2018 in Belgium

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See also:	Other events of 2018 List of years in Belgium

Events in the year 2018 in Belgium.

Incumbents

• Monarch: Philippe[1]
• Prime Minister: Charles Michel

Events

January

• 1 January
  • border change along the Meuse between Belgium and the Netherlands takes effect
  • The entire Brussels-Capital Region becomes a low-emission zone
• 13 January — Angeline Flor Pua wins Miss Belgium 2018

February

• 3 February — Insyriated wins in six categories at the 8th Magritte Awards, including Best Film and Best Director

March

• 17 March — Standard Liège wins 2018 Belgian Cup Final

April

• 1 April — 102nd Tour of Flanders
• 18 April — 82nd Flèche Wallonne

May

• 17 May — 2-year-old Mawda Shawri killed by a police bullet[2][3][4][5]
• 29 May — Two police officers and a civilian bystander killed in 2018 Liège attack

July

• 2 July — A Belgian man and his Iranian wife were arrested after plotting a bomb attack against a Mujahedeen Khalq rally in France.[6]

August

• 31 August — Summer of 2018 is the hottest in almost 200 years[7]

October

• 14 October – Local elections

December

• 5 December – Belgium's first recorded death by hazing: the 20-year-old KU Leuven student Sanda Dia dies after taking part in the initiation ceremony for the subsequently disbanded Reuzegom fraternity.[8]
• 9 December – a political crisis emerged over whether to sign the Global Compact for Migration; in an N-VA u-turn the party opposed signing whereas the other three parties in government continued to support it. On December 4, the Prime Minister of Belgium, Charles Michel, announced that the issue would be taken to parliament for a vote.[9] On 5 December, parliament voted 106 to 36 in favor of backing the agreement.[10] Michel stated that he would endorse the pact on behalf of the parliament, not on behalf of the divided government.[11] Consequently, N-VA left the government; the other three parties continue as a minority government (Michel II).
• 16 December – More than 5,500 people marched in a protest against the Global Compact for Migration, organized by Flemish right-wing parties. A smaller counter-demonstration of around 1,000 people was organised by left-wing groups.[12]
• 18 December – Prime Minister Charles Michel presented his government's resignation to the King, who accepted it a few days later.[13]

Deaths

January

• January 30: Terry Van Ginderen, aka Tante Terry, 86, TV presenter (Kom Toch Eens Kijken).[14]

May

• May 6: Eric Geboers, 55, motorcross and racing driver.[15]
• May 7: Maurane, 57, pop singer and actress[16]
• May 14: William Vance, 82, comics artist (Bruno Brazil, XIII) [17]

June

• June 21: Édouard-Jean Empain, 80, industrialist.[18][19]

October

• October 3: Hugo Raspoet, 77, singer and gitarist (Helena, Evviva Il Papa).[20][21][22]
• October 5: Walter Capiau, 80, TV presenter.[23]
• October 8: Eliane Liekendael, 90, magistrate.[24][25]

December

• December 3: Albert Frère, 92, businessman.[26]
• December 14: Jean-Pierre Van Rossem, 73, economist, politician and criminal.[27]
• 'December 20: Raymond van Uytven, 85, academic historian

References

1. "Philippe, king of Belgium". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
2. Rod Austin (18 May 2018). "Two-year-old girl dies after incident involving armed police in Belgium". The Guardian.
3. Rod Austin; Jennifer Rankin (18 May 2018). "Belgian authorities admit two-year-old girl was shot after police chase". The Guardian.
4. Rod Austin (25 May 2018). "Belgian police who shot dead two-year-old 'want to justify' tragedy, says lawyer". The Guardian.
5. Daniel Boffey (29 May 2018). "Belgians' anger grows over status of parents of girl killed by police". The Guardian.
6. Breeden, Aurelien (2018-07-02). "Couple Is Charged in Plot to Bomb Iranian Opposition Rally in France (Published 2018)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-10-28.
7. "Summer of 2018 is the hottest in almost 200 years". VRT. 31 August 2018.
8. Cedric Lagast; Pieter Huyberechts (30 July 2020). "Parket wil 18 Reuzegommers voor rechter na dood Sanda Dia: "Onterende behandeling van student"". Het Nieuwsblad.
9. Casert, Raf (4 December 2018). "Dispute over UN migration pact fractures Belgian government". The Washington Post.
10. "Belgian PM wins backing for UN migration pact". France 24. 5 December 2018. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
11. "Belgian PM Charles Michel wins backing for UN migration pact". www.timesnownews.com. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
12. "Tear gas, water cannons fired at anti-immigration protesters in Brussels". www.abc.net.au. 2018-12-16. Retrieved 2020-10-28.
13. "Crise gouvernementale: que va-t-il se passer maintenant?". Le Soir (in French). Retrieved 2018-12-18.
14. NWS, VRT (30 January 2018). "Televisiepionier "Tante" Terry Van Ginderen is overleden".
15. "Eric Geboers career profile". bestsports.com. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
16. "Singer Maurane dies days after comeback in Belgium". BBC News. BBC. 8 May 2018.
17. Quoidbach, Serge (15 May 2018). "PORTRAIT: William Vance, le dessinateur de XIII, s'est éteint". L'Echo (in French).
18. "Baron Edouard-Jean Empain (76) is overleden". www.demorgen.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 21 June 2018.
19. "Décès du baron Édouard-Jean Empain à qui les ravisseurs coupèrent une phalange dans les années 70" (in French). Retrieved 21 June 2018.
20. https://www.gva.be/cnt/dmf20181003_03804861/kleinkunstzanger-hugo-raspoet-bekend-van-helena-overleden
21. http://www.standaard.be/cnt/dmf20181003_03804854
22. https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2018/10/03/kleinkunstzanger-hugo-raspoet-77-is-overleden/
23. https://www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/dmf20181005_03811119
24. http://www.standaard.be/cnt/dmf20181025_03871489
25. https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2018/10/25/eliane-liekendael-eerste-vrouwelijke-procureur-generaal-over/
26. https://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL8N1Y81TQ
27. km. "Jean-Pierre Van Rossem is overleden op 73-jarige en leeft terug in onze zielen tussen pot en sigaret leeftijd". De Standaard. Archived from the original on 14 December 2018. Retrieved 14 December 2018.