BRUSSELS BRIEFING May 2005

News this month

Flying together

The two largest budget airlines operating from Brussels's Zaventem airport—SN Brussels and Virgin Express—are set to merge. SN Brussels was formed from the ashes of Sabena, formerly Belgium's national carrier, which went bankrupt in 2001. Virgin Express, part of Richard Branson’s Virgin empire, pioneered low-cost flights to Zaventem, rather than distant Charleroi—but lost money in 2004. SN has adopted highly competitive pricing, as Belgium's market for low-cost airlines becomes increasingly difficult. Neither airline has revealed whether the merger will result in higher prices for passengers. Each carrier will retain its branding.

Non?

European Union (EU) functionaries in Brussels are bracing themselves for the possible rejection by French voters of the EU constitution in a referendum on May 29th. The European Commission is treading carefully, lest it do anything to cement its “ultra-liberal” reputation in France. Plans to tighten up rules reducing state aid to industry have been quietly postponed and the commission has promised to re-write its controversial directive on the liberalisation of trade in services. For the EU constitution to take effect, voters in all 25 member countries must approve it (six have already done so).

Nonetheless, the commission has been shouldering some of the blame, as the French establishment look for scapegoats for the constitution's falling popularity in French polls. If the French do vote no, the consequences for the EU could be grim. Brussels officials talk gloomily of a period of stagnation. Even worse, integration could become disintegration, if countries continue to stray from Brussels's fiscal edicts.

High pay, higher taxes

Belgian workers are the most expensive in the world, according to a recent survey by Mercer Human Resource Consulting. Belgian employers spend an average of €53,577 ($70,000) a year on each worker—more than Britain (€46,451) or America (€33,195), and marginally ahead of both Sweden and Germany. But take-home pay is much lower than the headline figure. The reason that Belgian workers are so costly is the very high payroll taxes the country needs to fund its health and social security systems. One trade-off for such good services is an unemployment level that is now close to 13%.

Disappointed

Belgium, a Catholic country with a tradition of social liberalism, seemed disappointed when Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected pope. This was not simply a reaction to the renowned conservatism of Pope Benedict XVI (as Mr Ratzinger is now known), in a country that has already legalised gay marriage. Some Belgians had also been hoping that their own cardinal, Godfried Danneels, a much more liberal theologian, would ascend to the papacy. A continuation of the Vatican's hardline on theology and religious practises may contribute to the further secularisation of Belgian society.

Catch if you can

May 2005

Romanticism in Belgium

Until July 31st 2005

Organised to mark the Kingdom of Belgium's 175th anniversary, this exhibition is particularly fitting—the Belgian Romantics were inspired in part by the country's revolution and the nation's birth. In particular, the paintings here reflect the themes of the time: independence, burgeoning nationalism and a growing concern with death, heroism, freedom and justice.

The exhibit occupies three locations: the Royal Museum of Fine Arts has been filled with 200 paintings, the ING Cultural Centre is showing drawings and sculptures, and the Antoine Wiertz Museum's interiors evoke the period's fanciful architecture.

Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Rue de la Régence 3 and 1A; ING Cultural Centre, Place Royale 6; Antoine Wiertz Museum, Rue Vautier 62. See the exhibit's website.

More from the Brussels cultural calendar