Teenagers in Belgium must vote – level 3
28-03-2024 07:00
Belgium’s constitutional court recently ruled out that 16 and 17-year-olds must participate in the upcoming European elections.
This decision comes as part of Belgium’s existing compulsory voting system, where adults over 18 face fines for not voting. The court’s ruling extends this obligation to teenagers and failing to vote can result in sanctions even for younger citizens.
Some officials view this decision as progressive, while others criticize its timing, coming just ten days before the voter registration deadline. Despite the timing, the ruling emphasizes Belgium’s commitment to civic engagement and ensuring broad participation in the democratic process.
Difficult words: sanction (punishment), progressive (developing or happening gradually), civic (relating to the duties or activities of people in their town, city, or local area).
You can watch the video news lower on this page.
How might this recent ruling by Belgium's constitutional court impact the turnout and engagement of 16 and 17-year-olds in the upcoming European elections?
LEARN 3000 WORDS with NEWS IN LEVELS
News in Levels is designed to teach you 3000 words in English. Please follow the instructions
below.
How to improve your English with News in Levels:
Test
- Do the test at Test Languages.
- Go to your level. Go to Level 1 if you know 1-1000 words. Go to Level 2 if you know 1000-2000 words. Go to Level 3 if you know 2000-3000 words.
Reading
- Read two news articles every day.
- Read the news articles from the day before and check if you remember all new words.
Listening
- Listen to the news from today and read the text at the same time.
- Listen to the news from today without reading the text.
Writing
- Answer the question under today’s news and write the answer in the comments.
Speaking
- Choose one person from the Skype section.
- Talk with this person. You can answer questions from Speak in Levels.
Stock images by Depositphotos
