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Excerpts:

In 2023, and what seems like a lifetime ago, Austria launched their legal action against the European Commission for the inclusion of nuclear energy in the EU Sustainable Finance Taxonomy. At the time they were supported by a bulwark of EU countries and environmental NGOs that opposed nuclear energy.

But today, that whole landscape has changed.

The nuclear phase-outs or bans in the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Denmark, and Italy are now history.

It shows what’s possible when we stick to the science

The European Court of Justice has now fully dismissed Austria’s lawsuit.

These wins are not abstract. They open the door to real investment, real projects, and real emissions cuts.

A blocking minority has been found for the 4th time 🙂. See y'all in a couple of months when the EU commission makes the same proposal again! 🤝

Voters in:

• Austria.
• Belgium.
• Czech Republic.
• Finland.
• Germany.
• Luxemburg.
• Netherlands.
• Poland.

Your members of european parliament have made a good choice!

Voters in:

• Bulgaria
• Croatia
• Cyprus
• Denmark (!)
• France
• Hungary
• Ireland
• Italy
• Latvia
• Lithuania
• Malta
• Portugal
• Slovakia
• Spain
• Sweden

In 2029 there's new EU parliament elections. You can list your representatives on https://fightchatcontrol.eu/#delegates and make sure not to vote for them ever (again) 👍

Summary:

A woman responded to a Secondhand listing seeking homes for three goats owned by Glenn D’Hondt of Erpe-Mere, claiming she was a volunteer at Huppeldepup care farm in Grimbergen and took the animals away. When Glenn phoned the care farm to check on the goats, manager Ellen Van Assche was surprised — the farm had not taken them in — and involved the police.

Authorities traced the woman to Chièvres and were told she had offered the goats to an animal shelter in Zemst, where her 73-year-old mother was found and cooperated. Police blocked the woman’s van and obtained the fraudster’s details; the goats Rosa, Suzy, and Marie were returned to Glenn, who plans to keep them.

Summary:

• Belgians are borrowing more than ever for new cars, with the average consumer loan reaching €23,750, an increase of €8,250 (over 53%) in the past decade, outpacing the average car price increase of 36% during the same period.

• Similar trends are observed in the used car market, where the average loan for a second-hand vehicle has risen to €17,550, reflecting a 61% increase over the last ten years.

• The rise in loan amounts suggests that car affordability is under pressure, as consumers may be forced to borrow more to cover the increasing costs of vehicles, which are influenced by rising raw material prices and stricter safety and environmental regulations.

• The shift towards more expensive electric vehicles and stricter EU regulations is contributing significantly to the rising costs of driving, making it increasingly expensive for consumers to purchase and maintain vehicles.

https://fightchatcontrol.eu/

https://www.euronews.com/next/2025/08/08/return-of-chat-control-something-is-rotten-in-the-state-of-denmark

Summary:

The Constitutional Court of Belgium has suspended a Brussels decision that postponed the implementation of stricter regulations for the low-emission zone (LEZ) from early 2025 to early 2027. The court found that this delay would unreasonably compromise the protection of health rights. The LEZ aims to improve air quality by prohibiting certain combustion engine vehicles from operating within the zone, which covers most of the Brussels region. A new phase was supposed to begin on January 1, 2025, banning diesel vehicles with Euro 5 engines and gasoline cars with Euro 2 engines.

In October 2024, the Brussels Parliament approved an ordinance to delay these regulations, which faced opposition from green parties. Following this, various associations and individuals, including a child with chronic asthma, petitioned the Constitutional Court for suspension. The court ruled that the delay could cause irreparable harm and significantly undermine health protections without reasonable justification, violating the constitutional obligation to maintain existing health standards.

With the ordinance temporarily suspended, the court must decide on its annulment within three months. Brussels Mobility Minister Elke Van den Brandt expressed satisfaction with the ruling, viewing it as a victory for public health, while Environment and Health Minister Alain Maron announced plans to convene a task force to address the decision. The future of the vehicle bans remains uncertain.

Summary:

Belgian students at universities and colleges are taking significantly longer to complete their degrees compared to their peers in other European countries, according to a new report from the OECD. Less than one-third of Flemish students and under a quarter of students in French-speaking Belgium graduate within the standard three-year timeframe. The report highlights that only 32.6% of students in Flanders and 23.1% in the French community finish their bachelor's degrees on time, with Belgium ranking poorly among 28 OECD countries.

The gap has widened over the past three years, as the average graduation rate in other countries has improved while Belgium's has stagnated. Factors contributing to this issue include a flexible credit system that allows students to carry over failed courses, leading to procrastination, and concerns about the declining quality of secondary education. The financial implications of these delays are significant, with each student costing the system between €12,000 and €15,000 annually, and late graduation affecting their entry into the job market and future pensions.

To address these challenges, the previous Flemish government introduced a "hard cut" policy, which prevents students from continuing their studies if they do not pass all first-year courses by the end of their second year. Current Education Minister Zuhal Demir is also advocating for mandatory preliminary assessments to improve student outcomes. These measures aim to enhance the overall efficiency and effectiveness of higher education in Belgium.

I'm looking for an app where I can define roads it should not use, in order to avoid some legal to cycle but quite dangerous spots.

The apps I found are either (a) fully manual pathfinding or (b) fully auto pathfinding where I can add additional stops, but not substract dangerous locations.

Do you know any like that? What navigation apps do you use?

Thanks 🚴‍♀️🚴‍♀️🚴‍♀️🚴‍♀️

English summary:

The federal government is focused on a challenging budget described by Prime Minister De Wever as a "col buiten categorie." Budget expert Willem Sas says the right path has largely been taken and recent economic forecasts are reasonably positive, with nominal growth roughly matching interest costs on the debt, making the debt theoretically sustainable. Major reforms—especially the pension reform—have helped, but the deficit remains large and there is concern about future shocks forcing heavy spending. Political tensions remain: MR leader Bouchez calls for an extra €20 billion in cuts, mainly to fund a planned income tax reduction that would raise the tax-free allowance, a move Sas calls a political choice that may be inefficiently targeted. Other proposals to raise revenue, such as increasing co-payments for medical visits, drew criticism for burdening vulnerable people; Sas prefers structural health-care reforms and efficiency gains. He also sees scope in reforming the special financing law to reduce transfers to regions and align decentralized spending with neighboring countries, which could help meet the Maastricht deficit limit of 3% of GDP. Overall the priority is avoiding a government crisis and choosing reforms that strengthen the economy and make deficits easier to finance.

Looking to make a cozy corner for my buddy. So hoping to get inspired :)

Summary:

• Belgium will send informational letters in November to all 17-year-olds (about 130,000) about a proposed voluntary one-year military service; the law still needs parliamentary approval and may be revised after a negative advisory from the Council of State over data access concerns.

• Physical info sessions will be held in every province in November, followed by digital sessions; applications open January 2026 for people aged 18–25.

• Selection in summer 2026 aims to screen 3,500 candidates; 500 will start the service in September 2026, paid €2,000 net per month. Capacity rises to 1,000 places in 2027 and could reach 7,000 eventually; roles focus on security positions across navy, air and land forces.

• Minister Theo Francken emphasizes recruitment (not reinstating compulsory conscription) and says people can continue a military career afterward or bring experience to civilian jobs; he supports a possible future mandatory civil service.

• Defence launched a large recruitment drive: 4,800 vacancies for 2026 (2,800 military, 1,050 reservists, 960 civilian). Over 10 years it aims to double personnel to roughly 34,500 military, 12,800 reservists and 8,500 civilian staff.

• Investments include new equipment (MQ-9B drones, air defense, F-35s) and creation of a Cyber Command with sponsored cybersecurity degrees. For 2025, about 3,550 hires were planned; ~3,200 have already been recruited or scheduled.

Antonio Filosa, Stellantis’s new CEO (which oversees Peugeot, Citroën, Opel, Fiat, Chrysler and Jeep), urged the European Commission to take urgent action to protect the European auto industry from rising Chinese competition. He called current EU emissions targets “unrealistic” and said excessive regulation is driving up costs for small cars, collapsing volumes and endangering the sector. Filosa made the remarks in interviews ahead of the IAA Munich show; he became CEO in June and must turn around Stellantis, which faces U.S. tariffs, EU overcapacity, and competition from low-cost Chinese brands. Other industry leaders (including John Elkann, Luca de Meo and BMW’s Oliver Zipse) have made similar warnings about Europe’s emissions rules and the risk of the industry shrinking.

Small-car volumes and overall sales in Europe have fallen in recent years — EU passenger car registrations dropped from about 15.6 million in 2019 to roughly 13 million annually in 2022–2024 as electrification costs and regulation rose. Stellantis and other OEMs have announced plant slowdowns, capacity cuts or restructuring measures affecting tens of thousands of jobs across Europe. Chinese brands have increased European market share noticeably, selling hundreds of thousands of low-cost vehicles in recent model years and pressuring prices. Together these trends have already reduced industry revenues by billions of euros annually and put tens of thousands of manufacturing and supplier jobs at immediate risk, with wider employment impacts reported across dealerships and services.