2 October 2026
Prime Minister of Belgium Bart De Wever paid an official visit to India from 2 to 4 September 2026 and a joint statement was issued.
He was accompanied by Belgium's Minister of Defence and Foreign Trade Theo Francken and a delegation of officials and business leaders.
The two Prime Ministers expressed their determination to strengthen cooperation with a view to enabling the doubling of bilateral trade in the next five years.
A Letter of Intent was signed between the two Defence Ministries, a Memorandum of Understanding on renewable energy cooperation was renewed, and an MoU was signed between India's Central Bureau of Investigation and Belgium's Federal Police on combating transnational organised crime and cybercrime.
The joint statement records the India-Belgium Strategic Dialogue launched on 15 July 2026 and an India-Belgium Investment Fast-Track Mechanism.
It also notes an Indo-Belgian economic and investment corridor to be taken forward by SFPIM and the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund.
Visit dates:
2 to 4 September 2026
Trade goal:
doubling bilateral trade in the next 5 years
Defence instrument:
Letter of Intent between the Defence Ministries
Strategic Dialogue launched:
15 July 2026
Why it matters for exams: Bilateral visits and the exact instruments signed are standard international relations questions for civil services and PSC papers.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
MoU Memorandum of Understanding — A written understanding between two sides, usually not a binding treaty.
NIIF National Investment and Infrastructure Fund — India's sovereign-backed infrastructure investment fund.
CBI Central Bureau of Investigation — India's principal federal investigating agency.
2 October 2026
The Governing Council of the European Central Bank decided on 10 September 2026 to raise the three key ECB interest rates by 25 basis points.
The interest rates on the deposit facility, the main refinancing operations and the marginal lending facility were increased to 2.50%, 2.65% and 2.90% respectively, with effect from 16 September 2026.
The ECB said the conflict in the Middle East continues to generate inflation pressures and that inflation is set to remain well above target for an extended period.
The new ECB staff projections see headline inflation averaging 3.0% in 2026, 2.5% in 2027 and 2.1% in 2028.
The baseline projection for economic growth is 0.9% for 2026, 1.4% for 2027 and 1.5% for 2028.
Belgium is a euro area country, so these are the policy rates that apply to banks operating in Belgium.
The Governing Council said it is not pre-committing to a particular rate path and will work meeting by meeting.
Rate change:
25 basis points
Deposit facility:
2.50%
Main refinancing operations:
2.65%
Marginal lending facility:
2.90%
Effective from:
16 September 2026
Projected inflation 2026:
3.0%
Why it matters for exams: Euro area policy rates are standard banking and economy questions, and the deposit facility rate is the number most often asked.
Kerala PSCUPSCBank
In plain words
ECB European Central Bank — The central bank of the euro area, based in Frankfurt.
Basis point One hundredth of a percentage point — 25 basis points equals 0.25 percentage point.
Deposit facility rate Rate on overnight deposits placed with the central bank — The euro area's main policy rate.
Governing Council The ECB's main monetary policy decision-making body — It brings together the ECB Executive Board and the governors of the euro area national central banks.
Background
Belgium's capital is the backdrop to today's Belgian news, from the federal budget negotiations to the national demonstration called in the city, and Brussels is also the seat of NATO.
NATO describes its Headquarters as located at Boulevard Leopold III in Brussels, Belgium.
It is the political and administrative centre of the Alliance and the permanent home of the North Atlantic Council.
The Headquarters moved to Belgium after France withdrew from NATO's integrated military command structure in 1966.
The new site in Belgium was built in six months and was inaugurated on 16 October 1967.
NATO's military command structure is separate from this political headquarters.
Address:
Boulevard Leopold III, Brussels
Inaugurated:
16 October 1967
Construction time:
six months
Why it matters for exams: Which city hosts which international body is among the most frequently asked static questions, and Brussels carries both NATO and the EU institutions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization — A political and military alliance of North American and European states.
North Atlantic Council NATO's principal political decision-making body — Every Ally has a permanent seat on it.
Background
Belgium's defence commitments sit behind today's Belgian budget story, and its oldest such commitment is to the Atlantic Alliance.
NATO records that the North Atlantic Treaty was signed on 4 April 1949 in Washington, D.C.
NATO's founding member countries were Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Belgium is therefore an original signatory, not a later entrant.
All three Benelux countries, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, are founding members.
Belgium went on to host the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels.
Treaty signed:
4 April 1949
Place of signature:
Washington, D.C.
Founding members:
12
Why it matters for exams: The list of NATO's twelve founding members and the 1949 treaty date are classic objective questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
North Atlantic Treaty The founding treaty of NATO — Also called the Washington Treaty.
Benelux Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg — A customs and economic union of the three neighbouring states.
Background
The euro-area interest rate decision and the budget talks in today's Belgian news both rest on the same fact: Belgium has been inside the European project from its beginning.
The European Union's own country profile gives Belgium's capital city as Brussels and its official EU languages as Dutch, French and German.
Belgium's currency is the euro and it has been an EU member country since 1 January 1958.
It has been a Schengen area member since 26 March 1995.
The profile describes Belgium's political system as a federal constitutional monarchy in which the king is the head of state and the prime minister is the head of government in a multi-party system.
Belgium's population is given as 11 900 123 and it sends 22 representatives to the European Parliament.
Capital:
Brussels
Official EU languages:
Dutch, French, German
Currency:
euro
EU member since:
1 January 1958
Schengen member since:
26 March 1995
MEPs:
22
Why it matters for exams: Capital, currency, official languages and accession dates are the standard country-profile questions, and Belgium's three languages are a favourite trap.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSCBank
In plain words
Schengen area The European zone of free movement without internal border checks — Separate from EU membership itself.
MEP Member of the European Parliament — Directly elected by voters in each member state.
Background
The budget negotiations in today's Belgian news are federal negotiations, and they can only be read against Belgium's layered state structure.
Belgium is a federal state, composed of communities and regions.
The concept of community refers to persons who make up a community and the bond that unifies them, namely their language and culture; Belgium has the Flemish, the French and the German-speaking Communities.
The regions were established on the basis of economic interests and are the Flemish Region, the Brussels Capital Region and the Walloon Region.
The European Union's country profile for Belgium records that decision-making powers are divided between three levels of government: the federal government, three language-based communities and three regions, which are legally equal but hold powers in different fields.
The Federal State keeps foreign affairs, defence and justice among its competences.
Communities:
Flemish, French, German-speaking
Regions:
Flemish Region, Brussels Capital Region, Walloon Region
Basis of Communities:
language and culture
Basis of Regions:
economic interests
Why it matters for exams: Belgium's distinction between Communities, built on language, and Regions, built on economy, is a comparative-federalism favourite.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Community A language and culture based entity in Belgium — Competent for education, culture and person-related matters.
Region A territory based entity in Belgium — Competent for economy, employment and territory-related matters.
Background
Today's Belgian news includes a prime ministerial visit to India, which rests on one of India's oldest European relationships.
The Embassy of India in Brussels records that Belgium was among the first European countries to establish diplomatic relations with independent India in September 1947.
Trade in diamonds dominates the bilateral trade relationship.
The Embassy gives India as Belgium's 14th largest export destination and India as the 15th largest importer to Belgium.
On the Embassy's figures there are around 24,732 members of the Indian diaspora in Belgium, of whom 14,286 are Non-Resident Indians and around 10,446 are Persons of Indian Origin.
The Non-Resident Indian figure includes around 764 Indian students and around 2000 IT professionals.
Diplomatic relations established:
September 1947
Dominant trade:
diamonds
Indian diaspora in Belgium:
around 24,732
Non-Resident Indians:
14,286
Persons of Indian Origin:
around 10,446
Why it matters for exams: The year diplomatic relations began, the diamond trade and the diaspora numbers are the three things asked about India-Belgium ties.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
NRI Non-Resident Indian — An Indian citizen residing outside India.
PIO Person of Indian Origin — A person of Indian descent holding another country's nationality.
Background
Brussels runs through today's Belgian news in this section, and the city's own La Grand-Place is one of the Belgian properties on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
UNESCO's World Heritage Centre records 16 properties in Belgium inscribed on the World Heritage List.
Of these, 15 are cultural properties and 1 is a natural property.
The natural property is the Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe, a property shared with other countries.
La Grand-Place, Brussels and the Flemish Béguinages were inscribed in 1998, and the Historic Centre of Brugge and Notre-Dame Cathedral in Tournai in 2000.
Belgium ratified the World Heritage Convention on 24 July 1996.
Belgium has 16 sites on its Tentative List, the inventory of properties a State Party intends to consider for nomination.
Belgium has held two mandates on the World Heritage Committee, in 1999-2003 and in 2021-2025.
Properties inscribed:
16
Cultural properties:
15
Natural properties:
1
Convention ratified:
24 July 1996
Sites on the Tentative List:
16
Why it matters for exams: World Heritage counts by country, and the cultural-natural split, are asked directly in general knowledge and art and culture sections.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
World Heritage Convention Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage — The 1972 UNESCO treaty under which the World Heritage List is drawn up.
Tentative List A State Party's inventory of properties it may nominate later — A property must normally appear on this list before it can be nominated.
World Heritage Committee The 21-member body that decides inscriptions — States Parties are elected to it for fixed terms.
Background
Today's section carries a euro area interest rate decision that applies to Belgium, and the European Union's own country profile sets out the weight Belgium carries inside the Union's institutions.
The profile records 22 representatives from Belgium in the European Parliament.
Belgium has 12 representatives on the European Economic and Social Committee, the advisory body representing employers, workers and other interest groups.
It has 12 representatives on the European Committee of the Regions, the EU's assembly of regional and local representatives.
The European Commissioner nominated by Belgium is Hadja Lahbib, responsible for equality, preparedness and crisis management.
The presidency of the Council of the EU rotates every 6 months, and the profile lists Belgian presidencies from Jan-Jun 1958 through to Jan-Jun 2024.
Belgium also works through its permanent representation in Brussels, described as the country's embassy to the EU.
Seats in the European Parliament:
22
European Economic and Social Committee:
12 representatives
European Committee of the Regions:
12 representatives
Commissioner nominated by Belgium:
Hadja Lahbib
Council presidency rotation:
every 6 months
Why it matters for exams: The number of seats a member state holds in the European Parliament and the six-month rotation of the Council presidency are repeat questions on EU institutions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Council of the EU Council of the European Union — The institution where national ministers meet to adopt EU laws and coordinate policies.
EESC European Economic and Social Committee — An advisory body consulted on proposed EU laws.
Permanent representation A member state's standing mission to the EU — It carries the country's positions to the EU institutions.