Belgium awoke this morning to the shocking news of a ghastly coach crash in a Swiss road tunnel in which 28 people, including 22 children, had died. Such school ski trips, mostly by coach, are a Belgian tradition (replicated by the Brussels-based European schools). The whole of the country has gone into understandable shock and mourning. This morning the EESC’s President, Staffan Nilsson, and I sent our condolences and a message of human solidarity to the Belgian government and this afternoon the staff of both the EESC and the Committee of the Regions observed a minute’s silence, gathered together in one of our meeting halls. We can only guess at the immense grief and suffering of the families and friends of the victims. We are with you; that is all we can say.