Good afternoon from Avenue Louise.
Katie Westwood here with your daily dish of Belgian news for an English-speaking audience.
Most of us who move to Brussels have realistic expectations about the city. We know it’s not a Geneva or a Singapore, where the streets are so clean you could safely eat your dinner off the pavement (with a hefty fine factored in, naturally).
We accept the city’s rough edges and forgive its scruffiness as the price we pay for living in a characterful city that isn’t a manicured theme park. But there is a point where scruffiness tips into dishevelment and where a bit of dirt becomes a public health hazard.
In Brussels, it seems that the issue of urban cleanliness is coming to a head. Recent bin collection strikes have meant that in some parts of the city, stinking piles of rubbish have lain uncollected on street corners for days – and that’s just the tip of the insalubrity iceberg.
Today’s lead story – written by Brussels Times Political Editor Maïthé Chini – looks at the contents of an open letter to the Capital Region's new Minister-President Boris Dilliès from a group of concerned citizens.
Condemning illegal dumping of rubbish and graffiti tarnishing the city’s streets, the group say Brussels is being “made dirty” as a result of a “collective failure”, turning our city into a “European capital with a sad reputation”.
The group also makes the link between insalubrity and insecurity, and urges Dilliès to prioritise the essentials: "basic safety, cleanliness, the quality of life for the people of Brussels”.
It’s like they were reading the mind of our guest contributor, Derek Blyth, who has written a barnstorming piece today urging people to take action to clean up the city’s streets.
Long-time resident Derek wants clean streets “not just for one day, but forever, so we might feel a bit of local pride when we show visitors around, pointing out the extraordinary architecture, rather than the dog shit”.
Derek thinks we need a citizen campaign to sort the issue out once and for all. It worked with the transformation of the Grand Place from a car park to a tourist attraction in the 1970s, so why not with cleanliness in the 2020s?
If you have any bright ideas on how to clean up the city, feel free to drop me an email at k.westwood@brusselstimes.com.
Elsewhere on our homepage, Brussels Times News Editor Ugo Realfonzo looks at the sad state of Adolphe Sax’s tombstone in Paris, while reporter Raphaël Jucobin gives a lovely overview of Flemish Cycling Week, the “Super Bowl of Flemish cycling”.
Bye for now!
Belgium in Brief is a free daily roundup of the top stories to get you through your coffee break conversations. To receive it straight to your inbox every day, sign up below:
1. ‘Disgraceful situation’: New Brussels Government urged to tackle safety and cleanliness
"As Brussels residents, we refuse to accept the unacceptable; we are calling for funds to be made available to put an end to this disgraceful situation." Read more.
2. Trashing Brussels: Why is Europe’s capital so dirty?
"Maybe it’s time for a citizen campaign. Everyone here wants clean streets. Not just for a day, but forever, so we can show visitors the architecture, not the dog shit." Read more.
3. Suspicious packages at Brussels-Midi station: Investigation launched
"The fact that the suspicious package was a hoax does not detract from the criminal nature of the offences." Read more.
4. Belgian inventor of the saxophone’s tomb is falling apart in Paris
Adolphe Sax's tomb in the iconic Montmartre Cemetery in Paris is in an advanced state of deterioration that is "almost irreversible". Read more.
5. No passenger tax at Charleroi Airport after all
At the end of last year, the city of Charleroi announced that it planned to introduce a €3 tax on every passenger departing from Charleroi Airport from 2026. Read more.
6. Italian community in Belgium firmly rejects Meloni’s judicial reform
Italians living abroad were also given the opportunity to vote on the controversial judicial reform proposed by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Read more.
7. Excitement builds in Flanders as the ‘Super Bowl of Flemish cycling’ begins this week
The highly-anticipated Flemish Cycling Week will see thousands of fans line the cobblestone roads of the region. Read more.
