Belgian talks

The Belgian government has agreed to meet unions and employers to look again at the country’s austerity plans, following a general strike on 30 January.

The plans involved a range of benefit cuts and other measures, and unions were particularly concerned that they had been imposed without proper consultation.

The strike, which coincided with a European summit, brought much of Belgium to a halt.

For example, there were no trams, buses or underground trains in Brussels and the national rail network was halted.