Economist.com Cities Guide: Brussels Briefing - January 2006

News this month

Party people

The often staid proceedings in Belgium’s parliament were enlivened by a juicy scandal in January. Rik Daems, leader of the Flemish liberals in the lower house, resigned on January 10th after news broke of an extra-marital relationship. The personal lives of Belgian politicians usually remain private, but Mr Daems’s affair is not the ordinary tryst: the object of his affection is Sophie Pécriaux, a Walloon socialist member of parliament, who is now expecting a child. Mr Daems had kept the relationship a secret from his party colleagues. The scandal will do further damage to his career, which was already on the wane. Once minister for telecoms and public utilities, Mr Daems remains an MP but will be replaced by Fons Borginon as leader of the liberal group.

Much to the delight of the Belgian media, the Daems affair was the second time in six months that the sex lives of politicians have seized the spotlight. In August, it emerged that Patrick Dewael, the interior minister, was leaving his wife for Greet Op de Beeck, a radio news journalist. She had kept the relationship secret from her employer despite occasionally being assigned to interview Mr Dewael.

Storm in a port

On January 18th the European Parliament defeated a proposed law to open cargo-handling and pilot services in European ports to competition. Members of the European Commission, who presented the law, said the move would have cut costs and encouraged investment, but workers, fearing job cuts and lower safety standards, staged protests throughout the EU in early January. In Antwerp, Belgium’s second-largest city, no cargo was loaded or unloaded at all. Two days later, the European Parliament rejected the measure by a five-to-one margin, meaning port-services reform is effectively dead for the moment. The EU's transport commissioner, Jacques Barrot, must now assess whether it is worth presenting a watered-down version later in the year.

Belgian interest in port liberalisation is significant. Antwerp is Europe’s second-biggest port after Rotterdam, and is a major contributor to the Belgian economy. Figures published in January showed that 2005 was a record year for Antwerp, with the total amount of cargo handled up by 5.1% on 2004, and the city looks set to handle even more work in the future. The Dutch and Belgian governments agreed in December to deepen the channels of the River Scheldt, which provides access to Antwerp from the North Sea. This would allow bigger ships into Antwerp at all times, regardless of tide, and work is scheduled to start in 2007.

Hot topic

Belgium’s government is in a quandary over how to pay for rising heating costs. In October the government responded to high crude-oil prices by promising to subsidise home heating by €250m ($302m). But it is unclear where this money will come from, and on January 14th Didier Reynders, Belgium’s finance minister, was forced to deny plans for a special tax on motor fuel to pay for the subsidy. The measure had been circulated, his spokesperson said, but had not been adopted. Mr Reynders also denied that oil companies would pay for the subsidy, an idea that had been proposed back in October.

If additional taxes on fuel are ruled out, Mr Reynders will have to use the general budget to absorb the cost of the subsidy. Public finances are in relatively good shape: in early January the budget minister, Freya Van den Bossche, reported a balanced budget for 2005, helped by the sale of some government buildings. But while public debt has fallen slightly, it is still high, at 94% of gross domestic product, far in excess of the limits supposedly imposed by membership of the eurozone.

A new hotel in town

Brussels’s relatively scant luxury-hotel market will get a welcome addition on January 25th when the new Radisson SAS EU hotel opens in the shadow of the European Parliament. The new Radisson looks certain to host EU-related meetings and conferences—a lucrative market now dominated by the Renaissance, the Silken Berlaymont (formerly the Dorint) and the Crowne Plaza. To lure travellers from its competitors, the Radisson can boast 149 rooms and a location closer to the Parliament—or at least some yards closer than the Renaissance.

From the outside, the new hotel will look like a smaller version of its sister in the city centre, the Radisson SAS Royal. For the hotel's interior, Matteo Thun, an Italian designer, has decorated the (rather spacious) rooms in three different styles, and each bathroom has a shower and a bathtub. Construction work is continuing at the nearby Léopold railway station and at the European Parliament, so for the moment travellers had best seek quiet on the upper floors.

Je ne comprends pas

The Brussels minister for education, Guy Vanhengel, has expressed alarm about the poor French skills of teachers in the city's Dutch-speaking schools. In theory, teachers for children aged 8 to 11 are supposed to be bilingual. Not only should they be able to teach lessons in both French and Dutch, but they earn extra pay for their language skills. However, in practice, teachers fluent in French are few and far between. In 2005, seven out of ten Dutch teachers failed a French exam imposed by the Flemish Community Commission, which is responsible for Flemish educational and cultural affairs in Brussels.

Brussels is a bilingual city. Though students attend either French-speaking or Dutch-speaking schools, they are expected to graduate speaking both languages, as this is a requirement for many jobs in city and federal administration. Mr Vanhengel warned of a more general decline in bilingual fluency, not just among teachers, but among politicians as well. In December, for example, many criticised a decision by the mayor, Freddy Thielemans, to appoint as a temporary stand-in a francophone minister who could not speak Dutch.

Catch if you can

January 2006

Carl Fabergé

Until February 5th 2006

This display of Easter eggs by one of the world’s most renowned jewellers might seem a little unseasonal at this time of year. But this show, part of a larger festival devoted to Russian culture, has proven very popular. The works of Carl Fabergé (1846-1920), a Russian, can be seen at the cultural centre of the ING bank. The exhibits, lent by collectors in Russia, America, Denmark and Britain, include intricately jewelled eggs designed for Tsar Nicholas II, which helped establish Fabergé’s reputation as a master goldsmith.

ING Cultural Centre, Mont des Arts, Place Royale 6, 1000 Brussels. Tel: +32 (02) 547-2292. Open: daily, 10am-6pm, Wed until 9pm. See also the website of the Russian exhibition in Brussels.

More from the Brussels cultural calendar