This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/europe/7804882.stm
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| New Belgian government 'agreed' | New Belgian government 'agreed' |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Belgium's political parties have clinched a deal to form a new government, following the former prime minister's resignation, reports say. | Belgium's political parties have clinched a deal to form a new government, following the former prime minister's resignation, reports say. |
| Herman Van Rompuy, leader of the Flemish Christian Democrats, looks set to become prime minister after reaching agreement with four other parties. | Herman Van Rompuy, leader of the Flemish Christian Democrats, looks set to become prime minister after reaching agreement with four other parties. |
| Mr Van Rompuy, speaker of Belgium's parliament, was asked by King Albert to form a new government. | Mr Van Rompuy, speaker of Belgium's parliament, was asked by King Albert to form a new government. |
| The previous administration of PM Yves Leterme collapsed on 19 December. | The previous administration of PM Yves Leterme collapsed on 19 December. |
| Mr Leterme quit amid allegations about political meddling in the bail-out of stricken bank Fortis. | |
| Fortis has been one of the European banks hardest hit by the credit crunch, leaving it desperately short of cash. | |
| The Belgian government was forced to take it over and planned to sell nearly all of the company's assets to France's BNP Paribas. | |
| However, hundreds of thousands of investors were left with virtually nothing and so began legal action. | |
| The Brussels appeal court ruled in their favour, freezing the sale. | |
| But Belgium's Supreme Court president said there were "undoubtedly significant indications" that members of the Belgian government had attempted to influence the outcome of the court case, piling pressure on the government and forcing the prime minister's resignation. |