Belgium

27 March 2024; MEMO: The Brussels City Council has passed a motion to halt the public procurement of products from Israeli settlements, Anadolu Agency reports.

The motion, brought by Benoit Hellings, a Councillor in the capital of Brussels, was adopted unanimously in a vote late Monday.

24 March 2024; MEMO: The EU on Sunday condemned the Israeli seizure of 800 hectares of land in the Jordan Valley in the occupied West Bank, Anadolu Agency reports.

“The European Union firmly condemns the announcement by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich that over 800 hectares of land in the occupied Palestinian territory have been declared as ‘state lands’,” the EU said in a statement.

18 March 2024; MEMO: The EU foreign policy chief today warned that Gaza is already “in a state of famine”, saying the situation is “entirely man-made” by Israel.

“In Gaza, we are no longer on the brink of famine, we are in a state of famine affecting thousands of people,” Josep Borrell told the opening ceremony of the two-day European Humanitarian Forum 2024 in Brussels.

“This is unacceptable,” he stressed, adding: “Starvation is used as a weapon of war.”

19 March 2024; MEMO: European Union foreign ministers yesterday agreed in principle to impose sanctions on Israeli settlers for attacking Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and to add further sanctions on members of Hamas, Reuters reported.

BRUSSELS, March 4 (Reuters) - The European Commission will propose on Tuesday ways for the European Union to boost its arms industry so it can shift to "war economy mode" in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Thierry Breton, the European industry commissioner, will lay out proposals to encourage EU countries to buy more weapons together from European companies, and to help such firms increase production capacity, according to EU officials.

BRUSSELS, January 19. /TASS/: The European Union intends to introduce new sanctions against Russia by the second anniversary of the start of the special military operation in Ukraine, a EU spokesperson told reporters.

"Yes, I can confirm that member-countries and the top diplomat intend to mark the second anniversary with new sanctions against Russia," he said, stressing that the EU is working on this matter.

"We are working on them and hope to achieve the result," the spokesperson added.

BRUSSELS, Jan 18 (Reuters) - The European Parliament on Thursday endorsed a call to punish Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban for damaging democracy at home by moving one step closer to suspending Budapest's vote in the bloc.

The lawmakers voted 345 for and 104 against on a resolution condemning the "deliberate, continuous and systematic efforts of the Hungarian government to undermine the founding values of the EU".

BRUSSELS, Jan 18 (Reuters) - NATO is launching its largest exercise since the Cold War, rehearsing how U.S. troops could reinforce European allies in countries bordering Russia and on the alliance's eastern flank if a conflict were to flare up with a "near-peer" adversary.

Some 90,000 troops are due to join the Steadfast Defender 2024 drills that will run through May, the alliance's top commander Chris Cavoli said on Thursday.

BRUSSELS (AP) — Ukraine is locked in an existential battle for its survival almost two years into its war with Russia and Western armies and political leaders must drastically change the way they help it fend off invading forces, a top NATO military officer said on Wednesday.

At a meeting of the 31-nation alliance’s top brass, the chair of the NATO Military Committee, Admiral Rob Bauer, also said that behind President Vladimir Putin’s rationale for the war is a fear of democracy, in a year marked by elections around the world.

BRUSSELS, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Belgium has taken over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) for a challenging six-month term in 2024. The road ahead is no easy feat, with the European Parliament entering an election period in June, intensifying the urgency for the presidency to conclude numerous legislative dossiers.

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo revealed in December that around 150 legislative dossiers are on the table, a point reiterated at the official presentation of the program for the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU.