Belgium leaders were in negotiations on Wednesday to resolve a fresh dispute between its Dutch-speaking Flemish majority and French-speaking minority.
Tuesday’s reactions to Belgium’s latest government crisis reflected long-standing divisions among the country’s political parties.
Four Algerian immigrants on Thursday began a third day protesting atop a crane in Brussels, in a high-level campaign near to the municipal immigration office. Two of the men are seeking residency rights while the third, who has already been granted the right to stay, wants to become a naturalised Belgian.
Belgian political parties announced on Tuesday they had reached a deal to form a new national government, ending a nine-month political stalemate that had threatened to split the country apart. Prime Minister-designate Yves Leterme, whose Flemish Christian Democrats won elections in June, announced the deal after all-night talks.
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/ 15 January 2008
Belgium’s main political parties sat down on Tuesday to thrash out a new power-sharing agreement and try to avoid any repeat of the political crisis that shook the kingdom last year. The forum is dubbed the ”Octopus”, as its 20 members are drawn from the eight principal parties.
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/ 7 November 2007
Long-running talks to form a new Belgian government were on the brink of collapse on Wednesday as tensions flared between Flemish and Francophone lawmakers over the sensitive issue of voting rights. Speculation has grown that political divisions could eventually lead to Belgium breaking up.