New figures from the Belgian statistics agency StatBel show that both Tervuren and Kraainem feature in the Top 10 of Belgian municipalities with the highest earners Wezembeek-Oppem is the third Flemish municipality in the list that also includes Sint-Pieters-Woluwe in Brussels The other six municipalities are all to be found in Luxembourg Province and that has a lot to do with the proximity of financial hub Believe it or not but the village of Attert in southern Luxembourg Province had the highest median income of Belgium in 2022: some 42,211 euros The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two groups and half having an income below that amount exactly half the population earns more than the median income and the other half less Attert is located in Belgium near the border with the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg That location immediately explains why median income is so high there ‘60 per cent of Attert's residents work in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg because that’s where they can earn more,’ says political journalist Christophe Deborsu ‘Life in Belgium is cheaper than in the Grand Duchy and that explains why so many Luxembourgers choose to live in Belgium and work on the other side of the border this is good news for Belgian municipalities as everyone who comes to live in Belgium pays municipal taxes have the gigantic traffic jams towards the Grand Duchy Many cross the border to work and earn more in Luxembourg That means they are no longer available to work in Belgian care centres.’ Luxembourg Province has the highest number of towns with high-earners Attert is not the only municipality in Luxembourg Province to feature in the Top 10 list No fewer than six of Belgium's municipalities with the highest earners are in that province Wezembeek-Oppem (€34,702) in Flanders and Sint-Pieters-Woluwe (€34,690) in the Brussels Capital Region complete that Top 10 Sint Joost in the Brussels Capital Region dangles at the bottom of the list with median incomes with a figure of only 19,288 euros. we have spent the past year focusing our giving-back efforts toward refugees in need We are building authentic connections to our community and supporting local organizations who are working to help refugees settle here We are approaching these efforts in three key ways: through regional philanthropic grants, product donations and employee volunteerism. Recently, we’ve started working with a new local partner, the Kraainem Football Club to support their initiative assisting refugees’ integration through sport The football club is located just a few kilometers away from our European Headquarters outside of Brussels. They are driving a refugee pilot project with the support of the European Commission, the Union of European Football Associations, the King Baudouin Foundation and two private companies The program serves teenage boys – who arrived as unaccompanied minors in Belgium – from three neighboring refugee centers the club has provided French classes and football programs to roughly 1,000 young refugees The idea behind this project is to help integrate kids moving to Belgium from war-torn countries like Afghanistan and Syria by providing them a weekly French class and a football class with Belgian kids of the same age in an effort to unite them around a shared passion of the sport “We are an extremely diverse club and have the multicultural identity to realize a project like this,” said Benjamin Renauld a coach of one of the Kraainem club’s youth teams and the head of the refugee program “We’re not only a football club; we have a social role in society.” as a way of helping refugees rebuild their lives we were able to fund the construction of a new classroom at the club where our employees will be teaching French lessons to teenagers who have resettled in Belgium we fielded a team of employees to play in a football tournament against the club’s players and partners the club will be working to diversify and expand their program to include professional and computer skills training as well as Belgian cultural education for young refugees  We’re excited to build on our partnership with the club which taps directly into our own passion around sport and giving back Belgium — Football isn’t new to Diallo Ibrahim a 17-year-old refugee from the Ivory Coast He’s part of a group of young refugees who rides a van to a modest building between two football fields each week aims to help refugees integrate into their new communities with football and French lessons The club hosts up to 10 refugees three evenings each week through a partnership with Fedasil which houses and supports asylum seekers in centers throughout Belgium during a French language lesson at the club | Tim Ball/POLITICO The youngest of the group struggles to maintain focus “He likes to sit with the older ones and feel part of the group,” explains Kenneth Brackman one of the group’s supervisors | Benas Gerdziunas for POLITICO Funding from the European Commission and multiple football organizations has helped the program grow since it began in September 2015 More than 300 refugees have played on Kraainem’s teams since then European countries have been dealing with an influx of refugees since the summer of 2015 — almost 2.5 million people have applied for asylum in the EU since then, according to a Eurostat report. As the situation matures countries have had to find ways to help them adapt to local cultures and languages Debate around refugee admissions has become increasingly politicized as pressure on national resources intensifies Far-right party leaders have spoken out against immigration and expressed support for Donald Trump’s suspension of the U.S Kraainem proudly displays its commitment to refugee integration in the clubhouse | Benas Gerdziunas for POLITICO which on this day includes three refugee children training at the club | Benas Gerdziunas for POLITICO Asylum applicants have decreased in Belgium in the past few years, but 35,000 refugees and 36,000 additional asylum-seekers have made Belgium their home since 2015, according to the U.N. Refugee Agency That’s where programs like Kraainem’s come in Ibrahim played for a small football club in the Ivory Coast before coming to Belgium Kraainem has better infrastructure and the ability to support players He said the club’s discipline and training help him work toward his goals “I like that Belgium has lots of people from different countries and they’ve helped with integration,” Ibrahim said When Europe’s refugee crisis intensified in fall 2015 Benjamin Renauld wanted to find a way to help He coaches one of the Kraainem club’s youth teams and has played there since childhood Kraainem is one of Belgium’s wealthiest areas but the club is also one of the most diverse in the world — its 300 players represent 40 nationalities This base made it easier to start a refugee program “We have the multicultural identity to realize a project like this,” he said A father of one local boy observes the training “This team wins every match they play,” he says “He’s very tall,” says a local observer “and has good technique — and he’s only 12 years old.” | Benas Gerdziunas for POLITICO a different group of refugees — most from Afghanistan Eritrea and Syria — arrives at the club and begins the afternoon with a French lesson from volunteer teachers tailored to fit each group’s French knowledge are designed to supplement the teenagers’ education and help prepare them to find jobs in a few years the refugees rummage through bins of donated cleats to find the right size and grab uniforms off a rack before going to change Outside funding allows the club to give them the same blue and yellow uniform as other players The refugees originally trained in a separate group they’re placed on the club’s teams based on their age which can be challenging for coaches because their football skills vary and it allows local children to get to know refugees they might otherwise only see in the news “It changes the way you see them,” Renauld said “You can see thousands of documentaries and read a lot but it’s different when you see their faces and the way they talk about their pasts.” As each group of refugees arrives at the club they grab kit donated by local families | Tim Ball/POLITICO Once food arrives after class and training everyone knows what they’re doing — Ali runs to fetch the cutlery others dole out portions and prepare side dishes all eyes are glued to a football match on TV and passers-by wish the group “bon appetit” | Benas Gerdziunas for POLITICO another volunteer picks up food from a local restaurant — usually hamburgers but only if none of the refugees are Muslim Before the refugee players are driven back to the center the team eats together as another way to build community The constant turnover in some Fedasil centers the club partners with is difficult for volunteers and coaches is a short-term facility for refugees who have just arrived in Belgium The teenagers are only there for three to four weeks before they are sent somewhere else Not all of them want to stay in Europe permanently — some in a group from Afghanistan said they’d like to return someday One refugee said his sister and mother are still in Afghanistan “There’s too much killing in Afghanistan.” Even though Ibrahim probably won’t be in the short-term center for long He hopes to keep playing football and eventually study medicine I have the hope of becoming someone,” he said The recent influx of refugees has led to the creation of integration programs in every sector a European Commission policy officer who focuses on sport policy “The refugee crisis is a huge challenge for Europe and it’s put us under the spotlight a little,” Corrado said “We’ve been working on integration through sports for years with people with disabilities and other groups at risk of exclusion.” The Commission set aside €600,000 to fund refugee sports projects in 2016 Kraainem’s program and 10 others were chosen from among 54 applicants and the club received about €60,000 for 2017 the Commission will increase its refugee sports funding to €1 million It will also set aside €750,000 for sports programs specifically aimed at preventing radicalization of young refugees and Muslims is a refugee from Guinea | Benas Gerdziunas for POLITICO A June 2016 Commission report examined 63 sports projects tailored toward migrants and concluded that they’re a valuable tool for social inclusion “What sport can offer is a ‘universal language,’ which is able to transcend social cultural and national boundaries,” the report reads An de Kock works on social projects with the Belgian Football Association She said football helps with refugee integration because people share the same emotions when they win and lose together she believes integration programs help prevent young refugees from becoming radicalized Local and refugee children play together on a sandhill next to the pitch | Benas Gerdziunas for POLITICO “What sport can offer,” reads a Commission report “is a universal language” | Benas Gerdziunas for POLITICO “When you become friends with other players so I won’t do stupid things,’” de Kock said but it can help to prevent radicalization.” Kraainem is also helping other Belgian football clubs start refugee programs They’ve already partnered with a club in Molenbeek and by the end of 2017 they hope to have a network of six to eight clubs with refugee programs The eventual goal is to organize a tournament where each team has four refugees and four club players “You must show them that you accept them and are open to them if you want to give them a chance to really become someone in the society,” Renauld said EU’s top diplomat says Washington and Brussels are still doing ‘big work’ to stabilize the Middle East and Africa Thousands are expected to join more than 700 marches planned on Donald Trump’s first full day in the White House.