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

So who was John Cockerill, whose statue in Place Luxembourg was partially dismantled by protesting farmers this week (on 1 February 2024)?

John Cockerill (3 August 1790 – 9 June 1840) was an English-born industrialist who became a prominent businessman in Belgium. Born at Haslingden, Lancashire, England, he was brought by his father (British entrepreneur William Cockerill) to the Liège region, where he continued the family tradition of building wool-processing machinery.

He founded an ironworks named John Cockerill & Cie that became a pioneer of the iron and steel industry in Belgium and he was also a very significant contributor to the development of the railways in the country during the early 1800s. The John Cockerill foundry also cast the giant Lion that dominates the battleground of Waterloo.

Inaugurated in 1872, the monument to John Cockerill was probably erected in front of Brussels-Luxembourg station because it was one of the first stations in Brussels, and Cockerill's workshops supplied some of Belgium's first rails, wagons and locomotives.

You can find out more about the life and works of John Cockerill in this YouTube documentary.

Thanks to Simon Pascoe for his research on the life of John Cockerill.

Several spy scandals have made the headlines in Belgium. The partly state-owned telecom company Belgacom (now Proximus), the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Prime Minister’s Office have all been hacked. This shouldn’t be a big surprise, as Brussels - since the Cold War - is one of the world’s hot spots for espionage. The intelligence archives of Berlin, Budapest, Bucharest, Prague, Sofia and Warsaw have revealed the 007 dimension of Europe’s capital city.

The world of espionage is the world in which the International Study Group's (ISG) speaker on 12 February, Alexandro Legein, worked. He will start his talk with a general overview of the 'why' of security in international institutions, its importance and the risk management principles that govern it.

The second part of his talk will cover the danger of espionage and its interference against common interests (this is especially acute in view of recent international and internal national developments) and the risks posed by social media in this area.

Alexandro (pictured above) started his career as a journalist in the mid-1970s, developing the investigative instincts and eye for detail that are now the tools of his trade. Swapping his pen and note pad for a gun and warrant card, he joined the Belgian Maritime Police in 1978 specializing in narcotics and fraud investigation.

In 1985, he moved to the Directorate of Public Security where, as an Inspector in the Bureau of State Security, he was introduced to the demi-monde of counter-intelligence, counter-terrorism, and diplomatic protection.

Next came three years at Federal Express and two at DHL, where he led operations in Europe and Africa. He then joined Swift as Security Chief, followed by TNT where he was Group Security Director Worldwide, and finally in 2008 he was appointed as the Director of the Security Office of the Council of the European Union.

A Belgian national, born in Spain, Alexandro grew up in Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands. His studies included economics and journalism and he has professional qualifications in strategic management (Insead), financial, police and criminal justice management.

The venue for ISG talks is the Chateau Malou, Allée Pierre Levie 2, 1200 Woluwe-Saint-Lambert and the doors will be open for the talk on Monday 12 February at 10h00 for a coffee with the programme commencing from 10h30.

There is free parking close to the Château Malou and the closest public transport is Tram 8 (Stop Voot); Bus 28 (Stop Deportés or Parc Malou). The talk is free for ISG members and guests are welcome and may attend for a fee of €10 payable at the entrance.

For more information visit the ISG website or Facebook page.

If you are one of the three million UK citizens living overseas and currently disenfranchised from voting in UK elections then don’t forget that from Tuesday 16 January you can apply to get your vote back!

UK citizens resident overseas are getting their voting rights back on Tuesday! Don’t delay!

For full information on who can register, how you do it, where and when, visit the FAQ blog on the British in Europe website.

If you want to access the UK government statutory instrument 2023 No. 1406. Police, England and Wales Representation of the People. The Representation of the People (Overseas Electors etc.) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 that enables the change you can find it here.

On 1 February the Irish and UK groups of the Femmes d’ Europe association are pleased to invite you to a concert of traditional Irish and Scottish music. Both Ireland and Scotland share an impressive musical heritage and composers like Beethoven, Haydn and many others have recognized its beauty.

Two well-known Scottish artists will be playing for Femmes d’ Europe on 1 February. They are:

• Muriel Johnstone, one of the leading pianists and composers on the Scottish dance music scene. She started learning the piano at the age of seven and the violin at the age of eight. Qualified in the study of classical music (BMus and LRAM from Edinburgh University), and adept in various Scottish idioms, Muriel has performed and taught all over the world. She has become sought after as a performer, bringing into prominence the piano in traditional music. She has composed over 1,000 tunes and for many years was the Musical Director for the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society.
• Ian Robertson, a highly experienced, multi-instrumentalist on the Scottish dance music scene. He plays the accordion, the fiddle and the piano. In Brussels Ian will accompany Muriel on the fiddle. Ian comes from a family steeped in Scottish music. His great-grandmother was a fine pianist who is known to have accompanied fiddler and composer James Scott Skinner in the late 1800s. A full-time musician, Ian is in great demand for functions and events all over the world. He is also an accomplished composer.

The concert will commence at 8pm at the Protestant Church of Brussels, 2 Place du Musee, 1000 Brussels. Guests will be treated to mulled wine prior to the start of the concert accompanied by piper Anthony Orr. The cost of participation is €35 with proceeds from the concert going to support the association's various humanitarian projects. To purchase tickets either click here or scan the QR code on the image below.

The Association Femmes d’Europe thanks the Scottish Government and the Irish Embassy in Brussels for their generous support for this concert.

This year the three million British citizens living overseas got a massive – and long overdue - Christmas present: the right to vote (again) in UK national elections. From 16 January 2024 UK citizens will be able to re-register to vote in UK election.

Since 2002 the so-called 15-year rule has disenfranchised any British citizen who has lived outside the UK for more than 15 years. The Elections Act 2022 repealed this rule, but required the passing of secondary legislation to implement the change. This legislation was finally approved on 18 December 2023 – just in time for Christmas.

Our friends at the British in Europe (BiE) coalition have been instrumental in promoting and lobbying for this change and you can find more information including a FAQs blog on their website (see links below).

Don’t delay

With a UK general election due within the next 14 months, if you want to vote you should not delay in reclaiming your rights.

If you have been living outside the UK for less than 15 years then it may be wise to renew your voting registration as soon as possible as here may be a rush to register when the millions of currently disenfranchised UK citizens get their voting rights back on 16 January.

More information on the BiE blog.

FAQs on registration on the BiE blog.

Hidden Gems - a community singing event – is coming to Brussels from 9-12 May 2024. UK-based international composers Jeremy Avis and Rebecca Askew have been running ‘Hidden Gems’ events since 2019 which involve amateur singers joining together in different European cities over several days. A ‘tasty’ collection of songs are taught to participants inspired by the places being visited, enhancing each participant’s experience and revealing to them whole new ways of seeing places they may already know well.

At least one new piece of music dedicated to the city is composed for each event, influenced by the acoustics and history of the wonderful places chosen to sing in. The new piece always involves local professional instrumentalists who add further spice to the choral sounds produced. Both the singers, and the audiences who enjoy these free performances, are always energised by the music.

A unique guided tour of Brussels for our singers as part of our May 2024 event will be provided by Derek Blyth, the well-known British author of ‘500 Hidden Secrets of Brussels’. The event will end with a 'singing walk' through the city on the final day, Sunday 12 May.

More details can be found here and there is an early bird discount if people sign up to sing before 31 January 2024.

The first International Study Group (ISG) talk of 2024 will take place on Monday 15 January and will feature the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Clean Space Initiative. This programme stands at the forefront of preserving both terrestrial and orbital environments while enhancing Europe's space sector's competitiveness. Committed to cleaning up space and minimizing the environmental impact of space activities, the initiative focuses on eco-designing space missions, managing end-of-life missions, and pioneering in-orbit servicing, including active debris removal. Through these efforts, ESA is taking global leadership in ensuring the safe and sustainable use of valuable orbits around Earth.

To achieve this, ESA has set an ambitious Zero Debris goal to eliminate debris generation entirely by 2030 and securing a cleaner and safer space environment for future generations.

The speaker will be Mathilde Reumaux, EU Relations Coordinator at ESA. She works in the ESA Brussels Office, which liaises with the EU institutions and Brussels-based (space) stakeholders to support cooperation between the EU, ESA and others. Before joining ESA, Mathilde gained more than 10 years’ experience in EU research and innovation policies and programmes, and in EU and international collaboration for science.

What, where, when

The venue for ISG talks is the Chateau Malou, Allée Pierre Levie 2, 1200 Woluwe-Saint-Lambert and the doors will be open for the talk on Monday 15 January at 10h00 with the programme commencing from 10h30.

There is free parking close to the Château Malou and the closest public transport is Tram 8 (Stop Voot); Bus 28 (Stop Deportés or Parc Malou). The talk is free for ISG members and guests are welcome and may attend for a fee of €10 payable at the entrance.

For more information visit the ISG website or Facebook page.

Many thanks to all who helped to make the BBCA Christmas Reception 2023 on the evening of Monday 11 December such a glittering and roaring success. The sparkling event took place at the British Residence in central Brussels and was hosted by Matthew Bunny, Head of Political and Public Diplomacy at the Embassy (pictured below).

As ever on this annual Christmas event it was really great to see so many of our community celebrating together. And, also as usual, the event was sold out helping to achieve our twin goals of bringing the British Community together and raising money for a very good cause!

During the evening a raffle was held with some great prizes, including Pommery Champagne, Belgian beer, theatre tickets and a hamper from Stonemanor, amongst many others, with all proceeds to be donated to the excellent and vital work of the Community Kitchen based at the Holy Trinity church in Brussels. Through the raffle €1 600 was raised to support the valuable work of this charity that supplies some 5 000 meals a week to homeless and vulnerable people. Project director Gayl Russell, pictured above, described the work of the charity at the event.

In addition, the evening saw our annual donations to BBCA associated charities. This year the Community Help Service (CHS) and the British Charitable Fund both received €1 400 and the Brussels branch of the Royal British Legion received € 200. These donations are in addition to the €1 500 raised for the World Wide Fund for Nature Belgium during our Coronation event with Stonemanor in May. In total during 2023 the BBCA will have donated over €6 000 to charitable causes.

More pictures from the Christmas event can be viewed here. If you would like to share your pictures of the event, please send them in and we will upload them to this album

On behalf of the BBCA team of volunteers I wish you all a very fine festive season and hope to see you all again in the New Year. Keep an eye on our website as we aim to be organising more community events during 2024. In particular we will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the formal (re)founding of the BBCA as an absl in 1974. 

On Thursday 14 December from 8pm the Association Femmes d’Europe invite you to a Musical journey through Spain at the Woluwe Saint-Pierre Cultural Centre in Brussels.

The concert has been organised on the occasion of the Spanish presidency of the Council of the European Union and features internationally renowned Spanish pianist, Rosa Torres Pardo, winner of the 2017 Spanish National Music Prize. Rosa will take the audience on a musical journey in the company of the great Spanish composers of the 20th century. The concert will be followed by a drinks reception.

For those looking to get into the spirit of Christmas early, St Andrew's Church of Scotland in Ixelles will be holding a Service of Nine Lessons and Carols on Sunday 17 December from 18h00. The service will be followed by mince pies and mulled wine in the church hall.

St Andrew's is situated at Chaussée de Vleurgat 181, just off Avenue Louise. The service will include well known Carols and Christmas Hymns, but will not include a sermon.