4/11/10 - The Belgian Railways have shown off the new TBL1+ safety system that is being introduced on all trains operating in the country. The introduction should be complete by 2013.

AA Gent wreaked their revenge on Sporting Lisboa. Club Brugge remain in the doldrums, while Anderlecht only managed a draw in Athens.

Avec son monumental ouvrage "Congo. Een Geschiedenis", (Le Congo, une histoire) publié par l'éditeur néerlandais De Bezige Bij, l'écrivain flamand David Van Reybrouck vient de remporter le prix littéraire AKO (50.000 euros), après avoir déjà décroché le Libris Geschiedenisprijs (20.000 €) et le J. Greshoffprijs (5000€) pour son livre cette année. Pour la deuxième année de suite, le prestigieux prix Ako revient donc à un Flamand puisque c'est Erwin Mortier qui l'avait remporté l'an dernier. "Congo. Een geschiedenis" est une synthèse particulièrement digeste de l'histoire congolaise, mais c'est aussi un best-seller qui s'est vendu à 50.000 exemplaires. Van Reybrouck combine dans son ouvrage des témoignages de Congolais et une étude d'archives particulièrement exhaustive. Autre élément remarquable : cette année, le prix ne va pas à un ouvrage de fiction, ce qui n'était arrivé que deux fois depuis que le prix Ako existe.

 C'est la présidente néerlandaise du jury Femke Halsema (qui préside par ailleurs le parti écologiste néerlandais Groen Links) qui a communiqué la nouvelle depuis le Teylers Museum à Haarlem. Elle a décrit le livre par ces mots : "Un récit bien charpenté sur l'esclavage et le colonialisme, la résilience et la survie. Une oeuvre historique prenante écrite par un historien et un romancier". Dans son mot de remerciement, Van Reybroeck s'est montré très prodigue de compliments pour le grand perdant, le Flamand Tom Lanoye qui, avec son roman "Sprakeloos", était lui aussi nominé pour les deux grands autres prix littéraires : De Gouden Uil et Libris, mais l'a également manqué. Lanoye avait toutefois un pressentiment : "J'ai l'habitude d'être celui à qui le prix échappe de peu" déclarait-il avant la remise.

Avec son roman familial campinois "De Bloemen", l'autre Flamand nominé, Koen Peeters, semblait moins se soucier de ses chances de succès. Les trois autres nominés, tous néerlandais, étaient Oscar van den Bogaard (qui réside en Flandre), Willem Jan Otten et Kees van Beijnum. Dans un communiqué de presse envoyé à la hâte, Van Reybrouck a également reçu les félicitations de la ministre de la Culture Joke Schauvliege. "Ce prix démontre le talent exceptionnel de Van Reybrouck pour mêler analyse scientifique et récit passionnant", a déclaré la ministre.

 

Le Ministre-président flamand Kris Peeters (CD&V) et son homologue de la Politique Intérieure Geert Bourgeois (N-VA) ont présenté la nouvelle édition du "gemeentelijke profielschetsen", une série de rapports rassemblant diverses statistiques sur chaque commune flamande. Une moisson de données récentes, allant du nombre de vols à l'augmentation de la superficie bâtie, ont été collectées auprès des 308 communes de Flandre. L'information est accessible pour les instituts de recherche, les étudiants et autres intéressés. Peeters décrit ces données comme un "instantané" de la Flandre et une "pierre d'angle de la politique locale". Les administrations communales peuvent en effet élaborer leur politique sur la base de ces données, alors qu'auparavant, elles devaient souvent demander les informations auprès des administrations flamandes ou fédérales, qui ne disposaient pas toujours de toutes les données. Selon le ministre Bourgeois, la possibilité de consulter des données fiables est indispensable pour pouvoir mener une politique communale. Il souligne d'ailleurs le fait que les communes peuvent définir leur propre conduite dans de très nombreux domaines, par exemple la gestion de leurs recettes fiscales. "Pour les communes, c'est également un outil de comparaison, qui leur permet par exemple de voir de combien de personnel une autre commune flamande similaire a besoin", explique le ministre. Le gros des chiffres décrivent la situation en septembre 2010, mais les données sont ajustées en permanence, et une mise à jour majeure trimestrielle est prévue sur le site lokalestatistieken.be.

Dès l'an prochain, la taxe de mise en circulation (TMC) ne sera plus perçue par le fédéral. Ce seront les pouvoirs publics flamands qui prendront le relais, et ils réformeront la taxe le plus rapidement possible pour encourager le passage à des véhicules écologiques. Aujourd'hui, la TMC est définie sur la base de la puissance fiscale d'une automobile, sans tenir compte du type de moteur. Le ministre flamand du Budget Philippe Muyters (N-VA) propose de calculer la taxe en fonction des émissions de CO2 et de la norme Euro du moteur, deux données internationalement homologuées qui permettent de comparer les différentes marques. Elles figurent en outre dans la banque de données du Service d'immatriculation des Véhicules, qui est le fournisseur de base pour le calcul de la TMC. Le résultat sera un bonus ou un malus sur la TMC actuelle, en fonction du score qu'obtiendra le véhicule.

 Muyters veut aussi profiter de l'occasion pour introduire une distinction entre les véhicules à essence et diesel. Aujourd'hui, plus de trois quarts des nouvelles voitures individuelles fonctionnent au diesel, bien que ses émissions soient beaucoup plus polluantes. Pour inverser cette tendance, les véhicules diesel seront bientôt frappés d'un tarif fiscal moins avantageux. Le cabinet Muyters signale que les voitures diesel ont du retard sur les normes européennes. Les émissions d'un moteur diesel Euro 5 équivalent plus ou moins à celles d'un moteur à essence Euro 2 ou Euro 3. La norme Euro 5 est le standard qui est entré en vigueur en 2009, alors que l'Euro 3 date de 1999. Prendre comme critère l'impact environnemental d'un moteur est donc justifié pour surtaxer les diesels.

 Les tarifs exacts ne sont pas encore connus, mais il est clair que la réforme de la TMC ne pourra se traduire par une baisse de revenus pour le budget flamand. Chaque bonus pour un véhicule plus vert devra donc être compensé par un malus pour ceux qui polluent plus. Toutefois, le gouvernement flamand se veut modéré dans l'application des normes environnementales pour la TMC sur les voitures d'occasion, qui sont souvent acquises par des conducteurs moins fortunés. De même, les véhicules mus par des carburants alternatifs comme l'électricité ou le lpg bénéficieront d'un traitement de faveur.

Flemish author David Van Reybrouck has won the AKO Literature Prize with his monumental work, ‘Congo. Een Geschiedenis’ (Congo, a History), published by the Dutch publisher De Bezige Bij.  Prior to winning the 50,000 Euro prize, Van Reybrouck has also been awarded the Libris History Prize, worth 20,000 Euros, and the 5,000 Euro J. Greshoff Prize, for his book this year. This marks the second time in a row that the prestigious AKO Literature Prize has been won by a Fleming, with Erwin Mortier receiving the award last year. ‘Congo. Een Geschiedenis’, which constitutes an extremely readable synthesis of the history of the Congo, has also become a bestseller thanks to the 50,000 copies sold. Van Reybrouck combined eyewitness reports with exhaustive archival research in the book. It is also notable that a non-fiction book won the prize this year, only the third time ever in the existence of the AKO Literature Prize.

 

The winner was announced by the Dutch head of the Jury and Groen Links politician Femke Halsema in the Teylers Museum in Haarlem. She praised the book as “a well-composed story on slavery and colonialism, resilience and survival. A rousing work of history by a historian and novelist".

 

Van Reybrouck’s acceptance speech betrayed much praise for fellow Fleming Tom Lanoye, whose novel ‘Sprakeloos’ (Speechless) lost out both on the AKO prize and the two other major literary prizes, De Gouden Uil (The golden owl) and Libris, for which it was nominated. Lanoye did have a hunch about it, saying “I am used to being tipped to win,” before the winner was announced.

 

The other Flemish nominee, Koen Peeters for his small and ‘contrary’ Campine family novel ‘De Bloemen’ (The Flowers) seemed to be less worried about his chance of winning. The three Dutch nominees were the Flanders-based Oscar van den Boogaard, Willem Jan Otten and Kees van Beijnum. In a hastily composed press release, Van Reybrouck was also praised by Minister for Culture Joke Schauvliege (CD&V). "It demonstrates Van Reybrouck’s extraordinary talent for combining academic analysis with a compelling narrative style,” the minister said.

The Flemish minister-president, Kris Peeters (CD&V), and minister for Domestic Administration, Geert Bourgeois (N-VA), presented the new edition of the ‘municipal profiles’ – reports in which all the relevant figures are collected for each Flemish municipality.  A lot of recent data have been collected from all 308 municipalities in Flanders, from records about the number of thefts to the increased surface used for building. Research institutes, students and other interested parties can make use of the information. Peeters described the information as a “current snapshot” of Flanders and as “building blocks for local policy”. It will allow municipalities to map out their policy on the basis of the figures collected. Before the release of the profiles they frequently had to request information from the Flemish or federal administration, where the information was not always available. Reliable data are, according to the minister for Domestic Administration Geert Bourgeois, essential to carry out a municipal policy. He pointed out that municipalities are able to pursue their own line in many policy areas, such as guaranteeing their income by imposing taxes. “It also serves as an aid to municipalities as it enables them to compare themselves to other municipalities,” he said. “One could, for example, see the staff complement a comparable municipality in Flanders requires.” The majority of the figures pertain to the situation in September 2010, but the data are continuously updated and a comprehensively updated version will be placed on the website lokalestatistieken.be every three months.

As of next year vehicle registration tax (BIV) will no longer be collected by the federal government, as the Flemish authorities is set to collect the tax. Flanders wants to reform it as soon as possible in order to encourage the move to environmentally friendly vehicles. At present the BIV is determined on the basis of the fiscal HP of a car, irrespective of what type of engine it has. But Flemish minister of Finance, Philippe Muyters (N-VA), has proposed that the tax be calculated on the basis of CO2 emissions and on the engine’s Euro standard, two internationally approved reference data that enable comparisons to be made between different makes of cars. These factors are also recorded in the Vehicle Registration Service, which is the base supplier of data when it comes to calculating the BIV. The result could be that one’s current BIV is upped or decreased, depending on the environmental score of a vehicle. Muyters also hopes to take the opportunity to introduce a distinction between petrol and diesel vehicles. Currently over three-quarters of new private cars are diesel-powered, even though their emissions are much more polluting. In order to reverse this trend, diesel engines will soon be taxed more. Muyters’ office pointed out that diesel-powered cars were behind in respect of European standards. The emissions from a Euro 5 diesel engine is approximately the same as those of a Euro 2 or Euro 3 petrol-driven engine. The Euro 5 standard is an emissions standard that came into force in 2009, while the Euro 3 standard was introduced over a decade ago in 1999. Using the environmental effects of an engine as a criterion, it consequently becomes justified to put diesel vehicles in a higher bracket.

 

The exact rates are still unknown, but it is clear that the revamping of the BIV cannot be allowed to result in less income for the Flemish budget. This means that every bonus granted for an environmentally-friendly car will have to be offset by a penalty for less environmentally-friendly cars. The Flemish authorities do intend to be less stringent in their application of the environmental standards for the BIV when it comes to used cars, given that these are frequently bought by people less financially well-off. Vehicles powered by alternative fuels such as electricity or LPG will also receive preferential treatment.

4/11/10 - Energy Minister Paul Magnette has announced that the caretaker government is sticking to its guns and the electricity generators Electrabel and SPE Luminus will have to pay a nuclear tax this year after all.

Meteorologists at the Royal Met Office in Ukkel (Brussels) have recorded the hottest November night in 42 years.

Royal Mediator, Flemish socialist supremo Johan Vande Lanotte, is continuing his efforts to force a breakthrough in the government formation talks.

A new survey is warning that European plans to use more and more bio fuels will lead to an enormous rise in CO2 emissions. The research was commissioned by the European umbrella of environment and development organisations.

A man has been found dead at his home in a council house in the Antwerp district of Kiel. He is believed to have died two years ago.

Dolphin shows at the Boudewijn Seapark in Bruges (West Flanders) have been suspended for the time being as one of the stars of the show, Yotta, is not convalescing well after a still birth.

4/11/10 - The death has been announced of the former Interior Minister Antoine Duquesne. Mr Duquesne also served as Francophone Education Minister and twice led the Francophone liberals.

Belgium has experienced the biggest reduction in traffic deaths in built up areas across the European Union. Between 2001 and 2008 a 9.2% decrease was recorded.

In an interview with VRT television's current affairs programme Terzake, the American Ambassador to Belgium Howard Gutman says that the economy played a deciding role in Tuesday's midterm elections. (VRT Terzake - 03/11/12)

In an attempt to break the deadlock and to put an end to the strike started by the employees of Brink's, Employment Minister Joëlle Milquet has invited the management to her office on Monday.

Flemish Minister of Mobility Hilde Crevits (CD&V) expects wide acclaim for her new trajectory control measures which she hopes to introduce on a large scale after 2011, eventually replacing all speeding cameras which are currently used on freeways. The trajectory control system measures the average speed between two points. A trial project has been in use for a period of time on the E17 north of Ghent, at Gentbrugge, measuring the average speed of all vehicles over a distance of 1.9 kilometers. If drivers exceed the speed limit of 120 kilometers per hour even for one minute, they will arrive sooner at the second camera, indicating that they have driven too fast. So far the experiment has shown that an average of 3,900 drivers exceed the limit at Gentbrugge each day. This number is much higher than the one recorded by the normal speed control cameras. Unfortunately none of these traffic offenders can be fined as yet, as federal minister for the Economy, Vincent van Quickenborne (Open VLD), must first approve the measuring devices. This could take up to eight weeks. Crevits hopes to start issuing fines in Gentbrugge by the end of the year. In the Netherlands trajectory control is becoming increasingly popular. Experts maintain this measure is much safer than the normal speeding cameras, especially on freeways. When drivers notice the camera, they immediately slam on the brakes, only to resume their speed once they’ve passed it. The trajectory control will eliminate this behaviour, ensuring not only increased road safety but also a more seamless traffic flow. The Gentbrugge trial project is currently being tested intensively, with all technical data studied thoroughly. So far it seems as if it provides a hundred percent viable alternative to speeding cameras, but it remains to be established what the impact of the control on speed will be.

 Crevits expects to receive these results by the end of 2011. Until then no additional speeding cameras will installed on Flemish freeways, but only on regional roads. It’s quite possible that this system will be introduced throughout Flanders after 2011. According to Crevits’ cabinet, the price should not be an option.

Jo Nelissen, manager of the cooling company ABN from the town of Bilzen (Limburg), has been nominated Young Creative Entrepreneur of 2010 in Osaka, Japan after competing with entrants from Australia and Malaysia at the world final on Saturday. The three young business leaders made it to the final round after beating 109 young candidates who were all designated by divisions of the Junior Chamber Internationl (JCI). Each year, JCI collaborates with Flanders District of Creativity to seek “creative, innovative and excellent entrepreneurs under the age of 40” in Flanders. Nelissen has previously been nominated young entrepreneur in both Flanders and Limburg. This international award is the cherry on top for the young business boffin.

His business, ABN, supplies integral cooling, heating and clean room solutions for shops, offices and industrial buildings. The company, which places a premium on products that are sustainable, energy-efficient and environmentally friendly, has grown to one of the key players in the Benelux in the field of climatisation. With three outfits in Flanders and one in the Netherlands, it employs a staff of 70 and enjoys a turnover of 15 million euros. Next year will see a new business in the German city of Bochum, with possible expansion to France and the US in the pipeline in 2012. Nelissen is keen to show other young entrepreneurs that one does not need rich parents or start-up capital to be successful. He established his own company 1996 with his wife and business partner Rosaline Wijnen with only 2,000 euros.