Good afternoon. It’s Katie Westwood with you today to kick off the week.
It was quite a weekend for everyone here in Belgium. Things started well on Saturday with an early-morning thumping of New Zealand by the Red Devils, which guaranteed their place in the knock-out stages of the World Cup.
Having been driven demented by the heat, I spent most of Saturday doing a rain dance – and lo! It worked. The storm over Brussels, when it finally came, was both spectacular and a blessed relief, except if you had tickets to a festival on Saturday night.
Meanwhile, the much talked-about US Independence Day knees-up in Cinquantenaire Park took place yesterday evening, creating a very different – but no less noisy – kind of spectacle.
The great and the good of Belgium showed their faces, including PM Bart De Wever, while Donald Trump graced the party with his presence via video message. To mark the occasion, he received a diamond-encrusted gold ring from the Antwerp diamond industry – which will be delivered by his trusty emissary, Bill White.
But enough of this glitz and drama. Let me bring you back down to earth with our top story of the day: an analysis of a call by Georges-Louis Bouchez for a "French-speaking federalisation" of the powers of Belgium’s regions.
The leader of the Francophone liberal MR party wants to give more powers to the French-speaking Community Government (also known as the Federation Wallonie-Bruxelles – FWB) – one of Belgium's six governments. His intention is to simplify administration and make better use of Brussels as the country’s driver of economic development.
It all sounds reasonable enough on paper, but as our Political Editor Maïthé Chini explains, it seems unlikely that Belgium’s notorious institutional and governmental lasagne will be reformed anytime soon. The existence of Brussels is, as always, the blocker to change.
Talking of complexity, while you were relaxing in a chest freezer over the weekend, you may have missed a fascinating story by Features Editor Isabella Vivian on polyamory in Belgium.
Today’s sexually adventurous couples have done away with pampas grass and bowls of car keys for a different kind of non-monogamy, based on maintaining multiple romantic or emotional relationships with the consent of all involved. Find out all about it here.
Elsewhere, reporter Christopher Richards looks at why Wallonia led Belgium’s new business growth last year. The region, once the country’s industrial powerhouse, has struggled in recent years, but its fortunes appear to be turning around. Christopher explains why here.
As always, if you have any comments, tips or suggestions, you can find me at k.westwood@brusselstimes.com.
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Bye for now!
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1. Calls for a ‘French-speaking federalisation’ of Belgium: What does it mean?
MR leader Georges-Louis Bouchez wants to assign more powers to the French-speaking Community over the Walloon and Brussels regions, but some call it a "political fiction". Read more.
2. Digital euro to launch in 2029: What is it, and will it replace cash?
The European Parliament approved the long-awaited single currency package last week – aiming to reduce the EU's dependence on US payment systems. Read more.
3. ‘Let’s ignore media noise’: US marks 250th anniversary with celebrations in Brussels
Donald Trump made a brief appearance via video link at the Cinquantenaire event, and received a special gift from the Antwerp diamond industry. Read more.
4. Wallonia led Belgium’s new business growth last year – here’s why
Wallonia recorded a 12.1% growth in new firms in 2025, with Hainaut recording an increase of almost 20%. Read more.
5. Letters from Europe’s darkest chapter could soon be etched on a new Brussels memorial
If plans come together as expected, Brussels will host a major new place of remembrance. Read more.
6. Last day to submit paper tax returns in Belgium
While only a minority of Belgian taxpayers opt to file their taxes on paper, the Finance Ministry still received tens of thousands of physical forms by post last year. Read more.
7. ‘Love isn’t a finite resource’: Meet the polyamorous Belgians of Brussels
"The running gag in the polyamorous community is that the most important thing is knowing how to use Google Calendar." Read more.
