Strike puts Belgium at standstill as EU meets
Source: Agencies |
January 31, 2012, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
BELGIUM'S first general strike in almost two decades brought the country to a near halt yesterday in an anti-austerity protest aimed at the government as well as at EU leaders meeting in Brussels.
The entire rail network closed, buses and trams idled, many schools shut and production at car plants stopped.
Charleroi Airport, a hub for Ryanair and other low-cost carriers, was forced to scrap all flights due to union plans to block the access road. Prospects for flights at the country's main airport, outside Brussels, were unclear.
High-speed international train services, such as the Eurostar from London and Thalys from Paris, were not running into or out of the country from late on Sunday.
Unions called Belgium's first general strike since 1993 over government plans to raise the effective retirement age along with other measures designed to save US$14.84 billion.
The government also froze US$1.7 billion of spending at the start of the year after a warning from the European Commission that it was not on track to meet its targets.
Belgium has pledged to bring its public sector deficit below the EU limit of 3 percent of gross domestic product this year to avoid an EU fine and to reassure investors that it has its finances under control.
On Friday, credit agencies Standard & Poor's and Moody's cut Belgium's rating with a negative outlook, citing concerns of a worsening debt crisis.
The strike coincides with the 17th EU summit in two years as the bloc battles to resolve its sovereign debt problems. The EU leaders will sign off on a permanent rescue fund for the euro zone.
For now, many Belgians appear to have accepted the need for austerity measures. According to an opinion poll in top-selling newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws last week, only 21 percent of Belgians supported the strike.
The entire rail network closed, buses and trams idled, many schools shut and production at car plants stopped.
Charleroi Airport, a hub for Ryanair and other low-cost carriers, was forced to scrap all flights due to union plans to block the access road. Prospects for flights at the country's main airport, outside Brussels, were unclear.
High-speed international train services, such as the Eurostar from London and Thalys from Paris, were not running into or out of the country from late on Sunday.
Unions called Belgium's first general strike since 1993 over government plans to raise the effective retirement age along with other measures designed to save US$14.84 billion.
The government also froze US$1.7 billion of spending at the start of the year after a warning from the European Commission that it was not on track to meet its targets.
Belgium has pledged to bring its public sector deficit below the EU limit of 3 percent of gross domestic product this year to avoid an EU fine and to reassure investors that it has its finances under control.
On Friday, credit agencies Standard & Poor's and Moody's cut Belgium's rating with a negative outlook, citing concerns of a worsening debt crisis.
The strike coincides with the 17th EU summit in two years as the bloc battles to resolve its sovereign debt problems. The EU leaders will sign off on a permanent rescue fund for the euro zone.
For now, many Belgians appear to have accepted the need for austerity measures. According to an opinion poll in top-selling newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws last week, only 21 percent of Belgians supported the strike.
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