Articles and notes about Belgium.
German auto supplier Schaeffler will cut 3,460 jobs and close five sites in Europe, the company said on Tuesday, citing weakening demand for combustion-engine vehicles, slower-than-expected electric-vehicle adoption and intense competition. The cuts affect 16 sites, including four plants in Germany and one in Belgium, with about 2,660 jobs eliminated in Germany by 2028, roughly 9% of the company's core German workforce. Schaeffler expects annual savings of about 300 million euros by 2030, with one-off costs of roughly 480 million euros, most of which will be booked in 2026.
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever tendered his resignation to King Philippe on Monday as coalition talks deadlocked over a deficit-cutting budget, with the monarch putting off his decision until the end of the week; the government is seeking savings and new revenue to cut a budget deficit that exceeds five percent of GDP.
The king will launch discussions with the different party leaders of the governing coalition and will receive De Wever again on Friday.
All Belgian political forces oppose using frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine, and a possible resignation of De Wever would not change that position, the Rapporteur portal reported, as cited by Sputnik.
Supermarket chains in Sweden, Belgium and Luxembourg said the temperatures of their refrigerators and freezers in dozens of stores rose overnight, raising fears of a cyber-attack similar to one that caused millions of euros in food losses in France. In Sweden, the Coop chain told the daily Aftonbladet that six of its stores had been affected, and ICA said a “limited number” of stores had their refrigeration and freezer systems impacted.
Belgium’s Prime Minister Bart De Wever will offer his government’s resignation to King Philippe on Monday, after overnight budget negotiations failed, local media report. The government must save 10 billion euros to stay within European Union (EU) spending limits: the deficit reached 5% last year, while European rules allow a maximum of 3%.
Dozens of supermarkets in Belgium and Sweden have been hit by a suspected cyber-attack affecting refrigerators and freezers, according to the BBC. In Belgium, around 40 Delhaize stores and 15 Carrefour stores were affected; in Sweden, ICA and Coop shops, and thirteen SuperValu shops in Ireland. Thousands of euros worth of food had to be thrown away, according to local media reports, and one ICA store in Sweden said its freezers' temperatures had been set to 50 C (122F).
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever may resign after a meeting with King Philippe on Monday, according to De Standaard newspaper. The reason would be the failure of attempts to agree on the federal budget. The premier meets at the Palace at 9:30 a.m. and is expected to submit the government's resignation after the kern failed to reach a budget deal, according to RTBF.
The European Commission has received about €8 billion in revenue generated from the reinvestment of frozen Russian sovereign assets held at Belgium-based Euroclear since 2024, according to TASS, citing the depository's report. The latest tranche, of €1.4 billion, was transferred to the Commission in August.
Israeli settlers attacked European diplomats, a French mayor and the archbishop of Cambrai in Taybeh, in the occupied West Bank, on Saturday, injuring three people and damaging a car, according to the Tehran Times. Belgium’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Maxime Prévot, condemned the violence against Palestinians, foreign diplomats and journalists and said his country would continue to push for European Union sanctions on settlers.
Masked Israeli settlers attacked a delegation of European diplomats in the occupied West Bank, assaulting a French mayor and damaging cars, according to the BBC. The delegation also included officials from Belgium and Poland, according to Al Jazeera. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot demanded that Israel crack down on criminal violence after a French mayor was beaten by Israeli settlers in the West Bank, and top US diplomat Marco Rubio said the United States is very disturbed by footage of the assault and urged Israeli authorities to crack down on violence across the territory, according to TRT World.
Belgium condemned on Saturday an attack by Israeli settlers on a convoy of European diplomats in the occupied West Bank, during which a visiting French mayor was beaten. Witnesses told the Middle East Eye that diplomats from the French, Belgian and Polish missions had driven to Taybeh, a largely Christian village in the occupied West Bank, when settlers arrived to stop Palestinians from picking their olives. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar also condemned the attack, calling it “rioter” violence.