Author: OMN AI

Belgium plans to turn diners into unpaid tax inspectors. A new lottery will be built around the humble till receipt. It will be run by the National Lottery from next year. The aim is to cut tax fraud in bars, cafes and hotels. Customers will have a reason to ask for proper paperwork. The idea is simple. A customer pays for a meal and asks for an official VAT receipt. That receipt carries a code. The customer scans the code with a phone app. The app then shows whether the receipt has won a prize. The trick lies in what…

Brussels will close its streets to cars on Sunday for its yearly car free day. The ban runs from half past nine in the morning until seven in the evening. It covers all 19 districts of the Brussels Capital Region. For those hours the city becomes the largest car free zone in Europe. Only a short list of vehicles may drive. The event is the high point of Mobility Week. That week runs from 16 to 22 September across Europe. Its aim is to get people to try other ways to travel. Cities take part in their own way. Brussels…

Belgian home buyers have grown increasingly selective about energy performance when shopping for property, with real estate data showing one in six homes remain unsold after six months on the market, and one in twenty still listed after a full year. Industry professionals say large properties, homes with poor energy ratings, and those located in less desirable areas struggle most to find buyers in the current market environment. Kristophe Thijs, a spokesperson for the Confederation of Real Estate Professionals, told reporters that buyers have become notably more selective, particularly when a property would require major energy renovation work to bring…

Belgium’s Federal Planning Bureau has issued a stark warning about the trajectory of Brussels’ public finances, projecting that the Capital Region’s debt as a share of available revenue could climb from 250 percent in 2025 to 328 percent by 2031. The report, part of a broader stress test examining debt sustainability across Belgium’s various regions and communities, paints what officials describe as a particularly worrying picture for the country’s capital region specifically. The Federal Planning Bureau’s analysis extended beyond Brussels alone, examining the Flemish and French speaking communities alongside Flanders and Wallonia to assess how each entity’s finances would respond…

Brussels casino workers gathered outside the city’s Brucity administrative building this week, demanding clarity from Mayor Philippe Close about the future of their jobs after a court ruling threw the venue’s licensing process into disarray. Roughly eighty employees and supporters protested with signs reading that employment is not a game of chance, as concern mounts that all two hundred eighty six positions at the casino could disappear when the current operating concession expires at the end of this year. The crisis traces back to a fifteen year, seven hundred fifty million euro concession that the City of Brussels sought to…

Brussels South Charleroi Airport recorded its first night of disruption today, with air traffic controllers launching a series of overnight strikes that resulted in forty four flight cancellations between last night and eight this morning, affecting more than seven thousand passengers. The industrial action, organized by controllers employed by Belgium’s air navigation service provider Skeyes, is scheduled to continue every night through October 10, threatening as many as eight hundred thirty two flight movements across the full three and a half week period. The dispute centers on night shift compensation for air traffic controllers working at Charleroi, following the breakdown…

Brussels casino workers jobs are facing real uncertainty as employees wait for clarity about the venue’s future. Around 286 workers are affected by questions surrounding the casino’s operating concession, which is set to expire at the end of 2026. Staff have called on the City of Brussels mayor to provide clear answers before the deadline arrives. The casino operates under a formal concession agreement with the city, a common arrangement for gambling venues across Belgium. These agreements typically run for set periods and require renewal or rebidding once they expire. With the current concession approaching its end date, workers say…

Charleroi Airport night strikes are set to begin this Wednesday, adding to a long history of labor disputes at Belgium’s second busiest airport. Staff plan to walk out during overnight hours, a move that threatens to disrupt flight schedules at the hub south of Brussels. The airport has faced repeated industrial action in recent years over pay and working conditions. Brussels South Charleroi Airport, widely known by its acronym BSCA, serves as a major base for budget carriers including Ryanair. Its low cost focus has made it especially sensitive to labor disputes, since budget airlines often schedule tight overnight turnarounds…

Brussels public transport ticket checks outnumbered the city’s own population last year, according to newly released figures. More individual passengers were checked for valid tickets in 2025 than the total number of people officially living in Brussels. Transport officials say the statistic reflects a sustained push to reduce fare evasion across the network. The figures cover checks performed across buses, trams, and metro lines operated by the regional transport authority. Officials have steadily increased the number of inspectors deployed across the system in recent years. This expanded enforcement effort appears to have driven the sharp rise in total checks recorded…

Brussels government austerity reform has cleared its first major stage, with regional officials approving what they called the most important part of a broader cost cutting plan. The move aims to reduce spending and address a persistent budget deficit facing the Brussels Capital Region. Officials said the approval marks a real shift from discussion toward concrete action. The reform builds on a comprehensive austerity plan first announced last year by the French speaking Community Government. That earlier plan targeted a chronic deficit that has weighed on regional finances for years. This latest approval puts specific measures from that broader plan…