"Nobody believed that it would be possible." The director of what will become one of the biggest museums in Europe – the Kanal-Centre Pompidou museum in Brussels – recently announced he was stepping down, months before November's big opening. I spoke to him to find out why. @brusselstimes.com

What could possibly go wrong?

"Don’t plant before the Ice Saints" went the well-known adage among farmers and gardeners for centuries. Can this explain this week's return to winter weather?

Live footage of European GDP falling behind America's. Poor French people on their four-day weekend look inconsolable.

Multiple sectors across Belgium will be disrupted today due to a national demonstration. Find the latest updates on The Brussels Times live blog. 👉 www.brusselstimes.com/belgi...

New sanctions on extremist Israeli settlers in the West Bank break the EU's internal political deadlock after Orban's electoral defeat.

🇬🇪 🥘 Was talking about Maison Khinkali with friends just this weekend, and now @brusselstimes.com is writing about it. A nice review, which reminds how Georgian food is a must-try. www.brusselstimes.com/belgium/2114...

After nine hours of negotiations, a deal was found as part of the EU's push to strip back several new digital rules on AI.

"As a criminal, if you can avoid the bank in Belgium, you walk free without any problem of detection."

🚨🚨🚨 Big news from Brussels: the Hungarian veto has been officially lifted. The EU finally adopts its €90 billion loan for Ukraine and the 20th package of sanctions against Russia. It’s done now.

Interesting guerilla campaign tactic by @canopee.bsky.social in front of the Berlaymont today. At first thought it was @brusselstimes.com Sadly not!

There's lots of very well preserved modernist buildings on the Belgian coast but the Renaissance café in Nieuwpoort by Philibert Vanmarke ceased to be one of them in 2017.

Answer: 1865 view of the Senne river and rue des Poissonniers (at the corner of rue Sainte Catherine) from rue du Marché aux Poulets next to Brucity.

This very interesting score-settling interview with former 🇪🇺Council chair Charles Michel contains one notable detail on 🇺🇦. Michel seems to confirm that the choreographed moves toward accession are disingenuous, saying that national leaders privately told him "it will never happen". 🧵

The Brussels municipality was rocked by another huge explosion targeting a shisha café just after midnight last night.

Big Tech wrote the EU law that hides their data centres' environmental impact. The EU wants to triple its data centre capacity in the next five years. While the full scale of their energy and water footprint is hidden from the public. Our new @investigate-europe.eu investigation reveals why.

From Brad Pitt to bombs. "Last week, we had Brad Pitt filming in the municipality, now we have a problem with bombings and shootings between dealers." – Mayor of Saint-Gilles Jean Spinette told @brusselstimes.com yesterday, after five serious incidents of violence, including several bombings.

The Justice for Palestine European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) reached one million signatures on Tuesday in three months.

Eight police officers have been individually charged in connection with the death of Sourour Abouda, a woman who died in custody at a Brussels police station.

‼️🇭🇺🇪🇺 Here is a potted timeline thread marking some of the key milestones that built Prime Minister Viktor Orban's illiberal democracy in Hungary over his 16 years in power. His tenure looks likely to end tomorrow. The table stakes for Hungary and Europe could not be higher 1/

"Our national character" helped Brussels avoid the look of a "Petit Paris" - Buls was writing 20 years after the centre was dug up to look exactly like that. Leaving a street of unsaleable knock-off Haussmann apartments that ended up in the possession of the city and thus his responsibility.

Next to Belgium's second poorest commune, the €550 million development on the canal aims to "encourage the middle-class to settle in Brussels."

💥New call leaks, both transcripts and audio: Sergey Lavrov urges Péter Szijjártó to blackmail the EU Council over Ukraine and later tasks him with sending him EU documents. Hard to tell which part is most damning. Here's the "Kremlin Hotline", part 2.

Israel says operations in Lebanon to continue despite Trump’s ceasefire

Lebanon’s medics and hospitals are coming under fire as Israel accelerates its war against Iran-backed Hezbollah militants. Doctors say the attacks on Lebanon's health system remind them of similar tactics used in Gaza.

"The espionage accusations surfaced just as the journalist, who has reported extensively on alleged links between Hungarian officials and Moscow, exposed unprecedented Russian influence operations aimed at boosting Orban’s re-election."

Giacomo, il 15enne che sta scrivendo a mano i nomi di tutti i bimbi morti a Gaza: “Erano persone”

Amnesty & 30 NGOs call on the EU to act following Israel's adoption of a death penalty law that will de facto apply exclusively to Palestinians. EU has a clear stance against the death penalty & must immediately suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement. www.amnesty.eu/news/death-p...

From our story on the NATO crisis triggered by the Iran war: Trump's comments have provoked unprecedented concern that the U.S. will not come to the aid of European allies should they be attacked, whether or not Washington formally walks away.

Citizens have been asked to change their daily patterns to save energy, while extra household support from Belgium or the EU seems far off.

Statement by @eucopresident.consilium.europa.eu @eudiplomacy.bsky.social on the approval of the Death Penalty Bill by the Israeli Parliament. This is a clear violation of Art 2 of the Association Agreement which must now be suspended www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/pre...

💥Now that we’ve released the first part of our joint investigation into Péter Szijjártó’s collusion with Russia, I hope it’s clearer why Orbán’s government tried to preemptively discredit me with bogus espionage allegations.

"I say to the people of the European Union who have applied pressure ... We are not afraid," said Israel's Ben-Gvir, while wearing a noose lapel-pin.

Students celebrate as the UK rejoins Erasmus+ next year, but stalled talks in other areas reveal deeper Brexit reset struggles.

New move in academic publishing: The @ec.europa.eu is launching Open Research Europe (ORE), an open access publishing platform for research funded by all EU programmes. @academic-chatter.bsky.social research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/news/all-res...

How a story about 19th-century poverty in Antwerp gripped the national consciousness of Japan, and why no one in Belgium has heard of it.

Ilaria Salis: “È un’intimidazione,l’Italia ormai è un regime che reprime chi dissente”

‘The era of invincibility is over’: the week big tech was brought to heel

After 1.5 weeks in Bxl I'm struck by the fact that the Europeans are becoming very good at creating “coalitions of the willing” for scenarios that will never materialise In Ukraine after a ceasefire with Russia To escort tankers in Straits of Hormuz after a ceasefire with Iran

"At this stage, it remains unclear how return hubs would be operationalised, both legally and in practice." – Senior migration expert from @epc-official.bsky.social told me on Thursday.

The European Parliament has approved new rules for expelling undocumented migrants despite a lack of clarity on the controversial "return hubs".

#Hungary: The Hungarian government has filed charges against one of 🇭🇺 most prominent investigative journalists @szabolcspanyi.bsky.social, who has recently revealed multiple Russian influence operations aimed at boosting Orban’s re-election. We express our full support for Szabolcs Panyi.

"This trade deal enshrines the EU's subjugation to US economic interests."

My friend Patrick Galbats, the most talented press photographer I know, is looking for assignments in and around Brussels with international media. He’s versatile, with a sharp but sensitive eye for reportage and documentary work. get in touch! www.patrickgalbats.com contact: [email protected]

New Tal Dilian statement on #PredatorGate points even more clearly to the 🇬🇷authorities: “I believe it is a crime for private individuals to interfere communications. But it is even more serious crime to organize a conspiracy crime to send innocent people to jail to cover up political authorities.“

I take note that Russia has an easier access to EU Council discussions than the free press in Europe.

Adolphe Sax's tomb in the iconic Montmartre Cemetery in Paris is in an advanced state of deterioration that is "almost irreversible".

Italians living abroad were also given the opportunity to vote on the controversial judicial reform proposed by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Vittoria del No al referendum, Bachelet: “Come quella partigiana”. Renzi: “Meloni prenda atto del voto” https://www.repubblica.it/politica/2026/03/23/news/bachelet_renzi_reazioni_risultati_referendum_vince_no-425240757/?rss

Italy, 2nd SWG poll: Constitutional referendum on the Judicial system reform No: 50-54% (+1) Yes: 46-50% (-1) +/- vs. 1st poll ➤ europeelects.eu/italy