12 months of Belgium: the most memorable events of 2014

January – Insects approved for public consumption

2014 started off with some bad news for Belgium’s insect population. On January 3, Belgium's Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain published a list of 10 insect species approved for public consumption.

Two brands of bug-based foods have since reached the shelves of Belgian supermarkets: Green Bugs, sandwich spreads found at Delhaize shops, and Insecta bug burgers.

February – Changes in flight paths provoke the ire of Brussels residents

Federal transport minister Melchior Wathelet’s changes to the flight plans of air traffic coming and going from Brussels National airport angered thousands of Brussels residents when more low-flying planes began to be directed over densely populated areas of Brussels. The debate, which continued throughout 2014, resulted in the windows of Brussels homes and shops being peppered with small yellow signs (pictured) reading "Pas question!" as residents and shop owners came out against the "Plan Wathelet". Politicians and transport authorities continue to squabble over a solution that suits all political interests.

March – Newspaper De Morgen apologises for racist caricature of US president Barack Obama and his wife

De Morgen, one of Flanders' two main newspapers, stirred up trouble for itself when it published two satirical photos of President Obama: one suggesting that the African-American president sells marijuana and the other depicting the leader and his wife as apes from Planet of the Apes.

What was meant to be a satirical joke was met with public outrage and cries of racism, leading to an apology from the paper’s editors two days later. Unfortunately, De Morgen editors defended their choice, saying their mistake lay in “thinking that in a post-racial world, one could joke about racism". This prompted a firestorm on social media, provoking comments like one from Belgian-Nigerian writer Chika Unigwe on Twitter stating, “Belgium is an insular country. It lives like history happens outside of it.”

In the same week, a baker in Essen made a life-sized speculoos cookie of the American president which was also decried as racist for its exaggerated features, including a wide nose, and for dressing him in a basketball uniform.

April – 700 people erroneously told they have cancer

Due to an administrative error, 762 patients who had undergone routine screenings for colon cancer received letters telling them their results had appeared abnormal and instructing them to contact their doctors. Except the recipients of the letters, in fact, had normal screenings and were cancer-free. The Centre for Cancer Detection quickly realised their error and sent out new letters and called the affected patients to inform them of the mistake.

May – Shooting at the Jewish Museum

On 24 May, a lone gunman shocked the Belgian public when he opened fire at the Jewish Museum of Belgium in Brussels, killing four people before fleeing. The suspect, Mehdi Nemmouche, was apprehended in Marseille, France, six days later and was extradited to Belgium in July, where he will stand trial. The museum remained closed for four months following the shooting, reopening its doors in September.

June – Belgium reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup

A rare wave of nationalistic fervour overtook Belgium in June when the national football team the Red Devils rose to the quarter-finals in the World Cup taking place in Brazil. After a nail-biting win against the United States, Belgium’s run toward victory ended on July 5 when they lost 1-0 to Argentina.

July – First packaging-free shop opens in Belgium

Robuust, Belgium’s first waste-free, packaging-free shop, opened in July. One of only four such shops in the world, Robuust sells dried, fresh and processed, mostly organic food products as well as environmentally friendly cleaning products, detergents and the like. Customers are encouraged to bring their own receptacles – jars, bags, bottles, etc – to package their items. The receptacles are weighed upon entry to the store.

August – Belgium commemorates 100 years since the outbreak of WWI

August 4 marked the 100th anniversary of the start of World War One in Belgium, when the German army crossed the Belgian border and launched an assault on Liège. Four years and nine million soldiers’ lives later, the war proved to be the bloodiest military campaign to ever have occurred on Belgian soil.

September – Pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline dumps polio virus in river

At the beginning of September, 45 litres of liquid contaminated with live polio virus was accidentally dumped into the Laan river by GlaxoSmithKline in Rixensart, Walloon Brabant. Fortunately, after careful testing and observation, no water samples have tested positive for the life-threatening virus and no cases have been reported. In Belgium, vaccination against polio is required in all children.

October – Belgium gets a new federal government

After 30 hours of negotiations, Belgium formed a new federal government with MR’s Charles Michel at its head as prime minister. The 13-person cabinet is known as a Swedish coalition thanks to the colours and symbols associated with participating parties: blue for the liberal parties MR and Open VLD, yellow for the Flemish nationalist NV-A, and the cross used by Christian Democrats CD&V. It is dominated by a largely right-leaning ideological base favouring free-market capitalism and cuts in public services.

November – Belgium erupts into protests in reaction to austerity measures

On November 6, 100,000 people flooded the streets of Brussels to protest against the government’s spending cuts that would affect workers’ incomes and pension rights. Protests turned violent when police used tear gas and water cannon against the increasingly agitated crowd of demonstrators, who set fire to a car and destroyed property.

Strikes and demonstrations have continued throughout November and December and have caused major disruptions in transportation and public services.

December – Prime minister Michel pelted with fries

At a speech on December 22 in Namur, Belgian prime minister Charles Michel was pelted with Belgium’s trademark fries and doused in mayonnaise by four activists protesting against his government’s austerity measures. The activists were quickly tackled by Michel’s security and he continued with his speech, apologising for smelling like mayonnaise.

Photo courtesy pasquestion.be