Belgian strikers demonstrate in Brussels earlier this month to protest new austerity measures.
Herman Van Rompuy, the European Council president, announced overnight (via his now customary way of communicating to the press: Twitter) that he will hold a previously-unscheduled summit of all 27 presidents and prime ministers on January 30.
The gathering is expected to deal with the new intergovernmental treaty to enshrine tough budget rules that leaders hope will be completed by the end of the month — though with a huge amount of eurozone debt coming due in January, the gathering could yet transform into another crisis summit. Diplomats say its likely to start around lunchtime.
One slight problem with that, however. Belgian media is reporting this morning that local unions have announced an event of their own for January 30: a general strike to protest new austerity measures announced by the just-formed government of prime minister Elio Di Rupo. Their ire is focused on proposed changes in pension laws that would force delays in early retirement.
National leaders won’t have to rely on Belgian public transport to get to the summit, of course, but much of the European Union’s bureaucracy does, and there are a lot of local workers who make such gatherings run smoothly. It also raises the question of whether the few remaining socialist prime ministers (and other EU staff) will have to cross a picket line.
Brussels is expected to have an advanced taste of what’s to come tomorrow, when public transport unions stage a strike to protest the pension measures. An unannounced advanced walk-off hit trains in the French-speaking southern Wallonia region this morning.
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