News and Events -----------

Our second e-Newsletter of 2025 has just been published and sent to our members contact list.

As ever the newsletter highlights recent community news and forthcoming exciting community events including BBCA events. A range of other community activities plus many dates for your diary into 2025 are also featured.

You can access a pdf copy of the newsletter here. Enjoy!

The Staging Post’s next show will be on Saturday 29 March and called the “Solar-Eclipse Show” to commemorate the partial eclipse of the sun that will be happening on that day. The show, as usual at GC De Kam in Wezembeek-Oppem, will feature four “stellar” groups each performing one set.

“Yvonne & Friends” led by Yvonne Stausbol, who appeared in the Post’s very first show in 2016 and again in 2017, is joined by five friends to give what may be a farewell performance, as she will be leaving Belgium for Denmark shortly. They will perform the highly danceable numbers from her CD, “Out of the Whirlwind”.

“Little Bits” is a popular trio, a subset of ISBITS, appearing again to entrance the audience with their magical performances of jazzy, folkish numbers.

“Three Darn Hot” were originally a very popular “Andrews Sisters” tribute group, but will be performing a different repertoire, equally suited to their accomplished, close-harmony-style singing.

“HL7” (Hammurabi Lucky 7) is a new group with some interesting mood-music. They rearrange modern tunes in their own way, “creating a dream-pop sound sprinkled with beep-boops and guitar arpeggios”. The group’s name is taken from an IT protocol. However, Hammurabi was a Babylonian king famous for codifying his laws.

Doors open at 19h15. The GC De Kam bar will be open before that should you arrive early. Reservations by email to KamReservations@gmail.com are strongly advised, before  28 March.

More details in the poster below and on the Staging Post website here.

The next Arts Society Brussels talk is happening on Wednesday 12 March 2025 when Carole Petipher will talk about ‘Cezanne, Gauguin and Van Gogh – Lost Souls looking for direction in the Oise valley’. The venue, as ever, is the Maison Communale of Woluwe St. Lambert, Avenue Paul Hymans 2, 1200 Brussels. Doors open for complimentary drinks at 19h30 with the talk beginning at 20h00.

These three ‘Post Impressionists’ all had times when they were struggling to find their way in art and life. Camille Pissarro and other artists resident in the beautiful Oise Valley northwest of Paris welcomed them into their homes to offer support and direction. This lecture explores the resulting relationships and outcomes - positive for two of our three, but tragic for Van Gogh, who would prove so troubled that even the nurturing Oise could not heal him.

The talk is open to all. For more details and registration click here.

Tell your friends and neighbours! Belgian citizens and eligible European visitors who do not need a visa to travel to the UK for short stays of up to six months will need an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) from 2 April 2025. The ETA is a digital travel permission to visit the UK that is being introduced to deliver a more streamlined and secure digital immigration system. Visitors can apply for an ETA from 5 March 2025.

Applying for an ETA is quick and simple. Most applicants get an automatic decision in minutes when applying through the UK ETA app, which means last-minute trips to the UK are still possible, although visitors are advised to allow three working days for a decision on their application. An ETA currently costs £10 and permits multiple journeys to the UK for stays of up to six months at a time over two years or until the holder’s passport expires – whichever is sooner. Note that there are proposed changes laid before the UK Parliament to increase the ETA fee from £10 to £16.

Brits and Irish

Dual citizens with British or Irish citizenship do not need an ETA to travel to the UK. They will need to prove their right to enter the UK by showing their British or Irish passport, or other passport showing a certificate of entitlement, which proves they have the right of abode in the UK. You do not need an ETA to transit through the UK if you are not passing through border control (aka ‘airside’ transit).

UK Ambassador Anne Sherriff said: “The introduction of the ETA scheme is in line with the approach many other countries have taken to border security and will help prevent the arrival of those who present a threat to the UK. It’s easy to apply for an ETA through the ‘UK ETA app’, which can be downloaded from the internet. You can also apply on the UK government website if you do not have access to a smartphone.”

The UK.GOV ETA website is here and you can  also download the app from that page.

Customs reminder

With the launch of the ETA scheme by the UK, the Belgian authorities took the opportunity to remind visitors from the UK about the post-Brexit customs regime with a series of checks on passengers disembarking from the Eurostar at Brussels-Midi station on Thursday 6 March. Many passengers were surprised by the drug and cash dog checks.

The rules are that anyone who buys goods worth more than €300 (€150 for under 15s) in the UK must declare them when they arrive in Brussels from the UK via Eurostar. This amount is lower than the €430 limit for travellers by ship or plane.

For tobacco products, the maximum that is tax-exempt is 200 cigarettes and for alcohol, anything over one litre of alcohol over 22% ABV must be declared. You can bring four litres of wine and 16 litres of beer - if you can carry it - duty free. Customs must also be notified of any cash amounts over €10,000.

Bringing meat, milk or dairy products is verboten and some types of souvenirs are also prohibited. Plants, including bouquets of flowers as one passenger on 6 March discovered, are also not allowed.

If you declare goods you must pay the appropriate duties and taxes that are based on the total purchase price including VAT. If goods are not voluntarily declared, a fine will be added.

EU version

At some point in 2025 the EU’s Entry/ Exit System (EES) and associated European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) system is scheduled to come into operation. This will apply to non-European residents wanting to visit the EU and some other countries.

The latest update from the Commission, endorsed by EU Home Affairs Ministers on 5 March, indicates that the EES is expected to become operational in October 2025 with the ETIAS expected to follow in the last quarter of 2026.

The EES is likely to be progressively introduced in 29 states (EU + Schengen) over a period of six months to give border authorities and the transport industry more time to adjust to the new procedures.

An ETIAS authorisation will last for three years (after which it will need to be renewed), or until the holder’s passport expires (whichever is sooner). An ETIAS is likely to cost €7 for people aged 18 to 70, but will be free for people aged under 18 or over 70.

More information here.

On International Women’s Day (12 March 2025) the multinational group Association Femmes d’Europe is organising the second edition of ‘Classical Women’ – an evening charity concert to celebrate IWD2025 with profits going to the group’s humanitarian projects.

This major event takes place in the W:hall in Woluwe St Pierre and features an international all-female string ensemble from the top orchestras in Belgium conducted by Talia Ilan with a programme of beautiful music including works by Mendelssohn, Vivaldi, Ethel Smyth, Lili Boulanger, Beethoven and Gershwin.

The event was initiated by Nadia Weintraub, a Femme d’Europe member and a renowned concert pianist, who recently received a ten-minute standing ovation following her solo concert at the Liszt Institute in Brussels.

You can find further details on the concert here and on the poster below. Tickets, that include a drink with the artists after the concert, are available for € 35 for adults and € 20 for under 18s on the website or by scanning the QR code on the poster.

Our new federal Belgian government was sworn in on Monday morning (3 February) by King Philippe. The 15-member cabinet consists of new Prime Minister Bart De Wever, five deputy prime ministers and nine ministers. The full cabinet, with King Philippe in the centre, is pictured below. (Image credit: Belga / Jasper Jacobs).

The government is formed from five parties across the political spectrum right to left (N-VA, CD&V, MR, Les Engages and Vooruit) and is split roughly 50:50 on the French/ Dutch language dimension.

Details of ministerial names, responsibilities and portfolios are given below.

• Bart De Wever (N-VA), Prime minister

• Jan Jambon (N-VA), Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and Combating Fiscal Fraud, Pensions, National Lottery and Cultural Institutions
• David Clarinval (MR), Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Works, Economy and Agriculture
• Maxime Prévot (Les Engagés), Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Affairs and Development Cooperation
• Frank Vandenbroucke (Vooruit), Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Public Health and Social Affairs
• Vincent Van Peteghem (CD&V), Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Budget and Administrative Simplification

• Theo Francken (N-VA), Minister of Defence and Foreign Trade
• Anneleen Van Bossuyt (N-VA), Minister of Asylum and Migration, Social Integration and Metropolitan Areas
• Bernard Quintin (MR), Minister of the Interior, also responsible for Beliris
• Eléonore Simonet (MR), Minister for the Self-employed and SMEs.
• Mathieu Bihet (MR), Minister for Energy
• Jean-Luc Crucke (Les Engagés), Minister of Mobility, Climate and Ecological Transition
• Vanessa Matz (Les Engagés), Minister of Public Enterprises, Régie des Bâtiments, Civil Service, Digitalisation, Artificial Intelligence and Privacy
• Rob Beenders (Vooruit), Minister of Consumer Affairs, Social Fraud and Equal Opportunities
• Annelies Verlinden (CD&V), Minister of Justice and North Sea

The Arts Society Brussels continues its 2025 season with a lecture by professional artist Richard Whincop on ‘Sicily: Cultural Crossroads’ on Wednesday 12 February at the Maison Communale of Woluwe St. Lambert, Avenue Paul Hymans 2, 1200 Brussels. Doors open for complimentary drinks at 19h30 with the talk beginning at 20h00.

Richard’s talk looks at the rich and varied cultural influences brought to the island by Greeks, Phoenicians, Romans, Byzantines, Visigoths and Islamic tribes from North Africa. It goes on to explore how these were woven together by the Normans during their remarkably enlightened rule, which saw Palermo become one of the most important cities in Europe.

The talk is open to all. For more details and registration click here.

Our first e-Newsletter of 2025 has just been published and sent to our members contact list.

The newsletter highlights recent community news and forthcoming exciting community events including a link to images of our annual Christmas event. A range of other community activities plus many dates for your diary into 2025 are also featured.

You can access a pdf copy of the newsletter here. Enjoy!

The Caledonian Society of Brussels - the Society that aims to promote all 'things' Scottish in Brussels and Belgium - is starting to plan for a grand St Andrews Ball on 29 November 2025 at a venue in Brussels.

Tickets are likely to cost in the region of €130-150 per person and the organisers would like to get an idea of possible numbers. So, if you are interested in attending the ball you are invited to email charliegrant03@hotmail.com by 7 February.

Charlie says that Scottish dancing lessons will be organised in the autumn to help prepare for the Ball.

This coming weekend the Brussels Evensong Choir will be singing evensong in both Brussels and Leuven. On Saturday 18 January the choir will perform at Holy Trinity Church, 29 Rue Capitaine Crespel, 1050 Brussels at 17h00 and on Sunday 19 January the choir will be performing at the Chapel of St Martha and St Mary, Justus Lipsius college, Minderbroederstraat 15, 3000 Leuven at 18h30.

The programme for both services is:

Introit: Oculi Omnium – Wood

Preces and Responses – Smith

Evening Canticles – Short Service

Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis – Byrd

Anthem – Rejoice in the Lord Alway – Anon

Closing Hymn – Thy hand, O God, has guided - Thornbury

For both performances the choir will be directed by Margaret Scott who will also be the organist. The officiant at Holy Trinity will be Rev John Wilkinson and the officiant at St Martha and St Mary will be Rev Sarah-Jane King. All are welcome.