The Recap: Tighter Rules, Tax Burdens & Hopeful News

The Recap: Tighter Rules, Tax Burdens & Hopeful News
Young travellers from Spain upon arrival in Belgium. Credit: Belga

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Parts of Greece and France turn orange, Spain fully red on European travel map: The map of Europe is turning orange again for travellers from Belgium, as large parts of Greece, France, Croatia and Denmark are no longer green on the latest update of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

Belgium tightens rules for returning travellers: Belgium is tightening its rules for travellers returning from a red zone, announced Prime Minister Alexander De Croo during a press conference on Monday.

World’s third-largest diamond arrives in Antwerp for analysis: On Monday, the third-largest diamond in the world which is reportedly more than 1.5 billion years old arrived in Antwerp, where it will be analysed and processed to determine how much it is worth.

Parties threaten to quit government if a hunger striker dies: As the situation of the migrants on hunger strike in Brussels worsens, French-speaking socialist party PS and green party Ecolo have threatened to quit the federal government if any one of the activists dies, which would result in the current government falling.

‘This is one of the greatest natural disasters Belgium has ever known,’ says Verlinden: The floods in large parts of Belgium at the end of last week were “one of the greatest natural disasters our country has ever known,” stated Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden during a press conference on Monday.

Study: Belgium in top 3 European countries with heaviest tax burden: Belgian workers are the third most taxed in the European Union and occupy the same position among a global group of 34 countries, according to The Tax Burden on Global Workers study published on Monday.

After floods, Wallonia’s railways to resume service line by line: The Belgian national rail company SNCB and rail infrastructure company Infrabel have set up a plan to restore rail traffic in Wallonia line by line following the devastating floods that swept the region last week.

‘Hopeful news:’ 50 people who were missing after floods found today: Some 50 people who were still presumed missing this morning following the floods last week have been contacted in the meantime, announced Prime Minister Alexander De Croo during a Consultative Committee press conference.

‘Shifts the problem’: banning travel to Spain is not smart, says Van Gucht: Imposing a travel ban for Spain is “not a good idea” now that coronavirus infections are rising in the country, as it would only shift the problem, according to virologist and interfederal Covid-19 spokesperson Steven Van Gucht.

Leak in Dutch coronavirus testing company allowed people to create fake certificates: A major leak at a Dutch test company, which also has locations in Belgium, made it possible for anyone to get into the system to create fake negative test certificates in the CoronaCheck app.

The Brussels Times


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