About Belgium
For many Americans, Belgium owes its fame to its capital, Brussels, and to a few of its typical national products such as chocolates, lace, cut diamonds, endive and beer.
It would be incorrect to believe that the very positive image Belgium enjoys abroad rests solely on these few criteria.
Belgium is more. It is home to the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Supreme Headquarters of the Allied Powers in Europe (SHAPE), the European Commission, the Council of the European Union and many other European and international institutions. Its foreign policy since the end of the Second World War can be defined in a few words: attachment to European integration and to NATO, special attention to central Africa, and loyal partnership with the United States.
Belgium is part of a major urban and commercial axis and of a heavily urbanized zone extending from England to the north of Italy. Located in the north west of Europe, at the edge of the North Sea, Belgium, with its ten million people, is one of the most densely populated and prosperous countries in the world. It occupies a central position in western Europe, between Germany, the Netherlands, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and France.
But Belgium is also and above all a country greatly attached to democratic values. By constitutionally recognizing three communities (the Flemish, the French and the German-speaking) and three regions (Flanders, Brussels-Capital and Wallonia), Belgium has become a modern and dynamic federal State.
Thanks to its excellent geographical location and its particularly well-developed communications networks, Belgium occupies a key position as the nerve center of European economic and city life. It thus amply fulfills its vocation as "Capital of Europe".
A Kingdom and a Federal State
The Belgian Monarchy
Belgium has a hereditary constitutional monarchy. The King is the head of the state. According to the Constitution, the person of the King has immunity: his ministers are liable for him before Parliament. No deed by the King can have any consequence without its being countersigned by a minister. This provision places the King above religions and ideologies, above political persuasions and debates, and above economic interest. At the same time, the King is the guardian of the country's unity and independence.
H.M. King Albert ascended to the throne on August 9, 1993, becoming the 6th King of the Belgians. Albert has been married to Donna Paola Ruffo di Calabria since July 1959.
The King and Queen have three children.
Prince Philippe, principal heir to the throne, was born on April 15, 1960. He married Princess Mathilde in December 1999. Their first child, Princess Elisabeth was born on October 25.
Princess Astrid, who was born on June 5, 1962, is married to Archduke Lorenz of Austria-Este, and they have four children: Prince Amedeo (born on February 21, 1986), Princess Maria Laura (born on August 26, 1988), Prince Joachim (born on December 9, 1991) and Princess Luisa Maria (born on October 11, 1995).
Prince Laurent, the third child of King Albert and Queen Paola, was born on December 19, 1963.
Since a recent constitutional reform, the throne is accessible to male and female members of the Royal family.
The New Federal State of Belgium
Belgium gained its independence in 1830. In recent years, the country has rapidly evolved, through four institutional reforms ( in 1970, 1981, 1988-89 and 1993) into an efficient federal structure. Today, for the first time, the first article of the Belgian Constitution states: "Belgium is a Federal State which consists of communities and regions"
The decision-making power in Belgium is no longer exclusively in the hands of the Federal Government and the Federal Parliament. Now the management of the country falls to several partners, equal in law, which exercise their responsibilities independently in different fields.
The redistribution followed two broad lines. The first concerns linguistics and, more broadly, everything relating to culture. It gave rise to the Communities, a concept which refers to the persons which make them up and to the bond which unites them, in this case language and culture. Belgium is situated at the junction between the Latin and Germanic cultures. This explains why the country has three official languages: Dutch, French and German. Thus Belgium has three Communities today, based on language: the Flemish Community, the French Community and the German-speaking Community. These correspond to population groups.
The second main line of the State reform is historically inspired by economic concerns, expressed by Regions which wanted to have more autonomous power. This gave rise to the founding of three regions: the Flemish Region, the Brussels Capital Region and the Walloon Region. To some extent Belgian regions are similar to the American States or the German "Länder". The country is further divided into ten provinces and 589 cities/towns.
The federal State retains important areas of competence including: foreign affairs, defense, justice, finances, social security, important sectors of public health and domestic affairs, etc. The Regions and Communities are entitled to run foreign relations themselves in those areas where they have competence.
Reconciling regional and cultural identity and federal structure is not an easy task, but it does have the advantage of bringing the decision-making process closer to the people. The result is a more sharply defined political structure and greater emphasis on the quality of life.
Belgium and its Regions
The Flemish Region
The Flemish Region covers 13,512 km2 and has a population of 5,824,628. With almost 431 inhabitants per square kilometer, the Flemish region represents one of the most densely populated areas in the world.
Flanders is an economic power boasting an exemplary communications structure: a network of modern motorways, two regional airports (Antwerp and Ostend), a railway network in the process of being modernized, and its waterways and ports (Antwerp, the world's fourth port, Zeebrugge and Ghent), all very valuable assets.
This Region contains the five Dutch-speaking provinces, namely: Antwerp, Limburg, East Flanders, West Flanders and Flemish Brabant.
The province of Antwerp is mainly characterized by its port complex and industrial areas, which represent a major source of employment and revenue for the province. The petrochemical industry, automobile assembly and the diamond trade make a considerable contribution to its economic activity.
Limburg hosts an important automobile assembly plant in Genk and important firms of the non-ferrous metallurgical industry.
The economy of East Flanders is based on four sectors: textiles, the metallurgical industry, the chemical industry and construction materials. East Flanders' agriculture consists mainly of cattle breeding and market gardening. The University of Ghent is a leader in the field of biotechnology.
Industry in West-Flanders is founded mainly on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMES). 90 % of what they produce is intended for export. In the coastal area, tourism and port activities form the most important sources of income.
In Flemish Brabant, the main industrial activity is centered on the Halle-Vilvoorde district, near the capital Brussels.
In the framework of its economic policy, the Flemish Government has installed a system of industrial zones where many medium-sized companies specializing in leading edge technologies have set up business. Knowledge of languages has been a major contributory factor in placing Flanders at the top of the list of European regions as regards exports per inhabitant.
The Brussels-Capital Region
Geographically speaking, the Brussels-Capital Region is an enclave of 162 km2 within the Flemish region. As a Capital Region with a bilingual status, and 950,339 inhabitants, Brussels occupies a special place within the Federal State of Belgium.
As headquarters of the European Commission, executive arm of the European Union, and the European Parliament for its special sessions, Brussels contains a genuine European district, lying barely twelve kilometers from Brussels' international airport. This European district is home to a large number of international institutions such as NATO, the Secretariat of the Benelux and WEU, etc. Brussels is also headquarters to a whole host of international organizations and companies and has the highest concentration of journalists, competing with Washington, D.C.
As the world's eighth financial center, Brussels is an important economic pivot. The Brussels Government is doing its utmost to accommodate light industry and advanced technology in the numerous industrial business sectoral districts. In cooperation with its university centers, applied research is central to Brussels's economic policy.
The priorities of the Government of the Brussels-Capital region include maintaining and improving living standards, and facing up to the problem of emigration of residents, a problem affecting all Europe's capital cities. A program of urban renewal and construction of new housing has been set up for this purpose. The greatest attention is now being given to town planning. The Brussels Government is also actively improving the infrastructure of public transport, telecommunications, housing, and the facilities of the European institutions.
The Walloon Region
The Walloon Region covers an area of 16,844 km2 and has 3,293,352 inhabitants. It consists of the 5 French-speaking provinces of Hainaut, Namur, Liège, Luxembourg and Walloon Brabant.
Europe's major motorways run through the Walloon Region, a region which also includes a rail network (connecting it directly to the great North Sea ports and to Europe's main industrial regions), and two expanding airports, Brussels South Charleroi Airport and Liège-Bierset. Wallonia is also criss-crossed by major waterways: the Sambre, the Meuse (linked to the Rhine and the Scheldt) and the Brussels-Charleroi canal.
Walloon Brabant benefits from the pulling power of the capital of Europe and therefore attracts investors, particularly in the field of new technologies. The University of Louvain-la-Neuve, which enjoys an outstanding international reputation, is also a magnet in the field of high-level applied research.
The province of Luxembourg is mainly oriented towards tourism, agriculture and the wood industry, but advanced industries are present here too, in the agri-foodstuffs sector.
The provinces of Hainaut and Liège are the two traditional industrial zones of the Walloon Region. Both had substantial coal reserves and were thus major players in the first industrial revolution. Today, both Hainaut and Liège are in the process of thorough reconversion.
Hainaut has a great many skilled workers, and follows a policy of welcoming new companies setting up business here. The aircraft construction sector is in full development.
Liège is located in the center of one of the busiest industrial zones in the world, the Rhine basin, and is recognized for the quality of its production in precision industries and of its manpower in leading edge sectors, such as the aerospace industry. Namur is home to the region's political institutions.
Wallonia is also an important agricultural center. Without compromising the quality of the region's traditional production, new fodder technologies have been developed here in the field of agri-foodstuffs. Through animal selection, a new breed of cattle was reared, the famous Blanc Bleu Belge. The reputation of the Walloon researchers, laboratories and agricultural facilities extends beyond the nation's borders. The same can be said for the quality of Walloon agricultural products, which are closely related to the excellent Belgian culinary tradition.
Cultural Life in Belgium
An eminent guardian of the European artistic heritage, Belgium holds a unique place in the history of European culture. More than any other country in Europe, it bears the trace of continuous interaction between Germanic and Roman cultural influences. Belgium's cultural development cannot therefore be separated from the role it has played over the centuries on Europe's political and military stage. However, Belgian culture has always retained a character all its own.
Painting
Belgium has a strong pictorial tradition which goes back to the transcendent realism of the 15th century Flemish "Primitives"; paintings by Jan van Eyck, Quinten Metsys, Hans Memling, Rogier van der Weyden and Dirk Bouts are among the most prized works in museums around the world. Realism also characterized the work of 16th century Pieter Bruegel while the 17th century saw the flourishing of baroque genius Peter Paul Rubens and his pupil Anthony van Dyck.
The country is also represented in the world's great museums by more recent painters such as surrealists René Magritte and Paul Delvaux, Jean-Michel Folon, Pol Mara, Fernand Knopff, Henri Evenepoel, James Ensor, Rik Wouters, Constant Permeke and the Latem School, Octave Landuyt, Félicien Rops and the Cobra movement with Pierre Alechinsky, Christian Dotremont and others.
For centuries, the artistry of the Belgians has also been evident in fine tapestries and in lace work. At the beginning of the 20th century, the "Art Nouveau" style reached new heights in the decorative arts in Belgium with the work of architects Victor Horta and Henry Van de Velde.
Literature
Belgium has a rich literary tradition. Maurice Maeterlinck was awarded the Nobel Prize early this century, and who has not heard of Georges Simenon's immortal brainchild, Inspector Maigret. Other famous names include Emile Verhaeren, Charles De Coster, Henri Michaux, Hendrik Conscience, Guido Gezelle, Hugo Claus, Louis-Paul Boon, Fernand Crommelynck, Pierre Mertens, Michel de Ghelderode, John Flanders, Françoise Mallet-Joris, Louis Scutenaire, Johan Daisne, Gerard Walschap, Francis Danemark, Conrad Detrez, Jos Vandeloo, Charles Plisnier, ...
Music
From the 14th century polyphonists to present day pop singers, a number of Belgian musicians have achieved world fame. Pianist, organist and composer César Franck is renown as is Belgium's 19th century violin school with Eugene Ysaye, Henri Vieuxtemps and Charles de Bériot. Adolphe Sax gave the world one of its most popular wind instruments, the saxophone. Well-known Belgian jazz musicians include Toots Thielemans, René Thomas, Jacques Pelzer and Philippe Catherine. Belgium had also been immortalized by the Brussels born singer-songwriter Jacques Brel. The contemporary "Soulsister" and "Technotronic" are among Belgian groups that have been hits in the United States.
The musical life of Belgium is enriched by Brussels' Royal Monnaie Theatre, one of the most important opera houses on the continent. The Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition attracts talented young musicians from all over the world while the annual Festival of Flanders offers the same draw for music lovers. The country is regarded as the world carillon capital, with the International Higher Institute of Carillon Music in Mechelen.
Dance in Belgium, formerly represented by The "20th Century Ballet", directed by Maurice Béjart, is today in the capable hands of Anne-Teresa De Keersmaeker's company "Rosas", and dancers Wim Vandekeybus and Marc Vanrunxt who have been highly successful on international stages from New York to Paris.
Cinema
Belgian cinema is represented by the avant-garde documentary school of Charles Dekeukeleire and Henri Storck. The work of André Delvaux, Roland Verhavert and Harry Kümel is gradually creating a tradition emulated by successive generations of filmmakers: Benoît Lamy, Jean-Jacques Adrien, Jaco Van Dormael and his much-mimicked film "Toto, le Héros", Chantal Akerman and Marion Hänsel. Recently the films "The Music teacher" and "Farinelli", by Gérard Corbiau, and "Daens", by Stijn Coninkx, have received Oscar nominations. Many Belgian animated films are also of exceptional quality. Picha and Raoul Servais are unmistakably masters of this genre, and in 1987 Nicole Van Goethem received an Oscar for the animated film "Een Griekse Tragedie" ("A Greek Tragedy"). Nor should we forget the great success being enjoyed in Hollywood by Belgium's Jean-Claude Van Damme.
Comics
The names of Belgium's comic strip heroes speak for themselves: Tintin, Willy and Wanda, Spirou and Fantasio, Blake and Mortimer, Nero, Lucky Luke and the Smurfs. These are the creations of artists Hergé, Willy Vandersteen, André Franquin, Edgar P. Jacobs, Marc Sleen, Morris and Peyo. These, and many others, have helped lay the foundations of Europe's comic strip culture and an inspiration to younger artists such as Ever Meulen and François Schuiten.
Daring and inventive designs and materials are the hallmark of young Belgian couturiers such as Dries Van Noten, Martin Margiela, Dirk Bikkembergs, Walter Van Beirendonck, Gérald Wathelet and Ann Demeulemeester, who are ever present at the leading fashion shows and fairs. Elvis Pompilio enjoys unparalleled success as a creative milliner. Jewelry designers such as Wouters and Hendrickx and Nadine Wijnants, as well as the Antwerp diamond trade have achieved worldwide recognition.
Gastronomy
Belgian gastronomy is not to be outdone. Belgium has more than 350 varieties of beer. From golden lager to rich abbey-brewed beers, no country in the world can boast so many different varieties of the frothy brew. All gourmets will be delighted by Belgium's numerous cheeses. For those with a sweet tooth, there are incomparable Belgian "pralines", or chocolates, a refined treat which gourmets are crazy about. "Witloof" (Belgian endive) is Belgium's white gold. Brussels sprouts, mussels and waffles are also typical, and several restaurants can boast of belonging to the world's elite.
The Languages of Belgium
The Belgians are divided between two main groups, the Walloons, French-speakers who account for around forty percent of the population, and the Flemish, or Dutch speakers, who form about sixty percent, out of a total population of some ten million.
The Flemish-French language divide has troubled the country for decades, its historical significance rooted in deep class and economic divisions. Prosperity has shifted back and forth between the two communities over the centuries: in medieval times Flanders grew rich on its textile trade; later Wallonia developed mining and steel industries. However, Francophones have always dominated the aristocracy, and, since the Middle Ages, the middle classes as well. The setting-up of the Belgian state in 1830 crystallized this antagonism, with the final arrangements favoring the French-speakers. French became the official language, Flemish was banned in schools (the Belgian Civil Code was only translated into Flemish in 1961), and the industries of Wallonia were regarded as pre-eminent. Nowadays, however, Flanders is the industrial powerhouse of Belgium, and the heavy industries of Wallonia are in decline, an economic change of fortunes which has made the Flemish-speakers more assertive in their demands for linguistic and cultural parity. However, Flemish "parity" is often perceived as "domination" by Walloons.
In recognition of the differences, the Language Frontier between the two groups effectively cutting the country in half, west to east was drawn in 1962. This did not, however, improve relations and, in 1980, the constitution was redrawn on a federal basis, with three separate communities the Flemish North, the Walloon South and the German-speaking east around the towns of Eupen and Malm้dy responsible for their own cultural and social affairs and education. At the same time, Belgium was simultaneously divided into three regions the Flemish North, the Walloon South and Brussels (which is officially bilingual, although a majority of its population is French-speaking), with each regional authority dealing with matters like economic development, the environment and employment.
Although the niceties of this partition have calmed troubled waters, in bilingual Brussels and at national government level the division between Flemish and French speakers still influences many aspects of working and social life. Schools, political parties, literature and culture are all segregated along linguistic lines leading to a set of complex regulations which can verge on the absurd. Government press conferences, for example, must have questions and answers repeated in both languages. Across Belgium as a whole, bitterness about the economy, unemployment and the government smolders within (or seeks an outlet through) the framework of this linguistic division, and individual neighborhoods can be paralyzed by language disputes. The communities of Fourons/Voeren, for instance, a largely French-speaking collection of villages in Flemish Limburg, almost brought down the government in the mid-Eighties when the Francophone mayor, Jose Happart, refused to take the Flemish language exam required of all Limburg officials. Dismissed, he stood again and was re-elected, prompting the prime minister at the time, Wilfred Martens, to offer his own resignation. The Fourons affair was symptomatic of the obstinacy that besets the country to this day. Jose Happart could probably have passed the exam easily indeed rumor has it that he is fluent in Flemish - but he simply chose not to submit, giving succor to the political extremists on both sides namely the Vlaams Blok on the Flemish side, and, for the French-speakers, the Front des Francophones (FDF).
The casual visitor to Belgium will rarely get a sniff of these bilingual tensions. Although it's probably better to speak English rather than Flemish or French in the "wrong" part of Belgium, if you make a mistake the worst you'll get is a look of glazed indifference.
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