Tag: Brussels

EU-Russia: X package of “arsenic”

Blog, Conflict, EU

Brussels 20.02.2023 “We are approaching one year since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine” said the EU top diplomat Josep Borrell, while addressing the Members of the European Parliament in Strasbourg (pictured).

“Until today, Putin is escalating this illegal aggression, weaponising winter, food and hunger. Russia continues to show its inhuman face with brutal missile terror against civilian targets.

“The European Union has so far reacted with unprecedented support to Ukraine and nine sanctions packages. They are taking a heavy toll on the Russian economy and on the Kremlin’s ability to finance its aggression.

“Today, as the President of the [European] Commission [Ursula von der Leyen] has announced, we are putting forward a 10th package of sanctions against those who are instrumental in the continuation of this brutal war. Taking more measures, tackling the banking sector, access to dual-use technology and targeting, also, advanced technologies.

“Additionally, I am submitting to the Council a list of proposals to sanction almost 100 additional individuals and entities for their role in undermining sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

“This includes those responsible for military activities, for political decisions, propaganda, and disinformation.

“We are targeting those involved in inhumane kidnappings, deportations and forced adoption of Ukrainian children to Russia and also those enabling the looting of Ukrainian resources.

“We will again hit hard at the Russian military and defence sector, at the organisations related to them, [and] those responsible for the development of drones that are targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure.

“And these [sanctions] are not [confined] to Russia. Today’s proposal includes a full exports-ban of several Iranian entities involved in the manufacture and provision of unmanned aerial vehicles. Yesterday, at the NATO [Ministerial] meeting, we got clear evidence that this is happening.

“So, we are proposing to sanction more key decision-makers, senior government officials and parliamentarians.

“I am proposing to the Member States to extend our sanctions to the proxy authorities and the so-called judges in the four illegally annexed Ukrainian regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia –who are providing fake legitimacy to the Russian rulers and their illegal decisions.

“We are imposing restrictive measures on media organisations, on persons and organisations who are polluting the public space with disinformation and malicious narratives, adding to the military warfare also through information warfare.

“We will continue to increase pressure on Russia – and we will do it for as long as needed, until Ukraine is liberated from the brutal Russian aggression”.

A new portion of “arsenic” for Russians include the following measures:

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the EU top diplomat Josep Borrell have already announced details of the EU’s proposed 10th package of Russia sanctions. The X-th package of sanctions will include:

Export bans on critical technology and industrial goods, such as electronics, specialised vehicles, machine parts, spare parts for trucks and jet engines, as well as goods used in the construction sector, such as antennas or cranes.
Further restrictions on the export of dual use goods and advanced technology goods, including 47 new electronic components that can be used in Russian weapons systems, including drones, missiles and helicopters.
Export restrictions on specific rare earth materials and thermal cameras.

The addition of VII Iranian entities to the EU’s Russia dual use sanctions. This responds to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards alleged provision of Shahed drones to attack civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.
The designation of nearly 100 people and entities, including:

– those involved in kidnappings, deportations and forced adoption of Ukrainian children to Russia;
– those enabling the looting of Ukrainian resources;
– organisations involved in the Russian military and defence sector, including those responsible for the development of drones that are targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure;
– key decision-makers, senior government officials and parliamentarians;
– proxy authorities and judges in non-government-controlled Ukrainian regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia; and
– media organisations, people and entities responsible for disinformation.

Measures to prevent circumvention, including the creation of an “overview” of all frozen assets of the Russian central bank held in the EU alongside Member States. President von der Leyen said that this is crucial in view of the possible use of public Russian assets to fund reconstruction in Ukraine.

President von der Leyen also said that the Commission is organising a Sanctions Coordinators Forum. Subsequently she called on Member States to adopt this package swiftly with the aim of having significant sanctions in place by 24 February 2023, the 1-year anniversary of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

Russia refuses gaz price dictatorship

Blog, Conflict, EU, International

Brussels 19.12.2022 “This is a violation of the market pricing process, an encroachment on market processes. Any references to the “ceiling” are unacceptable,” the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov (pictured) said to the reporters, reacting upon the EU Energy ministers decision to create a cartel of gas buyers to dictate price of Russian natural gas.

The EU countries have agreed on a dynamic gas price ceiling of €180 per MWh (approximately €1.85 thousand per thousand cubic meters), which will apply from February 15, 2023. This is stated in a statement issued by the EU Council on Monday, December 19.

Winter 2023/24: point of no return for the European Union?
“The gas price correction mechanism can be activated from February 15 under two conditions: if the gas price holds for three days at the level of €180 and if the difference between TTF (EU) prices and the average world price for liquefied natural gas is more than €35 “, the document says.

The corridor for setting prices for futures will be limited to the mark, which is equal to the average price of LNG on the world market plus €35. It will be impossible to place trading positions above this mark with the current price correction mechanism.

“Thus, this mechanism does not set a hard price ceiling, but it will prevent the occurrence of sharp jumps in gas prices,” European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson said at a press conference in Brussels.

Europarliament imposes COVID19 Certificate

Blog, EU, Europe, Human rights, Uncategorized

Brussels 31.10.2021 EP’s Bureau decided that the request to present an EU Digital COVID Certificate to access Parliament’s buildings will be extended to all people wishing to enter, reads the announcement on the site of the European Parliament.

As of November 3, all people entering Parliament’s buildings in its three places will be requested to present a valid EU Digital COVID Certificate, including journalists. The EU Digital COVID certificate proves that a person is either fully vaccinated, has immunity after having recovered from COVID-19 or can show a recent negative PCR test result. Both digital and paper formats of the EU Digital COVID Certificate or of a recognised equivalent certificate will be accepted.

A proof of a negative result of a PCR test carried out within the last 48 hours in Belgium, Luxembourg or France will also be accepted.

Please note that the existing precautionary measures like the compulsory wearing of a medical face mask and temperature checks at entrances remain in place.

The measure, taken by the Bureau will enable MEPs the return to in-person meetings for parliamentary activities, while continuing to guarantee safety. The decision takes into account the specificity of the European Parliament, an Institution gathering MEPs and other actors travelling to and from different Member States on a regular basis and the significant differences in vaccination level in Member States, according to the latest ECDC data. Please note that the measure was already in place for all external visitors since the beginning of September.

Personal data retrieved from the Certificate during the scanning process will only encompass the name of the holder, the authenticity and the validity of the Certificate. The personal data will be processed in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 and its use will be strictly limited to granting access to Parliament’s buildings. Personal data will not be stored, recorded or retained locally or externally or transferred to any other Union body or third party.

Afghanistan: NATO Extraordinary teleconference

Asia, Blog, NATO, World

Brussels 19.08.2021 Extraordinary Meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs – Brussels, 20 August 2021
An extraordinary virtual meeting of the North Atlantic Council (NAC) at the level of Ministers of Foreign Affairs will be held via secure teleconference on Friday 20 August 2021. NATO Foreign Ministers will discuss developments in Afghanistan.

The meeting will be chaired by the NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg.
The meeting will start on 20 August 2021 at +/- 14h00 Brussels. The Secretary General is expected to brief the press after the meeting.

Previously at the press-briefing in NATO HQ Brussels on August 17, the Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg said: “The North Atlantic Council has met to discuss Afghanistan.
“The situation is extremely serious and unpredictable.
Kabul has fallen, and the Taliban have taken control of most of the country.
I am deeply saddened by what I see unfolding in Afghanistan.

“NATO’s focus right now is to ensure the safe departure of personnel from Allied and partner countries, and of the Afghans who have helped us.
NATO has been working round the clock to maintain operations at Kabul international airport.
Around 800 NATO civilian personnel have remained to provide key functions under very challenging circumstances.
“Including air traffic control, fuel, and communications.
And I would like to thank them.
Let me also thank the military forces of NATO Allies, in particular Turkey, the United States and the United Kingdom for their vital role in securing the airport.
Operations at the airport are now gradually resuming.
And during today’s meeting Allies announced that they are sending additional airplanes.

“We have also maintained our diplomatic presence.
Our Senior Civilian Representative Ambassador Pontecorvo and his team have been working closely with Allies and the rest of the international community to coordinate and facilitate the evacuation.
And we remain committed to completing evacuations including of our Afghan colleagues, as soon as possible.
The Taliban must respect and facilitate the safe departure of all those who wish to leave.
The airport, as well as roads and border crossings, must be open.
All Afghan men, women and children deserve to live in safety and dignity.
There must be a peaceful transfer of power to an inclusive government.
With no revenge or retribution.

“A government that does not respect the fundamental rights of all Afghans and reinstates the reign of fear, risks international isolation.

“The United States agreed with the Taliban last year that US troops would withdraw by May.
And after many rounds of consultations, all Allies agreed to follow the US decision.
Ending our military mission was not easy.
We were faced with a serious dilemma.
Either leave, and risk seeing the Taliban regain control.
Or stay, and risk renewed attacks, and an open-ended combat mission.

“We never intended to stay in Afghanistan forever.
Over the past few years, from over 100,000 troops we went down to less than 10,000 – and now to zero.
But what we have seen in the last few weeks was a military and political collapse at a speed which had not been anticipated.
Parts of the Afghan security forces fought bravely.
But they were unable to secure the country.
Because ultimately, the Afghan political leadership failed to stand up to the Taliban and to achieve the peaceful solution that Afghans desperately wanted.
This failure of Afghan leadership led to the tragedy we are witnessing today.

“At the same time, we need to have an honest, clear-eyed assessment of NATO’s own engagement in Afghanistan.
Despite our considerable investment and sacrifice over two decades, the collapse was swift and sudden.
There are many lessons to be learned.

“But we should also recognise the gains we have made.
NATO Allies and partners went into Afghanistan after 9/11 to prevent the country from serving as a safe haven for international terrorists to attack us.
In the last two decades, there have been no terrorist attacks on Allied soil organised from Afghanistan.
Those now taking power have the responsibility to ensure that international terrorists do not regain a foothold.
Allies have the capabilities and the vigilance to address future terrorist threats from Afghanistan.

“Due to our military presence and the support of the international community, a new generation of men and women have grown up in a new Afghanistan.
Able to get education, take part in the political process, run their own businesses, and enjoy a vibrant media scene.
Today’s Afghanistan is very different to the Afghanistan of 2001.
So those gains cannot be easily reversed.

“The world will be watching.
And must continue to support a stable and peaceful Afghanistan”.

Brussels: no wreath to Pushkin

Blog, Europe

Brussels 06.06.2021 June 6, on the birthday of the great Russian poet A.S. Pushkin, within the framework of the program to support and develop multilingualism and cultural diversity, the United Nations celebrates the Day of the Russian Language. One of the goals of this program is to maintain the equality of all six official languages ​​of the United Nations: English, Arabic, Spanish, Chinese, Russian and French.

The decision to hold the Days of Languages ​​was taken by the Department of Public Information (now the Department of Global Communications) on the eve of the International Mother Language Day, celebrated annually on February 21 at the initiative of UNESCO.

The purpose of the UN Languages ​​Days is to raise awareness of the history, culture and development of each of the six official UN languages ​​among the staff of the Organization. Each language has the opportunity to find its own unique approach and develop its own program of activities for the day, including inviting famous poets and writers and developing informational and thematic materials.
Cultural events, among others, may include performances of musical and literary works, competitions, exhibitions, lectures, pop performances and cultural performances, national cuisine days and performances by folk groups, film screenings and express language lessons for those wishing to learn another from the official languages ​​of the UN.

This year the officials of the Russian House in Brussels ignored the central day of the calendar – the birthday of Alexandre Pushkin. His monument has not a single wreath, not a single flower. The lack of funds cannot be an excuse, since there are representative offices of Gazprom, Lukoil, AlRosa and other grandiose Russian companies in Brussels, for which it is not difficult to foot the bill for the laying of wreaths at the monument to the great poet.

From the point of view of law, the state language is the most important factor in preserving the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Russia. And the encroachment, belittling of the state language, as the most important attribute of Russian statehood, is nothing more than an encroachment on the foundations of the constitutional system of the Russian Federation, an encroachment on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country. Russian language, according to Part 1 of Art. 68 of the Constitution, art. 1 of the Law “On the State Language of the Russian Federation” is the state language, then, thereby, the Russian language is also an integral attribute of the Russian statehood.

The Great Pushkin is the founder of the literary Russian language. It is on June 6, on his birthday, that his native language celebrated. In 2010, the UN established June 6th as a holiday of the Russian language.
Interestingly, have you heard about this in the “House of Russian Culture” in Brussels? .. And, in general, why do Russians need to maintain a whole “Russian House”, pay salaries, travel allowances and leave to people who do not know their jobs? Or they don’t even want to know!
Alas, the diagnosis is obvious: “When and what bureaucrat was not convinced that Russia is a pie that you can freely approach and eat?”

#Abyss: Brussels youth for human rights

Blog, EU, Europe, Lifestyle, Politics

Brussels 02.03.2021 “The abyss”, an icebreaker party scheduled for Friday, April 2, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. to defend the right of assembly* in the ongoing context of the pandemic, did not take place at the Parc du Cinquantenaire in Brussels as initially announced, but at the Bois de la Cambre, according to information. published in the morning on the Facebook group of the event.

Brussels Bourgmestre Philippe Close does not intend, according to his spokesman, to close the woods,surrounding the capital, considering that this would be depriving citizens of the freedom to enjoy it to breathe and walk there. For its part, the Brussels-Capital/Ixelles police zone has indicated that its forces will be present this Friday evening at both places, at the Cinquantenaire and at the Bois de la Cambre.

“We want to regain our right to meet and assemble except that we have to ask for an authorization and since we have been living under a “health dictatorship” for a year, it was obvious that we never would have had it. Hence the qualifier “wild” for our parties. We feel that we are not doing anything wrong. For several hours now, we have had the impression that we are organising a terrorist attack. It shows how far we have come. It’s just about putting some music in a park and even yesterday they didn’t even succeed. I think we have the law on our side, morality on our side, a good part of the people … “

*Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights

“Article 11: Freedom of assembly and association
1. Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and to freedom of association with others, including the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.

2. No restrictions shall be placed on the exercise of these rights other than such as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security or public safety, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others. This article shall not prevent the imposition of lawful restrictions on the exercise of these rights by members of the armed forces, of the police or of the administration of the state”.

Brussels at eve of II lockdown

Blog, EU, Europe

Brussels 18.10.2020 The sector of hospitality is in total disappointment, injustice, disaster, shock. The sector does not have strong enough words to describe the measure taken by the Concertation Committee: the closure of all restaurants and cafes in the country as of Monday, October 19 for a period of four weeks. “We were prepared to accept interim measures like a 11 p.m. shutdown, or even 10 p.m. if necessary”, but the authorities were not open to negotiations, said Thierry Neyens, president of the Wallonia Horeca Federation.

Brussels, rue de Marché aux Fromages, 18 October 2020

A new closure of the Horeca has been a decision received with tears, a real blow to the hospitality sector, facing the second lockdown in the atmosphere of the financial uncertainty dominates. However nobody knows if the shutdown will actually last for a month or more. There is also uncertainty over the amount of aid promised by governments.

Brussels, Parc d’Egmont, 18 October 2020

“It’s a cleaver, it’s a misunderstanding, it’s very painful to hear. The entire sector has reacted on social networks. We believe we are being sacrificed, punished. We have a lack of prospects. There is a I think there is even a little disrespect for an entire sector which has made a lot of effort, ” underlined  Thierry Neyens.

Brussels, Grand Sablon, 18 October 2020

Following the Concertation Committee on Friday, October 16, a curfew was declared by the federal government. As of Monday, October 19, it will be forbidden to leave your home between midnight and 5 a.m.

The Horeca represents more than 60,000 companies in Belgium.

Brussels, Grand Place neighbourhood, 18 October 2020

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Belgium since the declaration of the pandemic by WHO in March now stands at 213,115. The total reflects all people in Belgium who have been infected, and includes confirmed active cases as well as patients who have since recovered, or died.

Brussels, Grand Place, 18 October 2018

During curfew, take-out food orders can be made until 10 p.m. in restaurants. Some establishments have the option of transforming into a catering service. A solution to try to cover the fixed costs, but many will keep their doors closed.

Brussels, Grand Place, 18 October 2020

Meanwhile in Sweden the government wishes to exempt restaurants, bars and cafés from the specific rules for public events, the Culture Minister Amanda Lind announced at the press conference. The exemption for bars and restaurants came into effect on October 8th. After this date, restaurants were no longer a subject to the 50-person limit in case they host events, but they should continue to comply with the existing restrictions for restaurants including table service only and a one-metre distance between groups of people, the Local reports.

Brussels, rue Royale, 18 October 2020

#TBT: BRAFA Art Fair

Europe, Lifestyle

Brussels 1.10.2020 In the evening of the first day of October a sad for the art lovers news came – the cancellation of the Brussels Fine Art Fair 2021 due to volatile COVID-19 pandemic context. (Images: @AnnaVanDensky)

The members of the non-profit organisation (organiser of the BRAFA Art Fair) held an Extraordinary General Meeting during which they decided to postpone the event to 2022.

The first ever BRAFA was held in the Arlequin Hall of the Galerie Louiza in 1956. Charles Van Hove and Mamy Wouters, the long standing President and Vice-President of the Belgian Chamber of Antiques Dealers, were behind the initiative to set up the salon. This first Belgian Antiques Fair or ‘Foire des Antiquaires de Belgique’, as it was known then, followed in the footsteps of the fairs already held at Grosvenor House in London and at the Prinsenhof in Delft, but preceded those set up in Paris, Florence and Munich.

The growing success of the fair and the increasing number of participants meant that a location had to be found capable of keeping up with the event’s development. The range of art objects on display also continued to expand. From 1967 to 2003, the fair was held in the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels. Up until 1994, only Belgian antiques dealers who were members of the Royal Chamber of Antique Dealers could take part in the fair which was, at the time, a purely national event. The number of participants fluctuated between forty and fifty.

The first major change occurred in 1995 when Christian de Bruyn opened the fair to foreign antique dealers for the first time. The Belgian antique dealers saw this as a revolutionary step and they were right; in no time the fair had outgrown the Palais des Beaux-Arts and a new, much bigger location had to be found. In 2004 the Belgian Antiques Fair therefore moved to Tour & Taxis, a gem of Belgian industrial architectural heritage situated in the north of Brussels, next to the Willebroek canal. Now that exhibition space was no longer restricted, the BRAFA actively sought to increase the number of participants. Having started with no more than twenty Belgian antique dealers it grew to incorporate about one hundred and thirty exhibitors from both Belgium and abroad in the space of a few years. The fair is now recognized worldwide as one of the leading international fairs in Europe.

BRAFA, or the Brussels Art Fair, is one of the longest running art and antiques fairs in the world and is organized every year by the nonprofit Belgian Antiques Fair Association.

The uncertainty created by the coronavirus pandemic in Europe is the main reason for the postponement. BRAFA, which is traditionally the first top international fine art fair of the year, showcases 130 exhibitors on average, of which two thirds come from abroad.

Last year, the fair welcomed a record number of 68,000 visitors, collectors and professionals, including a significant number from neighbouring countries. The current health situation and its potential evolution this autumn and winter have caused serious concerns. New restrictions on intra-European travel related to coronavirus pandemic and the safety measures imposed by the authorities have only added to the fear of the organisers.

#BLM war on idols

Africa, Blog, EU, Europe, Politics

Anna van Densky OPINION Ancient Greek philospher said – Patna Rhei – everything flows. Stepping out of the confinement the Europeans found themselves in a different world, violently torn apart by phanthomes of the сolonial past.

Black Life Matters #BLM movement touched Brussels, de facto the European Union (EU) capital, by pogroms of the luxury stores, but not only. The degradation of public life into a bitter argument over the colonial past has occurred suddenly as a skeleton fallen out from the closet.

“People use politics not just to advance their interests but also to define their identity. We know who we are only when we know who we are not and often only when we know whom we are against” Samuel Hantington wrote in his famous “The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of the World Order”. Apparently a new episode of the clash is gaining momentum.

Unfortunately during this clash in Brussels the rule of law was completely buried in avalanche of emotions, detached from realities, and pursuing the fantômes of the past. The wave of the monuments vandalisation ended in a proposal for creation of the Belgium parliament commission for Truth & Reconciliation aiming at the appology for the colonial atrocities in Congo Free State in times of king Leopold II. “We, the Socialist party, believe that there should be an apology,” said group leader Meryame Kitir. However is the apology enough to build bridges between communities?

The statues of the public figures, causing the whirlwind of emotions, like the one of the Belgium king Leopold II in the first ranks, the one who owned Congo as his personal property, are perceived differently by Europeans and Africans within their retrospective cultures. If Belgiums mostly see in them the relics of the past, the Africans have much more lively and mysterious ways of relating to the sculptures as idols, materialising the idea, insuring its longevity.

For African ethnic religions, the idols are sacred tools to influence life through mysterious rituals, and even more, they are integral part of life, participating in their own invisible manner through emanation of energies. Originally they were named fétiche by Portuguese colonizers who introduced the word to set a clear difference between African idols and Christian saints, however this verbal distinction did not prevent Africans to look at the European sculptures though the prism of the own perceptions.

Another emblematic figure – Julius Ceasar was vandalised in Zottegem, Belgium, most probably in analogy with Christopher Columbus attacked in the U.S., because Caesar conquered the territory of present-day Belgium, and integrated it as a province into Roman Empire. Furthermore, it was Julius Caesar who gave the name of “Gallia Belgica“, leaving the description of the local tribes. However he also had diffiuclies there, facing a revolt just four years after the conquest.

Two thousand years later Belgica experiences the other type of migration, than Romans led by Ceasar – a total of 31,600 people have crossed into Europe illegally in 2020 so far, a drop of only 6% from the same period in 2019. Over 5,500 have reached Europe via the so-called ‘Central Mediterranean route‘, from North Africa to Europe, including 1,000 migrants in May.

Yet Libya continues to act as a magnet for migrants who come there in hope to make cross the sea and reach the European coasts, settling in one of the rich countries of the continent.

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) estimates that in February 2020 there were at least 654,000 migrants gathered in Libya in view to cross the sea.

The top five nationalities were Nigerien 21%, Chadian 16%, Egyptian 15%, Sudanese 12%, and Nigerian 8%. Men constituted 89% of migrants, women 11%, and 7% were minors of which 24% were unaccompanied. On average the fee to reach Libya mounts up to $1,000.

Various projections indicate that mid-century African population will double reaching 2,5 billion threshold, while the Europeans will decline to 450 million. However if current trend of migration flows from Maghreb coast continue with the same frequency and intercity, from 150 to 200 million of Europe inhabitants will be from African descent.

In spite this impressive perspective of the “Africanisation of Europe” the politicians have no strategy of adaptation of European cultural environment to upcoming “African Age“. With the fast-growing African population in Europe, the request to abandon the Eurocentric concept of history was not totally unpredictable, on contrary, it was quite a logical outcome of the demographic trends. In these cirucumstances the vandalisation of the sculputres of the historic figures are emblematic, but not essential in adaptation demands of the newscomers.

The profound meaning of the transition from quantity to quality, which Hegel was highly likely the first to articulate, was one of several ways of explaining change and the mechanisms of social transformation. Unfortunatly so far both the European Union and national politics in the member-states have been ignoring the ongoing tectonic demographic transformation of the continent.

Hakuna-matata modus is over. Time to say patikana, and face and advantages and challenges of the imminent change.

“Back from Davos” event under siege

Blog, Europe

The unnamed protestors gathered to prevent the evening debate “Back from Davos” which is held annually in Brussels, and during which European and national politicians, business leaders and representatives of civil society exchange their views on the main conclusions of the World Economic Forum. The freedom of assembly was violated in the name of disliking of “absence of transparency” of Davos Economic Forum yearly gathering.

The activists, who presented themselves vaguely as “defenders of social and climate justice, yellow vests, unionists”, intended to padlock each other to block the entrance to the business club located at Place Poelaert, opposite the Palace of Justice.

The police, apparently informed of the preparation of their action, prevented the troublemakers from storming into the building.

The protestors prvented participants from entering the building, in a brutal violation of the freedom of assembely. Apparently they denied the fundamental rights and freedoms to the guests of the event, imposing their will as only valid reason:
“We do not want you come in! We do not want to allowed anyone in!!” they screamed, unimpressed by the press card.

However the discussion with the President of the European Research Council Mauro Ferrari and Brussels Bureau Chief of the The Wall Street Journal Dan Michaels successfully began at 6:00 pm.

Mauro Ferrari,59, is a nanoscientist acknowledged for leadership in founding the field of nanomedicine and serving as special expert on nanotechnology for the National Cancer Institute (2003-2005) where he was instrumental in establishing the Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer in 2004.

28/01/2020 AMENDEMENT: