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| 1999, Jan. 1 |
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| Along with ten other European countries, Belgium participated in the implementation of the euro. Joining Belgium in adopting the single European currency were Austria, France, Germany, Finland, Italy, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain, and the Netherlands. | 1 |
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| May 28 |
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| A Belgian political crisis arose from a disaster within the nation's food supply. Dioxin, a cancer-causing chemical, leaked into batches of chicken feed, effectively contaminating Belgium's poultry, eggs, and dairy products. Government officials later admitted to keeping the public uninformed of the chemical leak for months after they had realized the existence of a possible public health danger. The Democrat-Socialist coalition government toppled as Prime Minister Jean-Luc Dehaene resigned on June 14 under the weight of the scandal. | 2 |
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| June 13 |
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| While the ruling party's image suffered, new prime minister Guy Verhofstadt and his free-market Liberal Party won control over the government with a coalition of the Liberal, Socialist, and Green Parties from both the French- and Flemish-speaking regions of the country. The Flemish Christian People's Party and the French Christian Social Party were not included in the Belgian government for the first time in 41 years. This election also marked the Green Party's entry into Belgian government affairs. | 3 |
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