Dear Members and Friends,
With a 5-1 win over New Zealand in their final Group G match at the World Cup 2026 last Saturday, Belgium produced by far their best performance of the tournament. After two disappointing draws in their opening games, this was the kind of attacking display many expected from Belgium before the tournament. Long may it continue.
Following this splendid news and based on the popularity of our earlier successful Belgium-Egypt match gathering, with over 80 attendees, we will organise more ‘live’ World Cup events in London for the Belgian community. Dates, venues and timings to follow suit.
The main political news from the UK is the resignation of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer after a landslide win by Andy Burnham in a by-election, opening the way for the latter to become leader of the Labour Party and Prime Minister. If no contenders turn up, this may be decided as soon as mid-July.
As a business community, we hope this will not lead to more tax increases on businesses, which were already heavily hit by the first 2 years of a Labour government.
Another consequence of this political malaise is the delay of the EU-UK summit, which was set for 22 July 2026. We were very hopeful that this summit would alleviate some of the bureaucratic barriers caused by Brexit, particularly for youth mobility and the import of plants, food, and animals. Alas, we will now have to wait until the transfer of power has taken place, in 3 months, and hope Mr Burnham does understand that business and working with the EU is the motor of growth, jobs and prosperity.
Talking Brexit, I can highly recommend the blog of Chris Grey for an intelligent analysis of this complicated matter: https://chrisgreybrextblog.blogspot.com/
Joe, our Social Media & Marketing specialist, has also worked hard on revamping the BLCC website. This has resulted in a tidy, more informative website with new opportunities for increased members’ promotion &visibility. It is now also much easier to navigate. Please have a look at www.blcc.co.uk and let us know your comments.
In the meantime, our new London Work Lounge is coming together, and we have started inviting Club Members to come and register themselves at Waterside so they can enter and use the facilities, including our wonderful terrace, an ideal working spot this summer. I am glad to add that we have air conditioning, so the extreme heat of the last few days has not stopped us from being productive.
Finally, we have welcomed Rosalie Bouvier as our summer intern in London, and you will meet her if you come to visit our Work Lounge. The BLCC team is looking forward to working with her for the next 3 months.
Enjoy the summer and hopefully also some time to rest and play.
Michel Vanhoonacker
BLCC Chairman