Belgium

BRUSSELS (AP) — As the war in Ukraine grinds into a second month, President Joe Biden and Western allies are gathering to chart a path to ramp up pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin while tending to the economic and security fallout that’s spreading across Europe and the world.

BRUSSELS, March 23. /TASS/: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization won’t send troops to Ukraine, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told a news conference in Brussels, commenting on a proposal by Poland for the alliance to send peacekeeping troops there.

"NATO is not part of the conflict it provides support to Ukraine but isn't part of the conflict," he said. "NATO will not send the troops into Ukraine."

22 March 2022; MEMO: The EU has backed Spain's new position on the fate of Western Sahara as an autonomous region of Morocco, Reuters has reported. This was a surprise change of tack by the government of Pedro Sanchez that has met with a lot of domestic opposition.

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union countries on Monday accused the Russian armed forces of committing war crimes in Ukraine, but appeared unlikely to impose new sanctions on Moscow despite a clamor across Europe for those responsible for attacks on civilians to be held to account.

With civilian deaths mounting in the besieged port city of Mariupol, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock highlighted the increase in Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure, including hospitals and theaters.

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union countries on Monday accused the Russian armed forces of committing war crimes in Ukraine, but appeared unlikely to impose new sanctions on Moscow despite a clamor across Europe for those responsible for attacks on civilians to be held to account.

With civilian deaths mounting in the besieged port city of Mariupol, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock highlighted the increase in Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure, including hospitals and theaters.

BRUSSELS (AP) — A car slammed at high speed into carnival revelers in a small town in southern Belgium early Sunday, killing six people and leaving 10 more with life-threatening injuries. Several dozen were more lightly injured.

“What should have been a great party turned into a tragedy,” said Belgian Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden.

BRUSSELS, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Cases of Omicron BA2, a COVID-19 subvariant, are rising across the European Union (EU), the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said on Thursday.

"While many EU countries are lifting restrictions, we notice that the infection rates are increasing again in some member states, partly because of the circulation of Omicron BA2, which seems to be more transmissible than other variants," Marco Cavalieri, head of the EMA's strategy on biological health threats and vaccines, told journalists here.

BRUSSELS, March 17 (Reuters) - Belgium may extend the life of its nuclear sector, deferring an exit planned for 2025 after the Russian invasion of Ukraine forced a rethink by the governing coalition.

Energy minister Tinne Van der Straeten presented a note to core cabinet members on Wednesday, which broadcaster RTBF said referred to a bill to be approved by the end of March extending the lives of the two newest reactors by up to 10 years.

BRUSSELS (AP) — In an underground archive below NATO’s headquarters lies a key document that sets out the vision of both NATO and Russia about their future ties, as it was shaped almost a quarter of a century ago. The room is sealed. White gloves must be worn to handle the text.

“NATO and Russia do not consider each other as adversaries. They share the goal of overcoming the vestiges of earlier confrontation and competition and of strengthening mutual trust and cooperation,” reads the preamble of the NATO-Russia Founding Act, signed in May 1997.

BRUSSELS, March 15. /TASS/: The European Union officially approved the fourth package of sanctions against Russia, which includes economic and personal restrictive measures, the EU Council announced on Tuesday.