The Far East trade mission undertaken by Flemish minister-president Kris Peeters (CD&V) was supposed to revolve around making contact with Japanese investors, but as a result of the tsunami and the Fukushima nuclear disaster Peeters now wants to examine whether Flanders can contribute to the nation’s recovery. The minister-president has already spotted opportunities for dredging companies like DEME and Jan De Nul, with many fishing ports in the north-east of Japan needing to be deepened after being flooded by the tsunami. Flanders is also able to assist the island nation through cleaning up polluted land and materials. The KU Leuven Laboratory for Soil and Water Management has joined hands with Japanese scientists for this purpose but, says Professor Adrien Creemers, a reliable databank on the radioactive soil contamination is still urgently required.

Japan is a major Flemish economic partner, and Peeters told his hosts that the 220 Japanese subsidiaries in Flanders accounted for some 20,000 jobs. Flanders is responsible for over 90 percent of trade between Belgium and Japan, although there is still a significant trade deficit, with Flanders exporting 2.8 billion Euros worth of goods to Japan in 2010, which in turn shipped 6.2 billion Euros worth to Flanders.

Peeters highlighted the fact that Flemish companies enjoy an excellent reputation in Japan. Luc van den Hove, chairman and CEO of IMEC, for example related that his company regularly receives Japanese visits. Some expats in Tokyo say they do not understand why everyone is so focused on China and other BRIC countries while ignoring the enormous opportunities offered by Japan.

The Leuven university, and specifically the Laboratory for Soil and Water Management, is investigating the consequences of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan in respect of soil contamination and agriculture. While a part of the population were directly infected by nuclear radiation, the damage caused by the nuclear discharge to the environment, in particular the lands used for growing crops, was much more extensive. These crops could indirectly contaminate people and animals when they are consumed. The culprit is the isotope caesium 137, which is rapidly absorbed by the environment, whereas its harmful effects last for decades. If it is present in foodstuffs consumed by people and animals, the element resides in the muscle tissue and increases the chances of cancer.

Professor emeritus Adrien Cremers has already warned that the country is facing a major problem, due to the fact that 70 percent of the agricultural land around Fukushima is used for growing rice. This means that the soil contains high levels of ammonium, and studies conducted at Chernobyl have demonstrated that ammonium increases the transfer of caesium to the plant. Cremers also fears that the caesium could degrade at a much slower rate due to the specific wet-dry cycles of the rice paddies. “It might not help to wait years, as they did for Chernobyl,” he said. “The Fukushima nuclear disaster resulted in fewer emissions than at Chernobyl, but the population density could mean the number of cases of cancer are just as high.”

Japanese scientists will make a file of the types of soil in the region available by early September. The university will then use this to draw up a risk analysis and propose decontamination measures.

Five Rubens paintings from the permanent collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna will spend the next few months hidden behind a seven meter canvas by Jan Fabre, containing – as you may please – a wall-tapestry or a stage curtain. As visitors walk past the silk ripples slightly. The canvas is entirely covered in ballpoint ink, an orgy of vibrating and teeming blue, which Fabre himself calls an ‘energy field’. His 'Die Jahre der Blauen Stunde' marks the completion of a triptych by the Antwerp artist. In the past he has exhibited in Antwerp’s own Museum of Fine arts and in the Louvre in Paris, each time showing his installations engaged in dialogues with the old masters. Vienna is set to be the final stop of this adventure.

For the Kunsthistorisches Museum Fabre selected drawings exclusively from his famed ‘Bic period’ between 1977 and 1992. Fabre spent 15 years seeking inspiration for his images from ‘the blue hour’ – that magical moment during which the night flips over into the day - which he employed as a metaphor for the wealth of imagination. In his ballpoint drawings Fabre invites us to step into a dream world full of irrational elements. The play of blue lines emit the essences of fables and mysterious motifs. The drawings primarily bear witness to a strong physical gesture, in the tradition of performance. Fabre has set up a stunt in the lobby of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, and where visitors would normally look up to admire the dome, the ballpoint-covered wood sarcophagus, Huis der Vlammen I en II (House of Flames) has been placed.

Other interventions in the Kunsthistorisches Museum are more discrete and introduced with greater subtlety, allowing Fabre to play an ingenious game of illusions and references. The 26 works interact with the works of Caravaggio's disciples, Bruegel, Dürer or Cranach.  In this way Fabre absorbs the tradition and simultaneously contrasts it. What is notable from his Bic period is the extraordinary versatility. The many types of blue, the restless drive of scratches and drawings, the boldness and the frivolity of the themes – they continue to fascinate. It remains work of which the mystery is still intact.

Belgium has reached the 23rd spot on the list of most competitive countries, a two-place rise compared to last year. The ranking by the Swiss management school, IMD, puts the United States, together with Hong Kong, at the top in the wake of a sufficient recovery from the financial crisis. Countries that have risen sharply are Sweden and Germany, confirming the power of their economic model. Qatar, South Korea and Turkey also showed a good improvement.

There is both good and bad news associated with Belgium’s ranking at number 23. The good news is primarily the strength of the economy, with significant investments and economic growth at a healthy level. The weak points are well-known, including the high pension costs, high wages, the extensive civil service and the stubborn unemployment. The negative tendencies are, aside from the political instability, also the decreasing number of valid patents, once again demonstrating that Belgium is losing ground in terms of innovation and its weakened standing in terms of the knowledge economy. The country is also suffering as a result of the brain-drain.

Three top Flemish institutes have joined forces on a new research project, Neuro-Electronics Research Flanders (NERF). The research centre Imec for nanotechnology, the Flemish Institute for Biotechnology (VIB) and the University of Leuven will share their respective expertise in nanoelectronics, biotechnology and neurology with a view to ensuring more accurate diagnosis and treatment of brain diseases, new prosthesis technology for handicapped patients, new information technology with simulated brain intelligence and a new generation of more intelligent robots. NERF hopes to stretch scientific boundaries through their detailed research of neuron functioning that will shed more light on brain functioning, on research methodology, medical applications and diagnostics in respect of nervous system ailments.

NERF, with its annual budget of 3 million euros, of which the Flemish government will contribute one third and the three partners the remainder, hopes to attract top international researchers.

According to Flemish Minister of Innovation Ingrid Lieten (SP.A), who officially opened the centre last night, the World Health Organisation maintains that brain disease causes 35 percent of all diseases in Europe. "Research shows that 2.9 Belgians struggled with some form of cerebral ailment in 2004." The most common among them were anxiety (1.1 million), migraine (860,000), addiction (800,000) and depression (500,000).

NERF further participates in the European Human Brain Project led by the Swiss EPFL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) aimed at capturing all available data on the functioning of brain molecules, cells and links in order to facilitate accurate simulations of the human brain. This is one of six projects of which two are selected by the European FET Flagship Project to receive significant financial backing as from 2012.

337 days after the federal elections, the king has finally appointed a formateur to pave the way for a new coalition government. As was generally expected, the French-speaking socialist Elio Di Rupo was appointed for and has accepted the task. In this way the king honoured the request of the Flemish Nationalist N-VA to appoint a formateur. The fact that the king acted without any delay and before a solution has been found for the conflict between the French-speaking socialists and the Flemish Nationalist N-VA, has come as a surprise as Di Rupo will now be saddled with the same unresolved conflict which existed when royal mediator Wouter Beke (CD&V) terminated his assignment. Indeed, the N-VA demanded a government coalition without the Flemish greens and socialists, the PS wants to keep the Flemish socialists as well as the French-speaking green party Ecolo aboard. Beke’s round of talks clearly showed that the puzzle of conflicting alliances cannot move forward without concessions.

The king has given Di Rupo carte blanche in the execution of his task and all parties will continue to join in the talks. Last night it was rumoured that Di Rupo plans to launch bilateral talks with the nine party presidents and then test their response with a draft text to determine the profile of the next coalition. Both the N-VA and liberal Open VLD will aim for a coalition between the N-VA, Open VLD and CD&V, whereas the SP.A favours the current Flemish coalition of CD&V, N-VA and SP.A. The CD&V party meanwhile remains tightlipped, but is said to be open to a coalition with both the SP.A and Open VLD, provided both De Wever and Di Rupo concur.

Last summer Di Rupo accepted his mandate as preformateur, but it reached stalemate following discussions on the Brussel-Halle-Vilvoorde constituency and the refinancing of Brussels. Since then he seemed not fully committed. The new formateur has realized for some time he could no longer shirk his responsibilities and had started his preparation. The general discord does not only revolve around the selection of coalition partners but also the drafting of the financing act, which controls the flow of funds from the federal government to the regions. Yesterday vice-president Laurette Onkelinx (PS) remarked that the Leterme government of current affairs should try to get confidence from the parliament if this new effort should fail once again. This possibility has been unanimously rejected by the CD&V.

During the First World War the Northern French city of Cassel, situated behind the French-Belgian frontline around the city of Ypres, lived "at the gates of chaos", as this exhibition, which runs at the recently opened and already popular Musée de Flandre, is aptly called. During the war this stately sixteenth century building played headquarters to the French marshal Ferdinand Foch for some time. Cassel performed a strategic role as transport hub for arms and munitions, food rations and equipment to the front. Officers had their headquarters in this city, troops travelled to and from the trenches, soldiers passed their leisure time, prisoners were incarcerated and the wounded were cared for.

At the front, near Ypres, half a million allied soldiers were stationed, creating quite a passage. The small but inventive permanent collection displayed at the Musée de Flandre strongly emphasizes the historical Flemish character of the picturesque, somewhat sleepy town with the soft, hilly landscape of French Flanders surrounding the town. This exhibition however focuses on the violent way in which the war ripped it from its peaceful existence. The story of the “occupation of the region” by the war is told concisely but clearly. Not ignoring its many facets, it gives a clear idea of how daily life was disrupted when the town became the logistical pivot of the war machine. The collection contains a number of unusual pieces, but the most significant are a number of artworks, some of which were painted by British war-commissioned painters, including C.R.W. Nevinson’s modernistic rendition of a column of marching soldiers embodying a cold threatening war machine.

An increasing number of secondary and primary school pupils from Brussels are moving to Flemish schools in the Flemish municipalities bordering the capital city. Over a period of six years the number of pupils at secondary schools that have moved from Brussels has increased by 56 percent, while primary schools have seen a rise of 47 percent. In the space of just one year, the number of primary school pupils in the Flemish municipalities surrounding the capital increased by 11 percent, while their secondary school counterparts rose by 12 percent. At the same time, the number of pupils from Flanders studying in Brussels has decreased, as is evident from figures released by the minister for Education, Pascal Smet, in reply to a parliamentary question put by Paul Delva (CD&V).

This twofold change is not of benefit to Dutch-language education in Brussels, Delva said. “It is important that Dutch-speaking pupils from Brussels and the surrounding Flemish territory continue to attend our Dutch-language schools in Brussels,” he said. “That is also good for the many children in those schools that speak other languages. We must consider campaigns for encouraging Dutch-speaking parents to send their children to schools in the capital city."

Minister of Culture, Joke Schauvliege (CD&V) is urging the cultural sector to tackle ‘interculturality’ itself. Her office says that the sector is seeing the ‘interculturalisation’ that was stipulated in the Interculturalisation Action Plan, which was drafted by the previous government after consultations with the cultural sector, too much as a strictly imposed schedule. The intention of it was to allow for a much-increased participation by ethnic-cultural minorities in subsidised cultural activities. However, present policy has a different interpretation. “We want to challenge organisations to set and reach their own goals,” Schauvliege’s office has said. “If they do not succeed, they must explain why.” At present the minister is working on a declaration of engagement with regard to interculturality, which is to be completed by the autumn. “For us, what matters is the effect of direct involvement, not the figures,” her office said. “The ten percent standard of the Action Plan cannot be a fetish.” According to the Action Plan, the government must compile its consultancy boards and assessment commissions so that ten percent of the members have an ethnically different background. The Flemish governing agreement states that official consultancy and management bodies, including cultural ones, must henceforth have five percent of its membership made up of people with and ethnically diversedifferent background.

While the intercultural information website interculturaliseren.be had already been reduced before Schauvliege took on her job, she now intends to give the more independent Demos research centre more possibilities to reinforce the interculturality theme in the field. Schauvliege has further included interculturality as a theme in all new policy agreements. Her strategy is clear and ‘anchoring Interculturality’ means making the sector responsible for its own actions. The cultural world must tackle the issue itself.

A good test-case will be the future of ZebrArt, which receives almost a hundred amateur and professional artists who have fled to Belgium, showing them the ropes in the Belgian cultural sector. After receiving subsidies for three years from the Participation Decree, ZebrArt is now under threat of drying up. The 2008 Participation Decree was intended to offer a number of underprivileged groups in society the chance to set up their own projects. But Schauvliege’s office does not want to subsidize ad-hoc projects and the minister has called on the organisation to find a place within one of the existing decrees. ZebrArt is following the idea, but says it doesn't qualify for any of the existing decrees.

N-VA chairman Bart De Wever told Radio 1 on Friday that a government will have to be established before the summer recession, saying that a political agreement on state reform will no longer be possible after the summer, as the 2012 municipal elections will be too close. He said that the next ten weeks should consequently have to be used to their full. “Start the government negotiations now, appoint a formateur that says he is a candidate for the prime minister’s post,” said De Wever, who indicated that, if necessary, he was willing to do so himself.

PS chairman Elio Di Rupo is prepared to get to work as a government formateur, but the condition he has imposed for this, with nine parties gathered for the talks, has been resolutely rejected by De Wever. The N-VA says that the parties with which a coalition will be built must first be selected.

In this sense, De Wever once again made it clear that his preference in Flanders is for the christian democratic CD&V and the liberal Open VLD. He wants to choose the Flemish partners, while Di Rupo will have to do likewise on the francophone side of the border. Open VLD leader Alexander De Croo yesterday praised his N-VA counterpart for forcing things into the open, and called on Elio Di Rupo to follow suit.

On the other hand, amongst the French-speaking socialists they are arguing for a framework agreement on state reform and the socio-economic issues to be reached under the leadership of Di Rupo, after which each party can decide whether or not to come aboard on the basis of the text of the agreement. The PS wants no scenario in which the Flemish socialists, the SP.A, are booted out early, as De Wever wants. The socialists are the biggest political grouping in the country, the PS says, and it would be very strange to set sail with just the Christian democrats and the liberals – the parties that lost the most ground in Flanders in the last elections. And so, while the standoff between the PS and N-VA still seemed unbridgeable yesterday, King Albert continued with his consultations on Friday, concluding them on Monday with meetings with the greens and the SP.A. In the meantime the sovereign is still keeping the mediator Wouter Beke’s resignation under consideration, although there is no chance that the King, at his wits' end, will ask the CD&V chairman to continue.

Belgian dredging company DEME, which is owned by the construction group CFE and the holding company Ackermans & van Haaren, has entered into a joint venture with the Dutch dredger Van Oord to take on a 415 million Euro contract for the Queensland Gladstone Ports Corp. The Australian joint venture is set to excavate a number of canals and winding holes for loading docks in a new zone of Gladstone’s harbour in the province of Queensland. A total of 18.3 million cubic meters will be dredged, with the majority of it dumped on land to create new port areas. The dredging work will start in March next year and take 2.5 years. The job is a follow-on for both companies of the dredging contract they received a number of months ago from the Gladstone port authority. That contract, which is worth 190 million Euros, must be completed by the start of 2012 and involves dredging access channels and building foundations. These activities are intended to turn Gladstone into one of the largest ports in Australia, and will include an LNG terminal. DEME’s turnover last year stood at 1.8 billion Euros, with net profits of 116 million Euros. Its order book presently contains some 2.4 billion Euros in contracts, and the company will  employ nine new ships this year. The family company Van Oord is, together with Boskalis, DEME and Jan De Nul, one of the biggest dredging companies in the world.

How does the rest of the world see Flanders? This question initiated the government brief to Fons Van Dyck, director of the research agency ThinkBBDO on the 'Flanders' brand name. Central to the Flanders story will be its “trailblazing craftsmanship”, which will encompass not only its illustrious tradition of Flemish Primitives and lacemakers, but also modern technology and fashion designers like Dries Van Noten. Van Dyck stresses the correlation with the reality of the “hands-on, quirky, sustainable, skillful and helpful Fleming”, a reputation he believes could boost the region's tourism, economy, culture and foreign politics.

The project will not provide a new logo or house style and no additional budgets have been released. “The Flemish brand story will basically be the golden thread among agencies representing us abroad,” says Van Dyck. Its “pioneering craftsmanship” will be central to setting the region apart from other top regions in European. “This is not a form of nation building,” believes Minister President Kris Peeters (CD&V). “It’s a positive approach to stimulate the interest of foreign investors and tourists and to streamline communications on the region.” Peeters points to collaboration with other initiatives, saying: “This  is not an initiative that stands alone; it must be seen in context with overall Flemish long-term policy as contained in the Flanders in Action and Pact 2020 initiatives, with the Flemish government policy forming the content of the brand story."

Leuven Measurement Systems or LMS has grown into a strong brand in the auto industry. This was confirmed this week at the European Vehicle Conference in Munich, where LMS test and simulation technology and software demonstrated by Flemish engineers and marketing managers was the showstopper among three hundred top engineers from all the leading brands for three days. The LMS delegation was led by business leader and owner Urbain Vandeurzen.

According to Vandeurzen, all automakers are in a process of rethinking their production and business concepts; especially in view of the new generation of clever and energy-saving cars which no longer focus only on performance, but also on innovative applications to reduce C02 emissions, the improved quality and user-friendliness of hybrid cars or built-in automatic safety systems. Says Vandeurzen: “All these applications must prove their reliability. This is where we come into the picture. If we manage to succeed at this during the first phase of model development, we can reduce the total production time of a new model by 30 to 50 percent, which translates as an enormous cost saving for car manufacturers.

Vandeurzen believes the Flemish industry should follow suit with a similar initiative and totally rethink its own business model. “Like automakers, Flemish industrial companies should also make radical choices. We have managed to understand this in the automotive sector and made our contribution to the Flanders Drive.3 initiative, a programme that assists businesses with new products and markets through continued specialization. Traditional automakers like Volvo Ghent or Ford Genk, for example, will be one up on their peers in other countries if they manage to round up more flexible production lines in the manufacture of electric cars.”

“We should not be defeatist,” he believes. “We should not stand in dismay and lament that industries leave Flanders. Choosing advanced sectors means choosing innovative companies which actively seek international partners. The Flemish economy should not cut itself off like an exclusive club. On the contrary, the more internationally geared, the greater the chances of success.”

No one knows what else the king can come up with next to keep government formation afloat. It seems all is lost. The formateur’s role which Elio Di Rupo was supposed to have taken over from royal mediator Wouter Beke late this week has been sunk and according to the newspaper De Standaard, there is no alternative. Following 11 months of negotiations, Di Rupo refused to make a concession on the new finance act model which will see Wallonia and Brussels possibly forfeiting 70 million euros by 2025. Beke, who conscientiously met with Di Rupo on an almost daily basis for ten weeks, received the PS president’s written objections to the new model, that state that the basis of the act, i.e. avoiding impoverishment of the South or stripping of the federal state, was lost. Incessant talks between De Wever and Di Rupo have thus led to nothing. The latter was keen to take over, but allegedly on his terms, including texts he intended to write on state reform and  socio-economic policy for the new government. He wished for all nine parties to continue in talks and didn't want to drop the Flemish Socialists.

As he lacked confidence in a positive outcome, he preferred to see himself taking over in an interim role rather than as a fully-fledged convener. Neither De Wever nor the CD&V was keen on this option after 332 days of talks and yesterday the final talks between the two key players and the CD&V reached a deaclock. A desolate Beke, who had nothing left to say after ten weeks of failed attempts, approached the king to tender his resignation. Strictly speaking it was not his mandate to make recommendations on the future coalition or agreements on state reform, but only to prepare them. King Albert could do nothing but to keep his resignation under consideration. The state of despair in the palace has reached the highest level.

All eyes are on the Museum aan de Stroom or MAS  these days. The old harbour zone, Het Eilandje, where the museum is located, went through a journey of rediscovery and development during the past twenty years and has since become a fusion of new residential towers, renovated stores, small hotel and restaurant concerns and a yacht basin. This phenomenon had its beginnings in 1990 at a stage when harbour activities had moved north and this once lively zone had withered into a no-man’s-land with deserted quais.  But in 1990 the Barcelona-based architect Manuel de Solà-Morales, after winning a competition, was commissioned to expand on ideas for this forgotten area. Solà-Morales, who is currently working on plans for the De Keyserlei en de Roosevelt squares,  was keen to link the area with the city centre, and proposed a cultural north-south axis, with several towers as beacons and possibly also a “unique building with a public function” on the Hanzesteden square, which was later to become the MAS. Unfortunately his plans were not financially viable and it lacked support from the real estate sector and politicians.  All was about to change, however, when the new municipality took over in 1995.

In 1997 the former city architect René Daniëls was commissioned to establish a strategic and realistic step plan based on  Solà-Morales' plans. Both the city and private sector started investing in the harbour zone. Architect Kris Poulissen recreated Hangar 29 on the River Scheldt into an office and entertainment complex, Antwerp brought its city archive to the monumental Felix warehouse and fashion designer Dries Van Noten moved into the Godfried warehouse. Many other projects followed, including the derelict Red Star Line building which was transformed into the Migration Museum. And of course the MAS. Equally illustrious were the public investments, with the Falcon square and the red-light district becoming the link between the city and Het Eilandje. The fact that it was a relatively slow process had its advantages. According to the current city architect Kristiaan Borret, slow urbanism offers a better chance of quality results than a rapid uniform architectural  landscape such as the London Docklands project.

Next year Turnhout will enjoy the honour of Cultural City for one year, as bestowed upon the town by the Flemish government. This Campine town will follow Ostend, which carried the title in 2010. In 2012 Turnhout will also celebrate its 800th birthday. The title of cultural city goes along with a hubbub of cultural activities, from grandiose spectacles to intimate productions from both professional and amateur artists. The organization plans to make Turnhout 2012 a sustainable festive year. “We can  only call it a success if it generates initiatives, ideas and partnerships that can continue into the future. Turnhout 2012 should facilitate an economic and touristic dynamic that will still be around even in 2025,” say chairman Wuyts.

The Antwerp agglomeration attracted no less than 46 of the 166 foreign investment projects that launched in Belgium last year, according to the annual IBM Global Services report on foreign investment in Belgium. While the big picture for investment in Belgium is not that rosy, Flanders did emerge with better figures than Wallonia.

The US pharmaceutical companies Genzyme, Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer and Paccar (owner of Daf Trucks), the Swedish machinery producer Atlas Copco and Deutsche Post all pumped a large amount of money into their Antwerp branches last year, with their investments creating 1,400 additional jobs. This puts Antwerp far ahead of the Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde region, which remained stuck at 32 project in 2010, creating 700 jobs. This is the first time that Brussels has lost firts place, and East Flanders, Limburg and Flemish Brabant make up the remaining top five positions for most popular investment regions for foreign companies. What this means is that Flanders did very well last year and, judging by the number of foreign investment projects, the region seems to have emerged from the global financial and economic crisis. In 2010 it only attracted four less projects than it did in 2008 (106 as opposed to 110). In contrast, Wallonia was only able to convince 36 foreign companies to invest last year, half the number it managed to attract in 2010. “We cannot attach too much importance to the regional differences in annual rankings of this sort,” said Roel Spee of PLI-IBM. “Belgium is a small country and its regions are even smaller. One investment more or one less immediately causes major fluctuations in the statistics. But we should be concerned about the decrease in the number of foreign investments in Belgium,” he added. In 2008 the country pulled in 189 foreign projects, but in 2009 there were only 177. “The fact that the figure was down to 166 in 2010 indicates that there is a structural problem,” said Spee. Belgian wages are a primary reason of deterrence for foreign investors. “The automatic wage indexation and the high social security contributions are a huge handicap, especially when compared to Germany", said Patsy Van Hove, consultant at PLI-IBM.

Jochim Aerts, CEO of the company Race Productions has been chosen as the young Flemish entrepreneur of the year by Junior Chamber International (JCI) Flanders. Race Productions beat out Netlog, Netlash and a number of others. Aerts has been passionate about cycling since a very young age, and he started his own bicycle company in his father’s garage in 1990, which later became Race Productions. It now produces competition bikes for the Ridley brand, with some 27,000 being manufactured last year, generating a turnover of 19.5 million Euros and company profits of 1.1 million Euros.

But the company suffered from growing pains in 2007 and 2008. “For a long time I controlled everything in the company myself,” said Aerts, “but I relied for too long on a number of people who might have been good colleagues, but who could not manage others properly. Moreover, not all investments immediately returned a profit, and that made 2008 a difficult year.” Despite the financial crisis, Race Productions never went into the red. “Our bicycles in the 2,000 to 4,000 price range suffered heavy setbacks, but sales for the entry-level bikes, starting at 1,000 Euros, and the top-level ones up to 7,000 Euros continued to grow,” Aerts recalled.

Since then, Race Productions has continued to grow. The company exports bikes to the US, Japan and Canada, amongst others, and Aerts is now also targeting the Korean, Thai and Indonesian markets. Small markets such as these are attractive as they still hold little competition, said Aerts about the move and he adds: “Although we are a tiny player in an export market for a country such as the US, we can at least double our growth there.” Race Productions is also looking to increase growth in the adult market with the sale of so-called city bikes and cycling accessories.

N-VA chairman Bart De Wever concluded his talks yesterday evening with Elio Di Rupo (PS) on the appointment of a possible successor to royal mediator and CD&V-chairman Wouter Beke to take the lead in the negotiations on state reform, as he had accepted an invitation from the Flemish employers’ organisation, VOKA to participate in a debate. The association had invited the five Flemish party leaders to debate with 30 Flemish businesspeople. A similar meeting with Di Rupo and his French speaking counterparts last month ended with widespread disillusion among the Flemish entrepreneurs, and so this time VOKA wanted to hear from Beke, De Wever, Caroline Gennez (SP.A), Alexander De Croo (Open VLD) and Wouter Van Besien (Groen!) what their socio-economic policy would be, what they would consider the ‘Olympic minimum’ for state reform and how they think they could get the French-speakers on board. VOKA believes it is crystal clear that, aside from talks on state reform, parallel socio-economic negotiations should also be held. “That is where we are going to find structural problems, such as the aging population, the budgetary deficit and the labour market,” said chairman Luc De Bruyckere. “Taken together, this is going to cost us 25 billion Euros.” While this is undisputedly a great challenge, what everyone actually wanted to hear from the lead actors in the political crisis was a response to the question, “what is the next step?” But an answer was not forthcoming.

An increasing number of internationally acclaimed scientists are choosing Flemish universities for their research; among them the quantum physicist Frank Verstraete and the Hungarian biologist Peter Tompa. The force of attraction of our universities is partially due to their growing reputation. According to rector of the Ghent University, Paul Van Cauwenberge, Ghent is a leading European player in genetics and biotechnology. Similarly Peter Marynen, vice-rector research policy at the university, KU Leuven, ranks his university among the top ten in Europe. This, in addition to the 62 million euro the Flemish government released to attract foreign academics via its so-called Odysseus programme, is adding to the growing allure of Flemish universities among international researchers. The chief objective of this incentive is to encourage groundbreaking discoveries.  Researchers, upon selection by an international jury, stand to receive up to 7.5 million euro from the Scientific Research Fund (FWO). In 2007 the Czech biologist Jiri Frimi who, according to Van Cauwenberge, is number two in his discipline worldwide, came to Ghent. "Five years ago we couldn’t attract such great names, but now we succeed in doing so. Top international researchers such as these are a huge pull and exert a great influence on other promising academics. In the past this was a rare occurrence," he says.

In June the FWO will announce its new Odysseus programme acquisitions. Says Van Cauwenberge: "We are proud to have quantum physicist Frank Verstraete in our stable who, as a Fleming, has positioned himself as an absolute authority in his subject field in Vienna." In 2009 Verstraete won the Ignaz Lieben Prize, also known as the Austrian Nobel Prize. Meanwhile the Flemish Institute for Biotechnology (VIB), in partnership with the university Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), has also announced the arrival of new blood within its ranks in the person of Hungarian biologist Peter Tompa.  According to VIB spokesperson Gansemans, "He is a true pioneer, who has come to Flanders because of the excellent infrastructure. It’s the first time we have someone of his calibre in our midst". According to Louvain vice-rector Marynen, these academics make a crucial contribution to the Flemish economy as they guarantee innovation.