For more than a year and a half now, the 1bru1vote collective has been calling on Brussels politicians to give foreigners the right to vote in regional elections. While foreign nationals can vote in local elections, they are still unable to vote at the regional level. The collective estimates that approximately 220,000 European Union nationals and 90,000 from the rest of the world, or 310,000 people in total, do not have the right to vote in the Brussels Region for the regional elections.

In particular, the group has initiated a resolution on behalf of the Brussels Parliament, which was passed last April, calling on the federal parliament to grant the right to vote to all foreign nationals living in Brussels.

However, the group remains pessimistic that the resolution will be passed by the federal government.

“In the current state of power relations in the federal parliament, such an outcome unfortunately seems unrealistic to us,” explained 1bru1vote in a statement. The group thus believes that a law allowing foreigners to vote might not be passed until 2024, which would therefore postpone foreigners’ ability to vote until the 2029 regional elections.

As a result of the expected delay in passing this resolution, 1bru1vote has requested that the next Brussels government take several measures to “fill this legitimacy gap”. The collective is thus calling for the establishment of a ‘Brussels parliament’ of 89 citizens representing these 310,000 non-Belgian citizens of Brussels, with one third of the 89 consisting of non-Belgian municipal elected officials, one third of voluntary citizens, and one third of citizens drawn by lot.

The group has requested that this parliament be convened four times a year before a joint session with the Brussels Parliament, and that it be endowed with a certain amount of voting power.

The post 1bru1vote: a group calling for a parliament of the “310,000 non-Belgian citizens of Brussels” appeared first on Brussels Express.

He has been sitting in the European Parliament since 2009.

None of the candidates managed to win absolute majority in the first round.

David Sassoli got elected with an absolute majority in the second round. The threshold was 332 votes, while he got 345 votes.

He will be holding this position for two and a half years.

.@DavidSassoli was elected President of the European Parliament with 345 votes out of the 667 valid votes cast pic.twitter.com/PBbOtUOBPF

— EP PressService (@EuroParlPress) July 3, 2019

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Instead,  the center-right Marija Pejčinović Burić, Croation Foreign Minister, was chosen as the new Secretary-General of the CoE.  She had received 159 votes from 268 members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the CoE (PACE) in Strasbourg. Meanwhile Didier Reynders had 105.

I congratulate @MarijaPBuric for her election as the new Secretary General of the Council of Europe and wish her plenty of success.
I would like to thank the Belgian Parliamentarians for their support and the whole team that helped me during this campaign @coe pic.twitter.com/JE0AGXB2Lg

— didier reynders (@dreynders) June 26, 2019

These results seem to reflect the decision of PACE to allow Russian representatives to return to the chamber. It had been 5 years since Moscow was not allowed to vote because of their annexation of Crimea.

Russia threatened to leave PACE if they would not be allowed to vote in order to replace Thorbjørn Jagland as Secretary-General.

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Tokayev’s successful election was already predicted by political analyst Stephen Bland speaking at the Brussels Press Club some 2 weeks before the event, who called it more of a “coronation” of the state-preferred candidate for President rather than an election.

Bland had been speaking at a seminar investigating the work of NGOs in Brussels which have been used as front organisations representing the vested interests of oligarchs, without any proper transparency concerning the origin of their funding. One such organisation is the Brussels-based Open Dialogue Foundation (ODF) run by Lyudmyla Kozlovska and her husband Bartosz Kramek. According to Bland there are proven financial links between ODF and the Kazakh fugitive oligarch and convicted fraudster Mukhtar Ablyazov.

Bland has thoroughly researched the history of the Kazakh oligarch now living in exile in France, and was the editor of the book “Wanted Man”, published recently by Brussels-based author Gary Cartwright which tells the story of Ablyazov.

Bland says that the ODF has been linked to lobbying activities in the name of “human rights” whereby they represent a number of extremely wealthy fugitives, mostly wanted for money laundering in Moldova, Ukraine, Russia and other countries, presenting them publicly as persecuted members of the political opposition.

Kozlovska has in the past enjoyed personal support from individual members of the European Parliament, such as Anna Fotyga MEP and Julie Ward MEP, but according to Bland these politicians have now sought to distance themselves from her and her organisation.

What is clear is that much of the funding for ODF is paid through shell companies, often transferred by PayPal and Western Union making it more difficult to investigate a clear audit trail. Two of the shell companies used for this purpose are Kariastra Ltd and Silk Road Ltd.

ODF’s fugitive oligarch sponsor Mukhtar Ablyazov did attempt in 2017 to fund political opposition in Kazakhstan (the Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DVK)), but the party he established was declared an extremist organisation last March by the Kazakh courts, for inciting social discord and making public calls for the seizure of power.

It is not clear whether the ODF or Ablyazov have been involved behind the scenes in funding any of the civil protests and demonstrations that have followed yesterday’s elections in Kazakhstan. Similarly, Bland did not have any information regarding ODF’s involvement in the funding of any individual MEPs or their parties in last month’s European Parliament elections.

At the time of writing it remains to be seen whether the EU will continue to uphold Poland’s request to ban ODF’s Kozlovska and Branek from entering the Schengen zone, which they requested in August 2018 on the grounds that they allegedly posed a threat to the national security of Poland, because of a public call by Branek to bring down the Polish government.

But what is clear is that both the Kazakh and the EU authorities will need to continue to co-operate closely in monitoring the use of fake news by Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in the pursuit of their clients’ agendas, including potentially disruptive intervention against their political opponents.

Incoming President Tokayev has many important tasks on his agenda to promote Kazakhstan’s transition to democracy and keep the economy stable and dynamic. One area which should command his priority attention, as the population becomes more international in its expectations is the promotion of independence of the media and the freedom of speech. The EU institutions in Brussels should also provide supportive assistance to Kazakhstan’s emerging democracy in this regard, to include the identification and elimination of rogue NGOs like ODF.

The post Interview with Stephen Bland on the Open Dialogue Foundation appeared first on Brussels Express.

Moreover, the number of women members is set to increase: this year’s cohort will include 42 women, six more than in the previous parliament.

The distribution of members among the political parties has also become more evenly balanced: the strongest parties in 2014, the PS and the MR, lost seats (-4 and -5 respectively), as did DéFI (-2) and the cdH (-3); Ecolo (+7) and the PTB (+6), on the other hand, gained seats.

Flemish side

On the Flemish side, the Open Vld lost two seats, and the CD&V lost one. Groen won one, making it the most popular Flemish party (with 4 out of 17 Flemish seats).

French-speaking side

The following people were (re)elected to the PS (17; -4): outgoing Minister-President Rudi Vervoort, Secretary of State Fadila Laanan, Minister Rachid Madrane; Delphine Chabbert, Marc-Jean Ghyssels; Ridouane Chahid; Leila Agic; Isabelle Emmery; Jamal Ikazban; Nadia El Yousfi; Julien Uyttendaele; Mohamed Ouriaghli; Emin Özkara; Sevjket Temiz; Hasan Koyuncu; Ibrahim Dönmez. Philippe Close has resigned his seat, and will be replaced by Martin Casier. Mohamed Ouriaghli will not combine his parliamentary office with that of city alderman: he resigned the latter position on Monday.

A big upheaval occurred for Ecolo (15 elected officials; +7). Incumbent MPs Alain Maron, Barbara Trachte, Magali Plovie, Matteo Segers, Zoé Genot, and Ahmed Mouhssin will be joined by Kalvin Soiresse Njall, Rajae Maouane, Tristan Roberti, Isabelle Pauthier, Barbara de Radiguès, John Pitseys, Marie Lecocq, Hicham Talhi, and Farida Tahar.

As for the MR (13; -5), six newly-elected representatives will appear in the regional assembly: Alexia Bertrand; Geoffroy Coomans de Brachène; Clémentine Barzin; David Leisterh; Aurélie Czekalski, and Latifa Aït Baala.

At DéFI (10; -2), in addition to Bernard Clerfayt, Joëlle Maison, Cécile Jodogne, Marc Loewenstein, Emmanuel De Bock, and Michaël Vossaert, the parliamentary group will welcome Marie Nagy, who has previously sat in the regional parliament for a different party. DéFI also welcomes Christophe Magdalijns, former acting mayor of Auderghem; Jonathan de Patoul; and Ariane de Lobkowicz-d’Ursel.

At the PTB, Youssef Handichi and Françoise De Smedt will be joined by eight newcomers: Francis Dagrin; Stéphanie Koplowic; Jean-Pierre Kerckhofs; Elisa Groppi; Petya Obolensky; Caroline De Bock; Leila Lahssaini; and Luc Van Cauwenberghe.

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The decision of the Royal Palace to receive the President of Vlaams Belang, Tom Van Grieken, this Wednesday morning is “far-reaching”, according to several constitutional experts. On the one hand, King Philippe will now avoid accusations of victimisation and rejection by the far-right party. On the other hand, he is arguably legitimising the leader of an openly xenophobic and homophobic party.

The last official meeting between a Belgian King and the leader of a far right party was in 1936, when Leopold III invited Leon Degrelle, head of the Rex party, to the Royal Palace. In 1978, King Baudouin also invited Karel Dillen, president of Vlaams Blok (the precursor to Vlaams Belang), but the latter declined the invitation because of his party’s aversion to the monarchy.

Political reactions

Neither the PS nor Ecolo offered an immediate reaction to the King’s decision. “The King has made his own decision,” commented Green Co-President Zakia Khattabi. “I have an opinion but I will not give it to you,” said Paul Magnette (PS).

A more impassioned reaction came from the president of the Brussels Federation of the SP, Laurette Onkelinx, who has begun negotiations to form a regional government. In her opinion, nothing required the King to receive Mr Van Grieken. “It shocks me deeply. Why does the King think he is obliged to meet with Vlaams Belang when there is a clear rejection among the Flemish parties, outside the N-VA, of breaking the cordon sanitaire [the agreement whereby mainstream Belgian parties refuge to collaborate with extremist groups]?” Ms Onkelinx said to RTBF.

Prime Minister and President of the MR, Charles Michel, argued to the contrary that “the King is just doing his job” of conducting post-electoral consultations. “There is a constitutional procedure … it is up to the King to conduct consultations,” he said, before adding: “Right now, we need calm to allow the country to be governed. »

The CDH is also not contesting the King’s initiative. “Just the idea of seeing Vlaams Belang arrive at the Palace scares the hell out of me, but given the democratic result in Flanders, no one will hold it against the King to receive Mr Van Grieken,” said Maxime Prévot, President of the Humanist Democrats.

The President of the PTB, Peter Mertens, also refrained from commenting on the King’s choice. “It is not for me to define the King’s agenda,” he explained, before going on to insist upon on his party’s commitment to fight fascism in all its forms.

Reaction among activists

The reaction to the King’s decision was considerably more virulent among activist groups. Stand Up, the group behind the anti-fascist demonstration that gathered several thousand people on Monday, did not hide its disappointment. “The King is the first to break the cordon sanitaire against the extreme right and fascism the day after the great demonstration which gathered 7,000 people! The fight will be a long one, but we won’t give up, » the group warned on its Facebook page.

The post Politicians react to xenophobic party Vlaams Belang’s leader invitation to the Royal Palace appeared first on Brussels Express.

“Our message – which is to put the climate crisis back at the centre of the political debate – has been heard unevenly. The results of the elections in Wallonia and Brussels suggest the possibility of setting up a coalition government sensitive to climate issues. This is not the case in Flanders, however, where the parties that won the elections do not regard climate change as a serious issue,” says Youth for Climate.

Nevertheless, the movement sees hope at the European level: “Our message seems to have been heard and is reflected in the European Parliament election results. This is all the more important as the European authorities remain a crucial level of power to guide and stimulate the transition to a green economy and to set more ambitious climate objectives.”

After a brief review period, Youth for Climate intends to continue its struggle to place climate change at the heart of the negotiations for the formation of the next federal Belgian government. The recommendations of an expert climate panel, as well as Youth for Climate’s own report, have already been provided to each major party president.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the United Nations, less than 12 years remain to avoid irreversible climate disruptions and to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels.

The post Youth for Climate finds Belgian election results “disappointing” appeared first on Brussels Express.

My expectations for the elections of the European Parliament are very concrete. The outcome of the elections is very important. European Parliament needs to be ran by people who really want to make a change for the better. The European Union needs representatives, who are not populists, but have willingness to make Europe safe, secure, prosperous and sustainable. Since the future of Europe is essential and the European Union is at a Crossroads, even more after BREXIT, we, Europeans need to make sure that we know what is behind each candidate who takes part of these elections. It is important that people vote and voting activity is strong, only in that way the right candidates will represent European people. Us, Europeans need to be heard, only this way we can be sure that the future of Europe will be stronger than ever.

2. Do you/people in your member state still have faith in the EU to deliver?

According to the Eurobarameter, more than half (53%) of Estonian’s respondents say they “tend to trust” the EU. 74% of Estonians (which is slightly more than in EU28 in average with 70%) believe that they are satisfied with free and fair elections (important aspects of democracy in the European Union).

3. Will you be voting? If so, who for (if you are willing to say)?

Yes, I will. As I mentioned before it is important for each and every European to vote. The majority thinks that one vote will not change anything but it clearly will. I will be voting for the candidate whose goal is to make Europe a more competitive, stabile and safer place. At this very moment, it is very important to strengthen and improve Europe’s stability.

4. Tell us some very brief persona/biographical details about yourself?

I am Merily Martin, 21 years old, Estonian. My past 7 years I have spent in Belgium and the Netherlands. I attended the European School in Brussels for 6 years and I am currently studying European Law in the Maastricht University.

The post Vox Populi: Merily Martin from Tallinn, Estonia appeared first on Brussels Express.

I write from a Danish perspective. We are 5 million Danes seemingly doing quite well on the international stage. Right now our star player in Europe is Margrethe Vestager – commissioner for competition – attracting global attention and fame because she takes on big companies like Apple, Amazon, Siemens and Alstrom.

But we also need strong players in elections for the European Parliament. Therefore, it is extremely important that each country puts forward a strong list of candidates that manage to explain Europe in ways that inspire, engage and motivate.

Europe is present in everything we do. It is in politics, business, education and culture. The key challenge for candidates: how can they mobilize European drive, energy and optimism around good solutions to problems no country could ever solve alone.

Communication is one key to successful elections. We need candidates that can help voters understand the complexities of modern European and global life. Any political issue has a local, a national, a European and a global angle. We as voters need somebody to simplify so that we don’t give up and turn inward as a way of protecting ourselves from the world.

We also need a spring in election meetings that you want to attend as a voter. This means innovative ways of inviting and involving voters around issues that matter to them. Meeting organizers need the courage to try new ways to get voters to leave their screens.

We also need a media that moves away from nationalist agendas and makes Europe interesting and engaging for everybody. Programmes of any kind with European participants  news programmes, education programmes, sports programmes, entertainment programmes. The media clearly has the potential to function as a game changer. But will they accept the challenge?

Finally, we need candidates that are social media wizards. Social media plays a key role in spreading news, messages and political views.

The potential for exciting European elections is clearly there. But if we stick to the old ways of doing things – we will get the same results: apathy, lack of engagement and a growing likelihood that Europe may fall apart. If we innovate and focus on European energy we may get the support we need.

The post Vox Populi: Povl Christian Henningsen from Aarhus, Denmark appeared first on Brussels Express.

For this European Elections, I hope that the young generation go to the polls to make themselves represented. When I say young generation, I am not referring to people’s age. I am talking about people who are concerned with issues that are affecting all people in general, even the ones who are not even born yet. Such issues are the environment and biosphere, positive and structural peace between gender, ethnic/religious groups and nations, and these three values of our society who are being threatened by our extremist groups: human rights, democracy and freedom. Those concerns are indeed very recent if we look to history, thereby I am say that those who take them into account represent the young generation.

Nevertheless, what I hope is far different from what I expect. Unfortunately I have very pessimistic predictions about the new European Parliament to be elected this year. From what I observe, anti-democratic, intolerant and neo-fascist groups are gaining more and more strength all over the world, including inside the EU. This, make me foresee dark times coming upon all of us in Europe after these elections.

As an activist, I’ll be ready to join efforts to fight for a more sustainable and fairer world for every person in this planet, come what may.

2. Do you/people in your member state still have faith in the EU to deliver?

I think that people in Portugal are in general very acceptable of the European project. They have in mind that the European funds are very helpful to the Portuguese economy. Although, while the idea of European Union, of sovereignty-sharing, is interesting and favourable to peace and development. The way in which the EU functions is not the fairest nor the most effective one (which I also believe that most of the Portuguese are aware of it).

3. Will you be voting? If so, who for (if you are willing to say)?

No, because legally I am not European. As a Brazilian immigrant, I am living in Portugal for 8 years. Here I was educated. Here is my home. Voting is one of the rights I am denied for not having the «European Citizenship». I self-declare myself a European Citizen anyway. ahaha

4. Tell us some very brief persona/biographical details about yourself?

• Born in Japan, raised in Brazil and living in Portugal
• Student of International Relations in the University of Lisbon
• Politically engaged in civil movements, likewise pacifism, feminism, environmentalism, human rights and democracy protection and anti-capitalism;
• Aims to study Peace Studies and Conflict Transformation in order to become a Peace-worker and Conflict Mediator.

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