It's a patchwork country at the heart of the patchwork continent that is Europe: a country of 11 million people, with three official languages, and the de facto capital of the EU. In this edition of Europe Now, we head to Belgium.
In our two-part special, we find out how Belgium is functioning since the government collapsed in December and preparing for a "Super Sunday" of elections at the end of May; how climate activism is boosting the national and European Green parties; and what plans Flemish separatists have for dividing Belgium along linguistic lines that also just happen to correlate with a wealth divide.
In this first part of our special programme we speak to Philippe Lamberts, the current co-president of the European Greens group, and French-speaking Walloon Socialist MEP Marc Tarabella.
Our reporters take a closer look at how the climate change protests are shaking up the political landscape in Belgium; and how the role of lobbyists in Brussels is becoming more transparent in the European capital.
