On 1 June 2005, in an article published in the daily newspaper La Libre Belgique, Paul Nihoul, Professor of Competition Law at the Catholic University of Louvain (UCL), comments on the debates surrounding the referenda held in France and the Netherlands on the ratification of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe and considers the scope and the validity of the socio-economic arguments put forward by the opponents of the draft Constitution.

On 1 June 2005, in an article for the daily newspaper La Libre Belgique, Drieu Godefridi, founder and Director of the Hayek Institute, a liberal think-tank based in Brussels, comments on the negative outcome of the French referendum on the ratification of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe and attacks the economic arguments put forward by the opponents of the draft Constitution, countering them with Anglo-American-style neo-liberal theories.

On 10 June 2005, commenting on the negative outcome of the referenda held in France and the Netherlands on the ratification of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, Philippe de Schoutheete de Tervarent, former Permanent Representative of Belgium to the European Union, calls on European leaders to pause for thought in order to overcome the existential crisis that is affecting the European Union.

On 4 June 2005, commenting on the negative outcome of the referenda held in France and the Netherlands on the ratification of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, Mark Eyskens, former Belgian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, argues in favour of a plan for socio-economic recovery in Europe.

On 17 August 2000, Silvio Marcus Helmons, Professor at the Catholic University of Louvain (UCL), where he directs the Centre of Human Rights, considers the implications of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

On 13 September 1965, in the daily newspaper La Libre Belgique, Paul Struye, the Belgian Catholic Senator and former Member of the Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), analyses the impact of the press conference held on 9 September 1965 by General de Gaulle, President of the French Republic, which addressed, in particular, the issue of the empty chair crisis.

On 24 November 2003, the Belgian daily newspaper La Libre Belgique gives an account of the difficulties encountered by some States in the euro zone, in particular Germany and France, in complying with the budgetary stability criteria laid down in the Stability and Growth Pact and in applying the recommendations made in this area by the European Commission.

On 10 July 1965, Fernand Baudhuin, Professor of Economics at the Catholic University of Louvain (UCL), who is extremely critical as regards the objectives and operation of the European Economic Community (EEC), sees the root of the empty chair crisis in the very foundations of the Common Market.

On 19 January 1966, the Catholic daily newspaper La Libre Belgique gives an account of the first meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Six, held in Luxembourg on 17 and 18 January in order to find a solution to the empty chair crisis.

On 20 January 1966, commenting on the first meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Six, held in Luxembourg on 17 and 18 January, and with a view to their decisive meeting to be held on 28 and 29 January, the Catholic daily newspaper La Libre Belgique outlines the Ministers’ respective positions and considers the possible means of reaching a political compromise to resolve the empty chair crisis.