Alexandre Brecx

🇧🇪🇪🇺 Belgian diplomat • Spokesperson of the Permanent Representation of Belgium to the EU @BelgiuminEU

[Belgium in the EU @BelgiuminEU]

🎙️ ❝ Whether we're talking about families, about hate speech or about Ukraine, we are very clear: we must confront hate speech, we must protect rights and also accountability must prevail. ❞

➖ 🇧🇪 Minister @AnneliesVl ahead of today’s #justice Council

[Belgium in the EU @BelgiuminEU]

#Justice | 🇧🇪 justice minister @AnneliesVl takes part in the second day of the 🇪🇺 Justice & Home Affairs Council in Luxembourg today #JHA.

On the agenda ⇊
▪️ Recognition of parenthood
▪️ Hate crime and hate speech
▪️ Justice programme 2028-2034

[Belgium in the EU @BelgiuminEU]

Meaningful exchange with @vbofeb “Belgian Business for Europe” group at the Permanent Representation 🇧🇪🇪🇺

Key EU priorities discussed: competitiveness, single market , simplification, green & digital agendas —alongside today’s geopolitical challenges.

[Maxime PREVOT @prevotmaxime]

🇮🇷 Today, I spoke with my counterpart @araghchi Abbas Araghchi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran. This exchange was the occasion to convey a few messages.

I insisted upon the obligation to respect the right of transit passage through the Strait of Hormuz, in accordance with international law. According to Belgium, there should not be any obstacle, any payment of any sort.

I told Minister Araghchi that the talks with the US offer an opportunity that must be seized to reach a comprehensive peace agreement. Every effort must be made on both sides to reach swiftly a peace agreement, including for Lebanon, whose territorial integrity must be respected by Israel.

Iran must stop playing any destabilising role in the region, including through the support of proxies. The region and the world have already suffered too much from the hostilities.

I reiterated that all prisoners detained in Iran shall be treated with the respect due to the human dignity. Access to medical care must be ensured. I also called once again for the abolition of the death penalty.

@BelgiumMFA

[EU Council Press @EUCouncilPress]

Statement by the High Representative @kajakallas on behalf of the EU on the reckless violation of the EU’s airspace by Russia.

Read the full statement 👇
https://t.co/GoECM4maEg

[Maxime PREVOT @prevotmaxime]

🇪🇺 Europe must stop watching and start acting. That was my central message today in Cyprus, where I joined my European colleagues for an informal discussion on our security, the security of all Europeans.

Investing in defence is essential. But military strength without diplomatic weight is only half the job. The outcome of the negotiations between Ukraine and Russia will inevitably define the future of European security. Europe must therefore be at the table, not taking notes from the sidelines. The US’s pause in the negotiations is an opportunity for Europe to step in, with a clear and concrete mandate. Work will continue to prepare to this end.

We also had the chance to discuss the situation in the Middle East with my esteemed colleagues @DrSJaishankar 🇮🇳 and @FaisalbinFarhan 🇸🇦, discussion that allowed me to reiterate our position on the dramatic situations in Lebanon and in Gaza. In the Gulf, the blocage of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran is unacceptable. The passage must be free. I’ve asked for further measures to be looked into in order to pressure Iran if they persist in their determination to charge for the passage of ships.

Nevertheless, this situation is yet again an another call to diversify our partnerships, notably in the field of energy, and develop new commercial routes, i.a. via rail. I’ve also asked the Commission to come up with a new food security strategy, having in mind the impact of the current crisis on the commerce of fertilisers.

@BelgiumMFA @BelgiuminEU

[Christophe de Nijs @BelgiumDGE]

🇧🇪🤝🇳🇱🤝🇱🇺 𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗹𝘂𝘅 𝗰𝗼𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 is like a lifelong friendship: you can always count on it, but it needs energy to thrive.
Great to host my 🇳🇱 & 🇱🇺 counterparts, @BeneluxUnion & Coreper I ambassadors to align on EU files. Together, our voice is stronger. 🇪🇺

[EU Council Press @EUCouncilPress]

#Ukraine Facility: @EUCouncil approves seventh payment of nearly €2.8 billion to Kyiv 🇪🇺🤝🇺🇦

#StandWithUkraine

More 👇
https://t.co/Z5sDRyUxaA

[Pascal Heyman @PascalHeyman]

🇧🇪 PM @Bart_DeWever welcomed his 🇧🇬 colleague @rumradev to Brussels for the first time. Talks included security challenges in Europe, the war in #Ukraine, the EU's forthcoming budget cycle, and how to strengthen bilateral cooperation between #Belgium and #Bulgaria.

[Maxime PREVOT @prevotmaxime]

I have asked that the Russian Ambassador to Belgium be summoned today.

Russia’s announcement calling on diplomatic personnel and foreign citizens to leave Kyiv ahead of planned strikes is unacceptable. Threatening embassies is not diplomacy, it is intimidation. And it is a flagrant violation of international law and the Vienna Convention.

Belgium is not going anywhere. We are staying in Kyiv. We are standing with Ukraine. And we will not be intimidated.

There is one aggressor in this war, and it is Russia. The solution to end this cycle of escalation is remarkably simple: Russia must stop its aggression and engage in genuine peace talks.

@BelgiumMFA

[Pascal Heyman @PascalHeyman]

🇧🇪 PM @Bart_DeWever welcomed 🇦🇱 PM @ediramaal in Brussels today. Talks focused on #Albania's European path and the security environment on the European continent. Belgium will open an embassy in Tirana this summer, which will deepen cooperation.

[António Costa @eucopresident]

I am deeply saddened by the tragic collision this morning between a train and a school bus in Buggenhout, Belgium.

My thoughts are with the victims and their loved ones. Wishing all those injured a swift recovery.

[Roberta Metsola @EP_President]

The grief and heartbreak are immense today.

It is unbearable to imagine the pain the tragic collision between a train and a school bus in Buggenhout has brought, on what should have been an ordinary morning.

Today, Europe stands together in mourning with the families of the victims and with all those injured and affected by this terrible day.

Europe grieves with you 🇪🇺🇧🇪

[Ursula von der Leyen @vonderleyen]

I was heartbroken to learn of the tragic accident between a train and a school bus in Buggenhout today.

My deepest condolences go out to the victims’ families and their loved ones.

Today, Europe grieves with Belgium.

[Belgium in the EU @BelgiuminEU]

#GAC | Deputy prime minister @prevotmaxime is representing Belgium 🇧🇪 at the General Affairs Council in Brussels today.

On the agenda ⇊
▪️ Preparation of the upcoming European Summit
▪️ Multiannual Financial Framework 2028-2034
▪️ 🇪🇺-🇬🇧 Relations
▪️Rule of Law in 🇫🇷🇭🇷🇮🇹🇱🇻

[Maxime PREVOT @prevotmaxime]

🇧🇪 Belgium joins the signatories of this statement in reiterating the importance of respecting international law and, consequently, of putting an end to the illegal settlements and their expansion.
👇
Joint Statement from the leaders of the E4 + Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Norway and the Netherlands on the situation in the West Bank https://t.co/kn5fw35THw

[Alexandre Brecx @AlexBrecx]

“Israeli forces have established positions in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, taking control of land equivalent to roughly 5 per cent of Israel’s 1949 borders, according to FT calculations” - via the @ft
https://t.co/R7wMIBqXhO

[Alexandre Brecx @AlexBrecx]

"In the past 5 years, 🇨🇳´s bilateral trade with 🇷🇺 has risen by about 55% to $228bn as 🇷🇺 has become increasingly dependent on 🇨🇳 demand for its energy, mineral and agricultural exports, and on 🇨🇳 exports of vehicles, industrial machinery and electronics"

https://t.co/gffrnKl0Rr

[Maxime PREVOT @prevotmaxime]

🇪🇺 Good to finally discuss international cooperation through a humanitarian lens at today’s Foreign Affairs Council on Development.

In an increasingly brutal and unstable world, cooperation is reinventing itself daily, often around security. But there must remain space for international cooperation driven by something more fundamental: solidarity. That is a value Europe must continue to carry and embody.

The need has never been more evident. The hantavirus crisis, the Ebola outbreak in the Great Lakes, both show how much cooperation focused on global public goods, particularly health, truly matters.

Belgium has made health, climate and stability the three priorities of its development cooperation. We believe Europe distinguishes itself not by extracting resources from others, but by building genuine partnerships based on mutual interest. Global Gateway remains essential but it must be measured not by the volume of projects, but by their quality and real impact.

Europe cannot leave a vacuum, especially in Africa. Because others will fill it, with an approach that is far more transactional.

🇫🇷🇩🇪 I also had valuable bilateral exchanges with my French colleague @CaroitEleonore and German colleague Reem Alabali Radovan @BMZ_Bund in the margins of the Council. Always useful to coordinate between like-minded partners.

@BelgiumMFA @BelgiuminEU

[Belgium in the EU @BelgiuminEU]

🎙️ ❝ Let’s continue with Belgium 🇧🇪 and Europe 🇪🇺 to embody this international cooperation that does not vampirize the resources of others, but which seeks to build a destiny that can be beneficial for all populations ❞

➖ 🇧🇪 Deputy Prime minister @prevotmaxime at the #FAC