# 2024 in Belgium

Events in the year 2024 in Belgium.

## Incumbents

* Monarch – Philippe
* Prime Minister – Alexander De Croo

## Events
### January

* 1 January – 2024 Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union begins.

### February

* 1 February – The Monument to John Cockerill is vandalised during farmers' protests in Brussels.
* 13 February – The European Court of Human Rights upholds Flemish and Wallonian bans on the ritual slaughter of animals that have not been stunned.

### March

* 12 March – Far-right political activist and former Vlaams Belang politician Dries Van Langenhove is jailed for one year for Holocaust denial and incitement to violence.
* 18 March – A police officer is killed and two others are injured in a shooting during a house search in Charleroi investigating illegal trade in arms, drugs, and stolen vehicles; the suspect is shot and critically injured by police.
* 21 March – Pope Francis laicizes the Bishop of Bruges, Roger Vangheluwe due to abuse.
* 25 March – Humo magazine and Apache website, both based in Belgium, reveal that politician Filip Dewinter worked as a "senior political advisor" for China for years.

### April

* 12 April – Belgian prosecutors open an investigation into Russian interference in the 2024 European Parliament election.
* 16 April – Brussels police shut down the right-wing National Conservatism Conference attended by Nigel Farage and expected to host Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

### June

* 9 June –
** 2024 Belgian federal election: Prime Minister Alexander De Croo's governing coalition loses its majority, leading to his resignation. The New Flemish Alliance wins the highest percentage of votes, followed by Vlaams Belang and the Reformist Movement.
** 2024 Belgian regional elections
* 19 June –
** The European Commission reprimands Belgium, France, Hungary, Italy, Malta, Poland, and Slovakia for breaking budget rules.
** Brussels declines to host a UEFA Nations League match between Belgium and Israel over security concerns.

### July

* 23 July – The European Union deprives Hungary of its ability to host the next set of foreign and defense ministry meetings as a "symbolic signal" against Viktor Orbán's uncoordinated meetings in Russia and China, moving the ministry meetings from Budapest to Brussels.
* 26 July – Seven people are arrested on suspicion of terrorist activity in raids on 14 locations nationwide.

### September

* 26–29 September – Pope Francis conducts a three-day visit to Belgium.
* 27 September – Prime Minister Alexander De Croo and King Philippe publicly criticise Pope Francis during their welcome addresses for him over sexual abuses committed by the Roman Catholic Church in Belgium.

### October

* 13 October: 2024 Belgian local elections
* 29 October – A court in Brussels convicts 120 people on drugs charges and sentences them to up to 17 years imprisonment in the biggest drugs-related trial in the country.

### December

* 1 December – A law allowing sex workers to enter into formal employment contracts and avail of standard labour benefits such as standardised working hours, health insurance, paid leave, maternity benefits, unemployment support and pensions comes into effect.
* 2 December – An appeals court in Brussels finds the Belgian state liable for crimes against humanity in a lawsuit filed five mix-raced children who were abducted from their mothers in Belgian colonies in Africa and orders restitution of 50,000 euros to each victim.

## Holidays

Source:
* 1 January - New Year's Day
* 1 April - Easter Monday
* 1 May - International Workers' Day
* 9 May - Ascension Day
* 20 May - Whit Monday
* 21 July – Belgian National Day
* 15 August - Assumption Day
* 1 November - All Saints' Day
* 11 November - Armistice Day
* 25 December - Christmas Day

## Art and entertainment

* List of Belgian European Film Award winners and nominees
* List of Belgian submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film

## Deaths

* 1 January – Camila Batmanghelidjh, 61, Iranian-Belgian charity executive, founder of Kids Company.
* 20 January – Herbert Glejser, 86, economist.
* 16 February – Jan Sørensen, 68, footballer
* 24 February – Benoît van Innis, 63, artist
* 28 March – Guy Goffette, 76, poet
* 15 May – Patrick Moenaert, 75, politician.
* 12 July – Ellis Brandon, 101, veteran.