the Boeing 737 Max models. While 157 people (149 passengers and 8 crew members) have passed away some minutes after the plane departed from Ethiopia, several aviation safety authorities have decided to suspend flight operations of Boeing 737-8 Max and 737-9 Max.

The EASA is part of those agencies. The European authority, based in Koln (Germany) has published a Directive on Tuesday March 12th, which has been suspending « all flight operations of all Boeing Model 737-8 and 737-9 Max airplanes in Europe« , as of 19.00 UTC. 

« All fights performed by third-country operators into, within or out of the EU of the above mentioned models«  are also covered by the binding text.

« Aviation safety is our number one priority and the EU is taking every step to ensure the safety of passengers« , Violeta Bulc, the European commissioner in charge of transports, wrote on Twitter.

#EASA suspends all Boeing 737 Max operations in Europehttps://t.co/vD6MYQlJWB

— EASA (@EASA) March 12, 2019

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