​CategoriesCategoriesEnglishJUSTICE, ELECTIONSProxy voting fraud investigations in nine Flemish municipalities11 February 2025 Belgian authorities are conducting criminal investigations into alleged proxy vote fraud in nine municipalities across Flanders following the 2024 local elections Flemish Interior minister Hilde Crevits told parliament on Tuesday based on seized proxy voting documents and recommendations from public prosecutors the appointed mayor is under investigation which could affect their official confirmation Crevits said she would carefully assess each case but would not delay decisions unnecessarily She emphasised that soliciting proxy votes was a criminal offence and that legal consequences would depend on the outcome of ongoing investigations but it’s too early to assess the full extent of the issue,” the minister said mayoral appointments will proceed as normal The issue of possible misuse of proxy votes - where one person votes on behalf of another - first gained attention after reports of irregularities in Ninove where large numbers of proxy votes were seized There were concerns that fraudulent medical certificates may have been used to justify them A separate case in Veurne involves former mayor Peter Roose #FlandersNewsService | A voting booth at a polling station in Ostend during Belgium’s local elections © BELGA PHOTO KURT DESPLENTER Copy linkGet updates in your mailboxYour email addressSubscribeBy clicking "Subscribe" I confirm I have read and agree to the Privacy Policy rapid and high-quality information 24 hours a day from Belgium and abroad to all Belgian media not to mention entertainment and lifestyle our journalists and press photographers produce hundreds of photos and news stories Since the end of March 2022 English has been added as a language businesses and various organisations that need reliable information Belga News Agency also offers a comprehensive range of corporate services to meet all their communication needs www.belganewsagency.eu Before the end of 2015 at least 80 new wind turbines will rise up, increasing capacity by a third, reports De Standaard Wind turbines are under construction everywhere In the coming months they will be unmissable along Flemish roads as an unprecedented building boom breaks out a survey by De Standaard and green power companies reveals The result of the boom has been a sharp increase in wind power capacity in Flanders Late last year the counter stood at 604 megawatts Already during the second half of this year the smallest nuclear reactors in our country – Doel 1 and 2 – each have a capacity of 433 megawatts Read moreThe involvement of the railway is a big part of Electrabel’s largest wind-power project Seven new turbines will be builtalong the E40 motorway between Louvain and Liège near Gingelom by the end of 2015 providing electricity for the Louvain-Liège railway line Electrabel already sees 2015 as a pivotal year for its wind-energy activities. According to Bart Bode from the Sustainable Energy Organisation (ODE) there is even talk of a turning point for the entire Flemish wind sector. But the wind turbine construction boom will not stop at the end of this year. “2016 will be a strong year too,” he predicts. In particular there is much to be done in the port of Antwerp where there will be heavy investments in wind, with plans for another 18 turbines on the right bank of the river Scheldt. According to Bode, one explanation for the building boom can be found in the reform of the green electricity subsidy system more than two years ago, . “Until then, the green power companies were only watching. Once there was clarity about the rules the light turned green.” Wind energy projects regularly encounter resistance from local residents “But a part of the plans can now be realised because the legal battle is resolved,” says Bode He is worried about the coming years because of rumours about problems of loan support for wind energy The danger is that doubt could creep into the minds of investors If Flanders wants to fulfill its ambition of producing more than 20% of green electricity by 2020 there are a lot more turbines to be installed the Electrabel manager responsible for renewable energy projects The conclusion is that the construction boom still has a few years to run Sign up with your email address to receive news offers and more via email from the CEBL and its partners [email protected] | 289.649.1121 According to figures from the latest Notary Barometer the price of real estate in Flanders continues to rise the general economic climate and a rise in mortgage interest rates has meant that during the past year far fewer houses and flats were sold in our region Notary Bart Van Opstal says that “the rush on real estate that began post-corona has reached its end.” At 16.9% the fall in the number of real estate transactions was most pronounced in Flanders in Brussels and Wallonia the number of real estate transactions was down 12% Last year the number of houses and flats sold in West Flanders fell by 18.4% The fall in the number of real estate transactions was 17.5% in East Flanders 16.6% in Antwerp Province and 16.8% in Limburg Flemish Brabant saw the smallest fall in the number of houses and flats sold There the number of real estate transactions in 2023 was down 14.6% on the figures for 2022 House prices up in all 5 Flemish provinces The average price of a house rose in all 5 Flemish provinces in 2023 Leuven is the most expensive provincial capital for those wishing to buy a house Flemish Brabant (of which Leuven is the capital) is also the most expensive province Last year the average price of a house in Flemish Brabant was 420,129 euro The cheapest houses are to be found in the east of the province The highest average house prices are to be found in Overijse In 2023 Hasselt was the provincial capital with the lowest average house price average house prices in Limburg as a whole rose by 3.9% In 2023 a house in Limburg province cost an average of 307.935 euro Heers en Dilsen-Stokkem are the Limburg municipalities with the lowest average house prices The most espensive houses are to be found in Diepenbeek Last year the average price of a house in East Flanders was 342,717 euro The cheapest houses are to be found in  Ronse Eeklo and Lierde The most expnsive East Flemish municipalities when it comes to houses are Nazareth House prices in West Flanders rose by an average of 2.2% in 2023 On average a house in west Flanders costs 322,070 euro Izegem and Staden are the cheapest municipalities when it comes to house prices Koksijde and Knokke-Heist are the most expensive In Antwerp Province the average price of a house rose by 1.8% in 2023 A house in Antwerp Province costs an average of 384,921 euro Niel Turnhout and Mol are the cheapest places in the province when it comes to house prices Hove and Schilde are the most expensive places in the province for those wishing to buy a house Flat prices up everywhere except Flemish Brabant Ghent is the most expensive provincial capital for those wishing to buy a flat In Ghent a flat costs an average of 310,624 euro This is more or less (-0.1%) the same as it was a year ago In East Flanders as a whole the average price of a flat rose by 3.8% to 278,218 euro last year At 4.9% Limburg is the province that has seen the sharpest rise in average flat prices In 2023 buyers paid an average of 245,922 euro for a flat in Limburg province Hasselt is the cheapest provincial capital for flat buyers In West Flanders a flat costs an average of 296,989 euro The cheapest flats are to be found in Kuurne Oostkamp and Knokke-Heist are the municipalities with the highest average prices for a flat In Antwerp Province average flat prices rose by 3% last year to 265.596 euro Retie and Borsbeek are the municipalities with the lowest average prices Brecht and Hove are the places where the average price of a flat is highest The only province in Flanders where average flat prices fell in 2023 is Flemish Brabant The average price of a flat in the province fell by 1% to 284,885 Striking is the 6.8% fall in the average price of a flat in the provincial capital Leuven