The Belgian concern Bekaert has cut 609 jobs at its West and East Flemish outfits of Zwevegem, Deerlijk, Ingelmunster and Aalter in addition to 1,250 positions in China. Key to this move is the collapse of the market for the sawing wire used to cut silicon components for solar panels. In 2010 this was one of the biggest profit earners of the company. The government of Flanders was visibly disturbed by this round of layoffs yesterday, as the West Flemish concern has been a showpiece of the Flemish industry during the past ten years, increasing its turnover  from 2 billion euros in 2006 to 3.3 billion in 2010. Bekaert invested considerably in innovation, selling its fencing business and focusing on solar panels and started a series of production units in China to serve the Asian market. Similarly its shareholder’s portfolio gained much more international ownership, moving from only 20% of all non-family owned shares in 2000 to 90% foreign participation today. Indeed, strong growth, (green) innovation and internationalisation were the model ingredients for the upgrading of Flemish industry. And this is what makes these layoffs even more painful. Bekaert CEO Bert De Graeve does not put the blame on lack of competitiveness but rather a drop in demand for sawing wire. Flemish Minister-president Kris Peeters (CD&V), also responsible for the Economy portfolio, agrees, saying: “It’s not fair to blame policy. We have no control over a product on the global market.” The government of Flanders plans to re-employ the dismissed workers as soon as possible. The Bekaert incident is not the first disaster story this year. In January the bus maker Van Hool from Lier announced that it planned to build its new production unit in Macedonia and not in Belgium. Similarly BASF chose to invest 1 billion euros in Ludwigshafen instead of Antwerp, and this week Crown closed its plant in Deurne, with 300 employees losing their job. This all shows that things are not that rosy in the Flemish industry. The contribution of the industrial activity in employment and wealth has been on a downward spiral due to high productivity, relocations abroad and subcontracting of non-essential activities. In an attempt to turn this trend, the government of Flanders drafted a New Industrial Policy last year, based on a higher budget for innovation, the promotion of technical careers and an economic shift towards new markets. An Industrial Council will roll out the policy and propose a number of projects later this year. Minister-president Peeters is keen to hear the council’s input on the additional initiatives that could be launched to further support the industry. Together with the SP.A, he also plans to claim back from Bekaert the 17 million euros that were given for innovation and training support.

A true world first was performed during an operation at the Orbis Medical Centre in Sittard in the Netherlands in June last yea when an elderly Dutch woman received a completely new titanium mandible, perfectly imprinted one layer at a time by a 3D printer. After an infection caused serious damage to her own mandible,  it had to be removed completely. Such a serious intervention is always followed by  reconstructive microsurgery that could take  up to sixteen hours and involves the fixing of various donor components. Considering the age of the patient, doctors decided to opt instead for a single, custom-made implant designed in Hasselt and manufactured in Louvain. An operation involving the implanting of a mandible takes less than four hours. “In this way the woman was spared a long and risky intervention,” says Jules Poukens of the Hasselt University and co-designer of the artificial mandible with colleagues Ivo Lambrichts and Ingeborg van Kroonenburgh. Shortly after waking from her anaesthetic, the patient could utter a few words, and a day later she could talk and swallow normally.” The mandible as well as articular bones were printed in layers by the Louvain company LayerWise, using a laser printer with titanium powder for ink. During the printing process the powder melted together, making it unnecessary to use glue or a fixative. The printed operated with such extreme precision that the artificial mandible also contains cavities to which muscles can be attached and grooves to direct veins and mandible nerves. “The job was done in a matter of hours,” says engineer Peter Mercelis of LayerWise. If the classical implant manufacturing techniques (cutting and moulding) had been used, a procedure like this would have taken a few days. The mandible was finally given a bioceramic coating compatible with the patient’s tissue by BioCeramics in Leiden. Weighing 107 grams, it is only 30 grams heavier than a human mandible and not at all uncomfortable for the patient, Mercelis states.

 The use of a 3D printer to produce implants for the medical industry is nothing new as such and nearly a million people across the globe have tooth implants in their mouth which have been manufactured by variants of this technique. “But a complete mandible? No, that has never happened before,” confirms Mercelis. Meanwhile the patient is doing exceptionally well. “In two weeks’ time she will receive artificial roots in her mandible on which we will screw the dentures”, says Mercelis.

The Flemish tourist organisation Flanders Tourist Office (Toerisme Vlaanderen) and the five Flemish provinces have released provincial cycling network data for digital applications. During the course of 2011 they have integrated all five provincial networks and cycling hubs in a central databank. With this digital offering they hope to plug into the digital revolution of Smartphones, tablets and wifi networks. At the same time it will encourage web developers to develop route planners for cyclists, offering them an array of useful and startling applications that will promote tourist attractions in an efficient way. Peter De Wilde, general manager of Flanders Tourist Office, has opened the door for private players. “Starting this year, players in the private market are entitled to a licence." The new licensing policy is set to introduce creativity to the digital market. Meanwhile the Flemish company Route You has already joined the project, developing a cycle route planner which links cycling hub networks with the prettiest or shortest route to a specific destination. Users can receive information such as tourist attractions along the way or the degree of difficulty of a route and they will also have the option of checking the route on their Smartphone during the trip. The website fietsnet.be has taken a licence as well. “This new official databank is extremely useful to check the applications of our voluntary workers,” says Koen Mannaerts from fietsnet.be.

Flemish Minister-president Kris Peeters (CD&V) would like to give the social partners more input on job policy once more powers have been transferred to Flanders as soon as the new state reform has been put into practice. He does however feel that they should earn it and therefore suggests they should reorganise, proposing that they should follow the example of the federal social partners who organise the consultancy about wages, labour conditions etc. in their Group of Ten. Afterwards the agreements are worked out in detail in the National Labour Council and the Central Council for Businesses. Trade unions and employers organisations have responded positively to his offer, but add that he should not tell them how to go ahead, saying: “We will do that ourselves. We are in the process of preparing it”. They do not foresee that debate will lead towards a ‘Group of Ten’, but rather via their umbrella council, the Social en Economic Council of Flanders (SERV). Employers’ spokesperson Karel Van Eetvelt of the Union of Independent Entrepreneurs (UNIZO) and current SERV president  says: “We have also given top priority to the powers to be transferred,” while Caroline Copers of the Socialist union ABVV says: “In SERV, presidency is based on rotation, whereas in the ‘Goup of Ten’ an employer is always the president,” but adds: “We seriously need employers who, like the federal employers, are committed to true commitment in finding agreements with us. At present they only promise to encourage their members to do as agreed.” Peeters also seems to doubt whether the unions will actually send their top negotiators to the SERV, fearing the top federal figures will continue to dictate what the Flemish representatives should do. And that is not in keeping with his progclaimed 'Copernican revolution', i.e. that the federated states are the most important level, which he would like to see applied to the social partners. The Christian union ACV does not believe the federal level is dominant in its own organisation: “The Flemish ACV has been independent since 1981.” Says Copers (ABVV): “I would like to know how far Peeters is prepared to take his offer. With many of the federal powers that were regionalised, the social partners had considerable input at the federal level. Will that remain at Flemish level?” The two smaller social partners, the liberal union ACLVB and the farmers’ union, Boerenbond fear they will be “thrown out” in view of Peeters’ belief in a ‘Group of Five’, but Peeters is confident about the group having six members, saying: “It’s a symbolic name. The ‘Group of Ten’ has eleven members, so there’s no reason why the ‘Group of Five’ cannot have six.

It’s official. Belgium is in a recession. Until recently the buzzword was savings, but it seems the focus has now shifted to economic growth. How do we escape the crisis and restart the engine? Six business leaders have given their suggestions for economic stimulation. Christ’l Joris, president of the industrial and office lighting developer Etap Lighting, is also president of the technology federation Agoria. Her stance on the matter is that the government should support businesses which are still operational in Flanders; in particular innovative and labour-intensive companies, as an increase in their turnover locally and abroad would automatically result in more jobs. Caroline Van Marcke, who heads one of the most successful family concerns in Flanders, Groep Van Marcke, with her brother, believes the Flemish economy cannot be driven by services alone and should create more industrial fibre. Patrick De Maeseneire, international CEO of the recruitment giant Adecco since 2009, says: “If we fail to attract industry we will never eliminate unemployment among the lowly skilled.”

Hans Bourlon, co-CEO of the entertainment business Studio 100 and winner of the Manager of the Year award in 2008, believes that some of the textile industry’s business activities should return to Flanders from China in view of the increasing transport and oil costs, Chinese wage increases and the growth of ecological limitations. Christ’l Joris further believes the government should increase its efforts in training for technical careers and make it easier for foreign technicians to work here to solve the local shortage of technically skilled workers. Moreover she feels Belgian employees retire or take early retirement when they are too young, leaving a huge gap in the market as far as experience is concerned.

The high unemployment rate among the youth and the not so highly skilled is another fundamental problem. To address this issue, De Maeseneire believes the younger generation should receive preference in the job market so that they can at least gain experience. Wouter Torfs, CEO of the family shoe business Schoenen Torfs and one of the stalwarts in the Flemish retail industry, feels the unemployment trap should be addressed. The difference between unemployment benefits and the starting wage should increase to motivate the unemployed to work. He also feels buying power should be protected, stating that consumer confidence relies on income, job and pension security, which therefore should be maintained. Says Torfs: “We should seek a mechanism that will ensure the consumer retains his buying power after tax without increasing wage costs for the employer.” Demaeseneire believes the state has only one option to create room for an economic stimulus and that is cutting back on social security. Torfs feels an orthodox policy regarding public finances should be reintroduced, saying: “We cannot burden the next generations with debt.”

According to Jo Van Biesbroeck, regional director for Western Europe of the world’s biggest brewer AB InBev, national and European sovereigns and institutions should introduce both carefully considered savings and investment measures. Van Marcke agrees, finding Europe’s approach too one-sided and too much focused on debt relief. She is in favour ofr supporting growth in the PIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Greece) countries. Politics and business should develop a long-term vision, she believes, and she adds: “The dictates of quarterly figures will not help us ahead. Businesses will not invest as a result. We should consider how we plan to distinguish our economy from others in the long term.” Van Biesbroeck is of the opinion that the available means should be put to good use and more should be invested in innovation. These are principles which apply to both the private and public sector. But they should be carefully explained to employers and the population at large. According to De Maeseneire, the current budget does not allow for public stimuli, so Belgium and Western Europe should become more attractive for investors and businesses by making wages competitive and taxation simple. Finally Van Biesbroeck believes Europe should streamline its labour market policy to ensure the different countries remain competitive.

A gobsmacked Kimberley marvels at the transmitters and satellite components produced by Antwerp Space, a Hoboken-based outfit which designs special satellite transmitters and has made its contribution the the European Galileo vavigation system amongst others. Even though it’s not all very flashy, she and her eleven schoolmates are highly impressed with what they experience on their guided tour. “This is something we have never seen before,” the sixth-grader Kimberely states with genuine interest. Antwerp Space was one of 24 businesses in Flanders and Brussels which played host to a group of 662 schoolgirls who participated in Technogirls Day yesterday. The initiative, instigated by Agoria, the federation for the technology industry, was aimed at encouraging girls between age 11 and 12 to choose a technical career. The objective at Antwerp Space was to show these girls that a technical career is in no way inferior to general secondary education. 'Education must not become a drop out contest," explains Antwerp Space manager Sofie Appelmans. Technology is not popular among girls and only about 10% of all students at technical training institutions are girls, with female employees in this sector making up only 13% of staff. “That is truly a pity, as typical female qualities such as communication, precision and teamwork are crucial. Moreover this field of study is enormously enriching for the girls,” says Wilson De Pril of Agoria Flanders. “As technology businesses generally suffer a shortage of suitable staff, we plan to promote technology amongst girls.” These girls will only truly decide their future careers when they’re older, but there is no harm in stimulating their interest in the meantime. When the technogirls were each given a pink calculator to take home, they expressed their happiness with gasps of delight and put away the soldering bit. Girls will be girls.

The announcement by federal Deputy Prime Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne (Open VLD) that Chinese businessman Fen Jun has set his sights on Belgium was not received very well by the Flemish Minister-president Kris Peeters (CD&V). Said Peeters: “It serves no purpose whatsoever to take the credit before any final decision has been made. If things should fall through, I would be most disappointed indeed. Especially on behalf of Flanders Investment and Trade (FIT) who have tirelessly worked on the dossier.” He does not agree with allegations that his words run counter to a federalism which promotes collaboration between the regions and the federal government, saying that he promotes both Flanders and Belgium on his trade missions. He does find merit in healthy competition between the federated states and the federal government, but adds: “We should not work against each other to the benefit of ourselves”. Peeters swears by the model of a federal government serving the interests of the regions, especially in respect of economic diplomacy. That communication between the different levels has been somewhat stern in recent weeks is evident from misunderstandings on the way powers had to be transferred from the federal level to the regions. To clear these issues Peeters has demanded formal deliberation with the federal government as he has a government that with a party (the Flemish nationalist N-VA) that is not represented in the federal government.

In 2014 federal and regional elections will concur. Peeters fears federal themes will overshadow regional ones and plans to do everything in his power to prevent this from happening again, but it will be up to the parliaments to decide on the matter. He further plans to organise social consultancy (on wages, labour conditions etc...) on a Flemish level as well. While the Group of Ten (employer and employee interests groups) currently debates at federal level, Peeters would like to introduce a Group of Five to deliberate on social issues without interfering with the Group of Ten once additional powers such as job market policy have been transferred to Flanders. He hopes the unions will be willing to join the Flemish consultancy, but realises that it’s not a given.

Belgium should expand into a mature federalism, states Peeters, who is planning an international mission with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. “We are going to organise a joint conference with North Rhine Westphalia in Antwerp, and yesterday I received a request from Walloon Minister of Economy Marcourt to undertake a joint mission to Myanmar. I consider this a positive development.” The fact that the palace would rather see him leave on a trade mission with the Walloon Minister-president De motte rather than the Dutch Premier does not bother Peeters. “It's none of the palace's business. It is first and foremost our responsibility, as foreign trade is primarily a regional competence. Figures show that Flanders is the economic engine of the country. We make up 60% of the population, 70% of the GDP and more than 80% of all exports. To forget that fact could result in an engine that fails or even stops. Not only would Flanders suffer as a result, but the whole of Belgium.”

The minister-president of Flanders, Kris Peeters (CD&V), organised a meeting with the banks in his ministerial office last week following concerns about a report from the Department of Economy, Science and Innovation (EWI). The report stated that banks have become more stringent in their credit policy to businesses, and in particular to small enterprises, demanding higher guarantees, quibbling over the required amounts and charging higher interest rates. The present situation is not as dramatic as it was after the bank crisis in 2008, but Peeters was nevertheless fearful of the economic effects of the banks' stringency. “The first condition for economic growth is healthy credit extension. Business investments are essential for economic growth.” Therefore Peeters urged the financial sector “to assume its responsibility”. Karel Van Eetvelt, CEO of the organisation for small businesses and independent entrepreneurs Unizo, shares Peeters concern after establishing that conditions for a loan have become more stringent and the waiting time for approval by the banks has been extended. Despite Peeters’ conviction that the banks “explicitly confirmed their goodwill” during the meeting, he reminded them of the Flanders government’s guarantee scheme which provides banks with guarantees when they extend credit to SMEs. The guarantee scheme has meanwhile assisted 7,100 businesses with a total loan amount of 2 billion euros. During the next few months Flemish government officials will train bankers  to familiarise them with the scheme in the hope that they will be more inclined to increase loan facilities tot small businesses.

The award ‘Thuis in de stad’ (‘At home in the city’) is a prize awarded to Flemish cities for their innovative projects. This year, the eleventh edition of the award, the 75,000 euro prize went to C-Mine in the Limburg city of Genk. “We will use the money on a people’s festival at C-Mine in April,” responded Genk mayor Wim Dries. “One could say we are giving the money to the Genk citizens, as they are also partners in the C-Mine project,” he added. The jury that awarded the prize referred to C-Mine as an example of innovative public projects in Flanders. “We took on the challenge to turn a deserted mine site into a centre for tourism culture, education and creative economy respecting its former function,” said the mayor. He has collected an impressive array of C-Mine trophies to be exhibited in the new cultural centre. With as many as ten prizes in the bag, C-Mine is set to become a tourist attraction. “In April another attraction, the 'C-Mine Expedition', will be added to give visitors the opportunity to experience the life and work in an old mine gallery. In addition to the cultural centre we would also like to offer a platform for the creative economy, with opportunities for creative entrepreneurs to start a small business.” Dries sees the ‘Thuis in de stad’ award as a recognition for years of hard work and investments in C-Mine.

Flemish writer Ivo Michiels has won the America Award 2012 for his lifetime contribution to international writing. This is the first time a Flemish writer is honoured with the award which, according to organisers, is the modest alternative to the Nobel Prize for Literature. Michiels shares the honour with writers like Harold Pinter (1995), José Saramago (2004) and Javier Marias (2010). Each year the America Award composes a jury of American poets, fiction writers, playwrights and literary critics to decide on the winner, who receives no prize money. In 2011 Ivo Michiels published ‘Mag ik spreken?’ (‘May I speak?’), a new, simplified adaptation of his 10-part cycle of novels, Journal Brut (1983 – 2001). Breaking away from the classical tale Michiels experimented with language in associative monologues, interweaving memories and fiction, references and quotes, as in ‘Journal Brut’ and the Alfa cycle. The publisher Green Integer will soon publish ‘Journal Brut' and ‘Orchis Militaris’ (1968) in English. They are also planning to publish the remaining parts of the Alfa cycle, which will include ‘het boek Alfa’ (‘the Alfa book’), ‘Exit’, ‘Samuel o Samuel’ and ‘Dixi(t)’. The 89-year-old Michiels (pseudonym for Henri Ceuppens), born in Morstsel (Antwerp) in 1923, has been living and working in the South of France since 1979. He has received numerous local and international awards.

While Belgium was locked in strike actions yesterday, the Belgian chocolate and sweet industry didn't seem to feel the economic crisis attending the world’s biggest sweet fair, the ISM fair, in Cologne. 'A dynamic sector in an extremely competitive market', Flemish Minster-President Kris Peeters (CD&V) summarized his visit to the fair. It was interesting to note that of the ninety participating businesses at the common Flanders Investment and Trade stand, eleven were there for the first time. But even the smallest companies among the Belgian sweet manufacturers are organised on an international scale. Maison Biscuits d’Or, a tiny East Flemish business from Belzele with only four employees even has Chinese characters on its business card. “There are businesses here that trade with countries like Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Russia,” the Flemish export agency FIT remarks. And the proof is in the figures, with all Belgian manufacturers of chocolate, confectionery, biscuits and waffles exporting almost 2.9 billion euros collectively. Following a dip in 2009, 2010 saw a growth of 3% which accelerated to 9% during the first half of 2011. Any suggestions that it flattened a bit afterwards are rejected by Borms, saying: “No, we did not feel the crisis. The food industry is not an industry that grows with leaps and bounds, and so it doesn't experience serious downturns either. People will always eat. Especially sweet things.” Not that growth should be taken for granted. Except for a small number of major players like Belcolade, a division of the baking ingredient giant Puratos, the Belgian confectionery industry consists mainly of small businesses. They can only stand their ground in a world market dominated by giants such as Nestlé, Mars and company by remaining extremely specialised, like lolly maker Cand’art which manufacturers liquorice exclusively for Northern European tastes. “We sell something of everything at our branch,” someone whispers. “And the start of the fair is always marked by hushed talk about who will join whom. At times it's a hard business to survive.” The 50% increase in the sugar price, the key ingredient in this industry, could not be properly absorbed due to pricing pressure from customers or running long-term contracts. In view of fierce competition with rivals there is a lot of pressure to launch new products and therefore mergers and takeovers happen regularly. It was no coincidence that the Baronie group bought the chocolate brand Jacques and Kathy Chocolaterie last year. Or that Bouchard of the Sea-Invest group announces its eagerness for a new takeover. Here it is often a case of eat or be eaten.

The government of Flanders plans to introduce a house discount to replace the so-called “small registration”, which is a reduction of 5% in registration fees on the purchase of a house to which a buyer is entitled if the home has a low land register income (KI). Determining the land register income of a home has however not been amended since 1975 and still reflects the annual rental it could earn with reference to that year. Meanwhile in reality the KI of a modest urban home has often increased more than a large home in the country and this awkward taxation has led to an urban exodus. The introduction of a house discount is intended to stop this trend. The chairman of the governing party N-VA, Bart de Wever, announced the house discount during his party’s New Year’s reception in Antwerp. The discount, which was originally announced in the document with the policy intentions of Flemish Minister for the Budget and Spatial Planning Philippe Muyters (N-VA) in 2009, has gradually taken shape. His colleague, Housing Minister Freya Van den Bossche (SP.A) is now awaiting a concrete initiative. “At the time, Minister Muyters commissioned a survey which was to serve as a foundation for the debate on the new regulation. That means the ball is in his court,” says her spokesperson Gorik Van Holen. The Muyters cabinet is keen to reach an agreement by summer. In view of the sensitive nature of the material, they hope to complete their survey as soon as possible before seeking a political consensus on the matter. In Flanders, consideration for a 5% discount on registration fees depends on a number of conditions. The discount system is set to change these conditions. The ‘house discount’ should keep track of the sale value of the house, the surface , the age and energy efficiency. Similarly the buyer’s profile could be a deciding factor as well. As from 2014, residential taxation will be transferred to the regions. According to Muyters’ spokesperson this does not exclude the possibility that a number of measures will be drafted prior to this time and that the discount will fit in this package. He further points out that the federal government will only decide on the size of the package to be transferred in mid-February.

In early May two important literary prizes will be awarded: on 5 May the Gouden Boekenuil (The golden book owl) and two days later the Libris Literary Prize. Judging by the longlists announced yesterday, six Dutch writers are in the running for both awards. It seems both juries agree on the quality of the novels by established writers Jeroen Brouwers (‘Bittere bloemen’ or ‘Bitter flowers’), A.F.Th. van der Heijden (‘Tonio’), Herman Koch (‘Zomerhuis met zwembad’ or Summerhouse with pool) , Marcel Möring (‘Louteringsberg’), Stephan Enter (‘Grip’) and Jan van Mersbergen (Naar de overkant van de nacht’ or ‘To the other side of the night’). Only one Fleming, Jan Van Loy with his entertaining ‘Ik, Hollywood’ (‘I, Hollywood’), has been bestowed this dual honour. When it comes to their preferences regarding  Flemish books, the two juries differ radically. The Gouden Boekenuil has opted for Erwin Mortier’s poignant ‘Gestameld liedboek’ (‘Stuttering hymn book’) and Dimitri Verhulst’s much talked-of ‘Monoloog van iemand die het gewoon werd tegen zichzelf te praten’ (‘Monologue by someone used to talking to himself’). Johan de Boose’s ambitious historical novel ‘Bloedgetuigen’ (‘Blood testimony’) has also made the list. The Libris jury on the other hand chose Stefan Brys’ long-awaited novel about the First World War, ‘Post for mevrouw Bromley’ (‘Mail for Mrs Bromley’) and ‘Gelukkig zijn we machteloos’ (‘Fortunately we are powerless’), written by Ivo Victoria and ‘Brandlucht’ (‘Fire smell’) by Erik Vlaminck. Both these novels have been positively received by critics. It’s interesting to note that a number  of the Dutch books nominated on both lists have received little attention in Flanders. A.F. Th van der Heijden’s two nominations come as a sweet revenge. His requiem for his son who died in an accident did not manage to make it to the shortlist of the other grand prize, the AKO, a few months ago; causing considerable controversy in the Netherlands. The longlists will be shortened to shortlists, with Boekenuil announcing theirs late in February and Libris on 12 March. The Gouden Boekenuil awards also include a prize awarded by a 100-member reader’s jury.

At ten o’clock last night the unions downed tools in the start of the 24-hour strike against government cutbacks and pension plans. The strike has not only resulted in major practical inconveniences, but is also a costly affair. The newspaper De Standaard puts the cost to the Belgian economy at an estimated 200 million euros. That translates as 45 euros per working citizen. “Many businesses will make up for the loss in production by working longer hours on other days,” predicts Peter Vanden Houtte, chief economist at ING Bank. The unions ABVV, ACV and ACLVB nevertheless insist that their action is “unavoidable” in view of the federal government’s cutbacks and pension plans. They fear that the Di Rupo government’s rationalisation plans will have the worst effect on the most vulnerable: the young, the old and the poor. Employers criticize the action, with employer organisations like VBO, Unizo and Voka even threatening to take striking employees to court if they fail to behave properly. These sentiments are echoed in De Wetstraat, the federal political centre, where minister of Pensions, Vincent Van Quickenborne (Open VLD), who is targeted by the strikers, fears “damage to the image” of the country. Should the strike run successfully, the government team led by Elio Di Rupo (PS) has paid its contribution. Instead of letting it run its course, the government stoked the fire of discontent by launching a debate on skipping a one-off wage indexation. Flemish  Minister-President Kris Peeters (CD&V) refers to the jump as “an interesting idea” with advantages for  businesses. An index jump implies that automatic wage indexation is skipped. Fellow party member Finance Minister Steven Vanackere is not opposed to this notion as such, but stresses that skipping a one-off wage indexation is not about introducing a budgetary measure but rather a way of increasing the competitive power of Belgian enterprises. “During the past weeks we were criticised for using the index jump as a phantom threat,” says CEO for the Liberal union,Jan Vercamst. “But now I hear various union delegates say, ‘now I know what I'm fighting for’.”

Expectations regarding the European summit today are high, says BNP Paribas Fortis and Barco chairman Herman Daems, attending the World Economic Forum in Davos. Says Deams: “I have a strong impression that everyone was thoroughly prepared and that the European ministers speak with one voice, and I sense a strong unanimity among leaders from Continental Europe. Except for the United Kingdom, of course.” According to Daems, a misunderstanding of sorts exists between the latter and the Eurozone. The British believe everything depends on how big the European Stability Fund is set to become. They would like to see it as big as possible and filled as soon as possible. Other EU member states on the other hand prefer not to search the solution in figures only and would rather see a reform of European structures and institutions which must ensure a stronger  Europe in the process. And that’s exactly where the difference of opinion lies: the British will not participate in the realisation of the European reforms.

However, the  key theme on everyone’s lips at Davos is what went wrong and what must change in respect of the current capitalist system and within the Eurozone. Daems found Angela Merkel convincing, saying: “The search for a structural solution is primordial. Disputes about savings versus measures to stimulate economic  growth lead nowhere. The one is not possible without the other. Austerity measures cannot be curbed. Sovereign states must do everything in their power to sort out their deficits or else the crisis will only deepen. At the same time more should be done in respect of job creation, otherwise Europe stands to lose its credibility. And there is deep concern about this.”

The government of Flanders plans to address the shortage of scientists and technicians. Half of all  pupils choose mathematics or sciences as part of their curriculum during their secondary school career in the ASO, but too  few opt for studies in science, technology, mathematics or engineering once they have finished school. “Everyone wants an iPhone, but very few people want to develop one,” says Flemish Education Minster Pascal Smet (SP.A). The government now hopes to launch an action plan that will promote careers in science and technology through a more attractive curriculum and more collaboration between the schools and business and knowledge institutions. Study and career options should  be communicated by means of tools like the website onderwijs-kiezer.be (study options) and more should be done to promote research in Flanders by strenghtening the international recognition of it. The technology fair Technopolis in Mechelen has been commissioned to establish a platform that will work on these actions in September. Smet and his Innovation colleague Ingrid Lieten (SP.A) are fully aware that this will be a long-term task. “One will need to consider the results over a period of ten years.”

Twenty years after ‘Daens’ (Stijn Coninx) and eleven years after ‘Iedereen Beroemd’ (Dominique Deruddere), Flanders once again boasts an Oscar nomination with Michaël Roskam’s ‘Rundskop’ (Bullhead). Much more than the lucky shots of the past, this film is a recognition of the past ten years of Flemish film policy. The American film magazine Variety praises the film while The Hollywood Reporter lauds Nicolas Provost’s ‘The Insider’. Meanwhile Roskam and Provost have both won awards at several film festivals from Moscow to Palm Springs. In Palm Springs even five Flemish films were shown, whereas other Flemish films have received awards at several international film festivals. Today nearly every month a new Flemish film is released. But things have not always been this rosy as the breakthrough only came with the establishment of the Flemish Audiovisual Fund in 2002, when members of the Flemish film industry itself, without any political interference could distribute the fund. The second breakthrough was the introduction of the federal government’s tax shelter in 2003 to encourage private investors to invest in Belgian films in exchange for favourable tax measures. This resulted in hundreds of millions of euros invested in the Flemish film. During the same year the box office hit, Erik Van Looy’s ‘De Zaak Alzheimer’, drew a record of 750,000 viewers, giving birth to a new generation of confident filmmakers, says VAF director Pierre Drouot. Since then VAF also started to invest in talent to prevent directors from sticking to one film.  That was the case with Felix Van Groeningen who realised his third film  with ‘De helaasheid der dingen’ in 2009. Cross pollination between TV stations VRT and VTM and the cinema also experienced a boom, especially through Fait Divers, a project by Jan Verheyen in which television film were first released in the cinema circuit. The dynamic that was initiated in 2002 has been succesful and today about 6,000 to 10,000 people in Flanders work in the audiovisual industry, with about 25 established film directors. According to Boyd Van Hoeij, film critic for Variety magazine, what Flanders still lacks is a top director with an international status like Lars Von Tiers and Suzanne Bier in Denmark and the Brothers Dardenne in Wallonia. Flemish film producers however believe Flemish film industry is fragile. They seem to fear that great talent will go elsewhere to seek their fortune by lack of financial resources at home. The VAF should lay the financial basis for further financing, but that basis remains rather limited. Secondly, as the economic crisis will also result in more cutbacks in TV stations, they may buy less local film productions. Therefore the film industry has asked for an additional financial source like Wallimage, which injects 5 million euros into the Walloon film industry each year which produces an economic returnt that is three times as much. Flemish  Minister-President Kris Peeters (CD&V) has been working behind the scenes on a similar fund for Flanders, but has had to keep it under wraps at a time when cutbacks are the order of the day. His initiative has nevertheless been praised by film producers and receives their full support.

Public support for the strike planned for Monday 30 January has visibly dropped and trade unions are not only being lashed on the social media channels of Facebook and Twitter, but also doing some soul-searching within their own ranks. “The issues have in fact existed since the establishment of the unions,” placated retired professor of the Free University Brussels, Maxime Stroobant, who spent his entire career observing trade union organisations and social deliberation. Putting the strike into perspective from a historical point of view, he says: “A call to strike is never popular. But the question that should be asked is whether the inconvenience caused by a strike can be blamed on the strikers or on the reason for the strike.” The fact that there was no deliberation between the social partners on the far-reaching socio-economic measures is what sparked off the idea of a strike, he believes.

Unions are currently all in a spot across the world, despite major international differences. The drop in union membership has been slower in Belgium and the Scandinavian countries, as the unions still fulfil a role in respect of social insurance (by paying the unemployment benefits etc.) in these countries. It does however seem as if the younger generation is less enthusiastic, with solidarity making way for individualisation whereas labour relations between employer and employee have evolved. Not a single union today still claims a privileged relation with a so-called sister party (CD&V for the Christian union or SP.A for the socialist union) and unlike their predecessors, who maintained positive relations with political parties, trade union leaders Marc Leemans of the Christian union ACV and Rudy De Leeuw of the Socialist union ABVV must now accept criticism from these two parties’ presidents, Wouter Beke (CD&V) and Bruno Tobback (SP.A). Stroobant calls for a front of unions that chooses to engage in social deliberation. But is that the answer the younger generation is expecting? He further believes young people consider unions too much as organisations that defend their own rights in the first place without taking into account the rights of the younger generations, which is not true. The fact that the younger generation's message does not come across clearly enough cannot be blamed on the unions, but on the younger ones themselves. “The younger generations are much too inclined to see the unions as the problem rather than as a part of the solution.” But desperate attempts by the unions to lure the younger generation through the communication tools of their social media boomeranged. Stroobant believes it was an error of judgement on the side of the unions. They should have convinced the opinion-makers of the legitimacy of their campaign first. And as long as public opinion is against them they will not manage to turn the tide, he believes.

Dutch politicians increasingly view the delays in Dutch-Belgian dossiers such as the high-speed train between Brussels and The Hague and the payment of Scheldt pilots as premeditated obstructions by the Flemish and Belgian governments to spite the Netherlands for their refusal to flood the Hedwige Polder on the Left Bank of the River Scheldt. The Dutch government refuses to go ahead with the flooding of the Zeeuw-Flanders area despite the fact that it was agreed upon in the Scheldt Treaty of 2005. Leftwing opposition parties in the Netherlands demand that the flooding go ahead without delay to pave the way for the remaining dossiers to be finalised. They have further warned the Dutch government that Flanders could introduce a damage claim of 750 million euros. But the government refuses to sacrifice the agricultural land through flooding. In 2005 the two countries agreed to introduce a separate, high-speed rail service between Brussels and The Hague in addition to the existing express services between Brussels and Amsterdam. It was decided that the Belgian railway company NMBS would order a train that would make ten journeys on the route each day, but so far nothing has happened. When Philippe Bulinckx of the Belgian NMBS was faced with explaining why the train has not yet been ordered during a hearing in the Second Chamber of the Dutch parliament, he gave to understand that he found little merit to a 'ghost' fast link train between Brussels and The Hague. According to many leftwing Dutch politicians from the opposition parties, the failure to introduce the service could be the result of the discord between the Netherlands and Flanders on the flooding of the Hedwige Polder. Peter Smit, alderman for The Hague municipality, has even considered approaching the international arbitration court in fear that his city could end up without an international rail connection. The Dutch pilotage has already instituted legal proceedings against the Flemish Region for an unpaid bill of 9 million euros for pilot services in the Scheldt mouth. They also believe the reason behind this is the issue of the Hedwige Polder flooding.

In a matter of ten years the Flemish trade balance has evolved from a surplus of 9.6 billion in 2002 to a deficit of 12.5 billion euros during the first ten months of 2011 alone. Imports and exports increased spectacularly during the past decade, but obviously exports did not keep up with imports. According to CEO of the Flemish employers'organisation Voka, Jo Libeer, it seems Flanders is unable at keeping abreast of competitors such as the BRICS countries and new EU member states on the global market, focusing more on the export market of the neighbouring countries. Countries like the Netherlands and Germany face similar problems, but they still manage to perform well, maintains Libeer, mentioning two reasons why Flemish exports are dropping. Firstly the specialisation in semimanufactured products and secondly the wage handicap, with wages having increased by 12% more than in other industrial countries during the past decade. The biggest thorn in his flesh is of course the automatic wage indexation, which he believes has increased the wage handicap.

Another significant finding based on figures released by the National Bank is that Wallonia is performing better than Flanders. One of the key reasons for this phenomenon is the import of petroleum and natural gas destined for the entire country via Flemish harbours. Energy costs on the trade balance increased from 10 to 23 billion euros between 2002 and 2010, causing a substantial increase of import on the Flemish trade balance. According to Groen party MP Filip Watteeuw, this impact should not be overestimated, as import costs have basically remained stable during the past five years whereas the trade balance nevertheless continued its downward move. He plans to approach Flemish Prime Minister Kris Peeters (CD&V) and ask for an explanation of the figures, believing Flanders should strengthen its industrial profile and opt for future-based and sustainable industries.