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April / May 2018

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Local tradition speaks of how the Belgian revolution was sparked by an opera performance at the National Theatre on Place de la Monnaie in Brussels.

the student revolts in 1968. Derek Blyth lists his favourite hidden secrets in Brussels, and Martin Banks goes undercover to investigate how easy or difficult it is to get hold of a gun in Belgium.

On the evening of 25 August 1830, “The Mute Girl of Portici” was performed. This patriotic opera recounts the story of how the inhabitants of Naples freed themselves from Spanish rule in 1647 out of “holy love for the fatherland”.

We hope that you will enjoy these and the many other stories in this issue. The Editorial Team The Brussels Times Magazine

By the final act, the enthusiastic audience could no longer be restrained and poured out onto the streets of Brussels, joining other demonstrators and protestors, effectively starting the Belgian revolution against the rule of the Dutch King William I. The creation of Belgium occurred during a time when nationalist movements spread across Europe during the 19th century. Until then, local residents would mostly identify and be loyal to the town or province that they lived in. How would such a nation fare, uniting the Dutch speaking Flemish in the north and the French speaking Walloons in the south? Fast-forward to today and the country’s political structure is, unsurprisingly, largely composed of local direct governance. Three regional parliaments represent Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels, and one federal parliament oversees the whole state, all glued together by a monarchy. While complex, the story of the Belgian nation is still very much a work in progress. In this issue, historian Tom Vanderstappen explores the historical background to the formation of Belgium and looks at how Belgian identity existed and changed throughout time before it gained independence. Investigative journalist Hughes Belin analyses the quality of Belgian tap water following negative reports by the European Commission. Philosopher Philippe Van Parijs brings us back to the large-scale demonstrations that took place during On the Cover Illustration by Lectrr Publisher The Brussels Times Rond Point Schuman - 2 - Schumanplein 1040 Brussels +32 (0)2 403 36 93 info@brusselstimes.com ISSN Number: 0772-1633 Founding Editors Jonadav Apelblat (j.apelblat@brusselstimes.com) Omry Apelblat (o.apelblat@brusselstimes.com) Art Director and Art Editor Denis Maksimov

Graphic and Art Designer Marija Hajster

News Editor Martin Banks

Account Manager David Young

Contributing Editors Derek Blyth, Philippe Van Parijs, Alicja Gescinska, Hughes Belin, Philippe Legrain, Alexandre D’hoore, Tom Vanderstappen Liz Newmark, Jelter Meers and Boré Kedober Advertising Please contact us on info@brusselstimes.com or +32 (0)2 403 36 93 for information about advertising opportunities.

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GLOCAL AFFAIRS The urgent need for a “European Spring”

The Rise of Belgian Entrepreneurship

Belgium: Tax Haven and Hell

Gun Control in Belgium: How easy is it to get hold of a gun in Brussels? Misconceptions, Lies and Red Tape: Is water safe to drink in Belgium?

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POLIAESTHETICA Reviews: Art shows in Brussels and beyond

Urban development and secluded universes: Interview with Belgian Photographer Nick Hannes

PHILOSOPHY, CULTURE AND HISTORY Three questions to Philosopher Philippe Van Parijs about 82 Belgium in 1968 Death and the Miser: Is there a Euthanasia debate in 86 Belgium? Belgium: How protests and rebellion created a nation in 1830

Another ’68: Where do we stand 50 years on?

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How Belgium’s declining art & culture sector is reinventing itself

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LIFESTYLE The Belgian Gourmet Corner

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Brussels Forgotten Museums: The Sewer Museum

125

Discovering the architecture of Brussels: Molenbeek-Saint-Jean

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Derek Blyth’s Hidden Secrets of Brussels

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GLOCAL AFFAIRS 06-49 p

A dairy farmer protesting outside the European Parliament in Brussels. Having recently celebrated the 60th anniversary of the European Economic Community, the current political climate in Europe is characterized by disenchantment and division. The last European elections saw one of the lowest voter turnouts in history at 43%, compared to 62% at the first elections in 1979. With the next European Parliament elections less than a year away, the challenge for Brussels remains to reinvigorate an interest in how it is governed and create a more transparent, accountable and representative European Parliament.

Image Credit: Bram Penninckx

Philippe Legrain is a political economist and writer. From 2011 to 2014, he was the economic adviser to European Commission President José Manuel Barroso.

DEMOCRACY IN EUROPE THE URGENT NEED FOR A “EUROPEAN SPRING”

ith only a year to go until the European Parliament elections in May 2019, senior EU officials in Brussels are already manoeuvring to obtain their next position in the upcoming political cycle. Martyn Selmayr, until recently European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker’s imim perious head of cabinet, has already bagged the top job at the Berlaymont. He emerged as the Commission’s new Secretary General through a cloak-and-dagger process in which he was the only (undeclared) candidate.

“The EU is not undemocratic, as some critics claim. But nor is it democratic enough. That urgently needs to change.” This lack of openness and transparency in EU institutions is symptomatic of a much bigger and broader problem. The EU is not undemocratic, as some critics claim. But nor is it democratic enough. That urgently needs to change. We are living in an era of immense political disenchantment. Establishment politicians, political institutions, liberal democracy itself – all are under attack. The political class, technocratic policymakers and the so-called liberal elites are widely seen as incompetent, self-serving, unaccountable and corrupt. Populist demagogues who claim to speak for “the people” are quick to take advantage and whip up fear and anger. In the Italian elections in March, various populist parties won 54% of the vote, and pluto-populist Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia a further 14%.

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So great is the political rage that even long-established countries threaten to split, whether it is Scots seeking independence from London or Catalans from Madrid. So it isn’t surprising that a relatively recent and fragile international entity like the EU – a largely elite project that feels remote and often incomincom prehensible to many Europeans, and whose raison d’être is to overcome the xenophobic nationalism that is now resurgent across Europe – is being tested to destruction right now. While Britain may be alone in leaving, the increasingly autocratic Hungarian and Polish governments trample on EU norms of liberal democracy and the rule of law with impunity. Populists are on the march. And while trust in the EU has rebounded since the crisis in the eurozone and over refugees, and more so since the Brexit vote and the election of President Trump, it remains below pre-crisis levlev els, and is often grudging. Only 44% of Europeans think their voice counts in the EU.

Problems and solutions in the EU The problem is threefold. Many Europeans take for granted the EU’s benefits. Angry and fearful people blame it for everything that they think is wrong with their lives and in society as a whole. And on top of that, the EU has very real flaws, not least a lack of democracy. So here are three useful suggestions to help remedy the situation. The first priority is to bring the benefits of the EU to life for people. For all the discontent about imim migration there may be, Europeans say that what they value most about the EU is the freedom to move freely across the Union to live, study, work, retire, go on holiday, be with the one they love, experience a new country or for whatever reason. The only other region where that amazing freedom exists is between Australia and New Zealand.

“Many Europeans take for granted the EU’s benefits. Angry and fearful people blame it for everything that they think is wrong with their lives and in society as a whole. And on top of that, the EU has very real flaws, not least a lack of democracy.”

Beneficiaries of the Erasmus exchange programme for university students are particularly grateful. But not everyone goes to university, and those who don’t are less likely to feel European. So why not create exchange programmes for all secondary-school pupils too? If every teenager spent, say, two three-month periods in different EU member states, the connections they would make as Europeans would be hugely valuable. The experience would bring home the benefits of the EU and foster a greater sense of European identity. A second priority is for the EU to be seen to have a positive impact on the insecurities underlying many Europeans’ discontent. That requires bold leaders who don’t run scared from anti-EU sentiment and try to appease it, but rather take the bull by the horns.

THE BRUSSELS TIMES MAGAZINE

While trust in the EU has rebounded since the crisis in the eurozone and over refugees, and more so since the Brexit vote and the election of President Trump, it remains below pre-crisis levels, and is often grudging. Only 44% of Europeans think their voice counts in the EU. Fortunately, Europe now has one such leader: Emmanuel Macron. In the French presidential election last year, he came out fighting against Marine Le Pen. He defended our open societies that exist within the framework of law and cooperation that the EU provides. And he turned Le Pen’s argument around, by making the case that “l’Europe qui protège” (Europe that protects), not

“What passes for European democracy these days is a pale shadow of it. Few bother to vote in the European elections. Fewer still know the names of their MEPs, let alone have contact with them. Debates in the European Parliament often feel detached from domestic ones.” 8 | THE BRUSSELS TIMES MAGAZINE

a retreat into the nation state, could best address people’s insecurities. Now those fine words need to be put into practice. Third, and most importantly, the EU needs to become more democratic. A silver lining of the eurozone crisis that has divided Europe along national lines is that it has also stimulated a stronger pan-European politics, facilitated by the internet and social media. The Greek crisis in particular has mobilised the European left. Whatever you may think of Yanis Varoufakis, the flamboyant former finance minister of Greece, or his left-wing politics, his pan-European Democracy in Europe movement (DiEM25) is a very positive development. It ought to be emulated by those of different political persuasions. Their mantra that “Europe must democratise or it will disintegrate” is absolutely right. We need to reinvigorate representative democracy, foster a genuine citizens’ democracy and make EU institutions much more open and accountable. Above all, we need to give Europeans real power to shape the EU’s future.

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The European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker speaking at the European Parliament. Surveys show that European citizens in general feel disconnected to the decisions taken in Brussels. Support is now growing for European Commission presidents to instead be appointed via direct European citizen vote.

“The EU needs to become more democratic. A silver lining of the eurozone crisis that has divided Europe along national lines is that it has also stimulated a stronger pan-European politics, facilitated by the internet and social media.” The need for a more transparent and democratic European Union While the growth of anti-EU populism is regrettable and alarming, it’s also a very understandable revolt against technocracy; against an EU that is often about rules about what you can’t do, rather than about how we can all achieve more together; against being told, wrongly, during the eurozone crisis that the only solution to a financial panic was ever greater austerity; and against the remoteness and lack of accountability of the people who make these flawed decisions.

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The crucially important Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers isn’t accountable at all. The European Central Bank, which floats above governments, is scarcely accountable for its actions; even central bankers accused of corruption, such as the governor of the Bank of Latvia, Ilmars RimRim sevics, cannot be forced to resign. And the CounCoun cil – representatives of member governments – takes legislative decisions in secret, without a public record of who said what and how they voted. All that needs to change. What passes for European democracy these days is a pale shadow of it. Few bother to vote in the European elections. Fewer still know the names of their MEPs, let alone have contact with them. Debates in the European Parliament often feel detached from domestic ones. Its big political groupings aren’t proper political parties; the European People’s Party (EPP) contains both Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and her Hungarian nemesis Viktor Orban’s Fidesz. Nor do the centre-right EPP and its centre-left equivalent, the Socialists and Democrats (S&D), compete for power in the Parliament; they share it. The Parliament’s primary motivation is seemingly to grab more powers for itself from other EU institutions, rather than to represent Europeans’ many voices.

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would then have more of a mandate for their initiatives.

A realistic vision to pursue The European elections could thus become the opportunity for big debates about what kind of EU Europeans want to live in and give citizens a direct stake in how the EU is governed. Contrary to the view that pan-European politics is not possible because there is no European “demos” (citizenry), genuine European democracy would help foster one.

“The European elections could become the opportunity for big debates about what kind of EU Europeans want to live in and give citizens a direct stake in how the EU is governed.” While there are many impressive individual MEPs, such as Sven Giegold of Germany’s Greens and Fredrik Federley of Sweden’s Centre Party, there are also lots of superannuated hacks and political placeholders. Standards of probity are often low. The worst offenders are the anti-EU populists such as Nigel Farage’s UKIP and Marine Le Pen’s Front National (now rebadged Rassemblement National), both of which have been charged with misusing EU funds. All that needs to change too. We need to build a genuine pan-European politics, with pan-European parties and movements like DiEM25. New people should be lured into politics, like the citizen MPs who make up half of En Marche’s members in the French national assembly. Party list systems should be opened up, so voters can choose individual candidates, as in Sweden. Stringent laws should be enacted to severely punish corruption and the misuse of public funds. Like in national parliaments, these parties should compete for power in the European Parliament, instead of sharing out the spoils like a cartel. The Parliament already jointly approves most EU legislation. It could also function as an electoral college that chooses the Commission president. Sooner than later, the president should be directly elected, a move that most Europeans support. The Commission president

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More broadly, we need a new generation of leaders, as we are starting to see around Europe, who are untarnished by the mistakes of the past and can start to rebuild trust in politics. We also need to nurture the many pro-European grassroots movements, like Pulse of Europe and Stand Up for Europe, and potentially provide an umbrella for them to collaborate. And we need to get informed citizens more involved in decision making. President Macron proposed democratic conventions in every member state through which citizens would make their voices heard on the future of Europe. But as Claudia Chwalisz (known for her books on democratic innovation) has pointed out, the conventions are turning out to be a sham. They involve little more than online questionnaires and a few town hall meetings that are unlikely to attract disenchanted voters, with ideas fed through to a “committee of wise Europeans” who will distil these priorities into policy proposals. It would be much better to organise genuine citizens’ assemblies in each member state and then at a European level to debate proposals to reform and reinvigorate the EU. In a nod to the democracy of ancient Athens, these would include a representative sample of voters chosen by lottery – a bit like the modern jury system. Participants would receive information from experts, deliberate on the issues and seek to come up with policy proposals that have a genuine impact. Ultimately, a European citizens’ assembly could help draft a new European constitution, together with leading experts and politicians. Politicians and technocrats who benefit from the current system will fight tooth and nail to defend their privileges. Canny ones will spy an opportunity to lead the drive for change. Ultimately, though, it shouldn’t be up to them. They all work for us, the European citizens. The stakes are huge. If we want the EU to survive and thrive, it needs to become more democratic. We need a “European Spring”.

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WHAT HELP IS AVAILABLE FOR YOUR HOME IN BRUSSELS? PART TWO

Your grants, subsidies and tax benefits in the spotlight Are you a homeowner in Brussels? Congratulations! Living in our constantly buzzing capital is a unique and seductive experience. But its cultural richness is not its only advantage. Many grants and subsidies are available to Brussels property owners. In this series, the housing experts of KBC Brussels will give you a short overview of both tax benefits and renovation allowances. In this edition we will speak about the home renovation allowance and facade enhancement allowance.

Home renovation allowance This allowance is granted by the Brussels-Capital Region to encourage renovation of your home in Brussels. It can also be granted for houses that you rent out, on condition that this is done through a social housing agency (AIS). The grant covers work linked to the building, structure and interior fittings in order to remedy issues with age, health, security, comfort or space. The amount of allowance is based on a percentage of the amount of work accepted. This varies from 30 to 70% depending on the income of the owner-occupier and the area in which the house is situated, with a maximum of â&#x201A;Ź35,000.

What type of work is covered? The grant covers work linked to the building, structure and interior fittings in order to remedy issues with age, health, security, comfort or space. You will find a list of eligible work and detailed information about the home renovation allowance on logement.brussels/primes-et-aides/primes-ala-renovation at the logement.brussels website (only in French or Dutch).

Facade enhancement allowance Would you like to freshen up the outside of your home? This allowance, granted by the BrusselsCapital Region, will help you breathe new life into the front of your house, but also to protect it against damp and graffiti and restore certain elements. The amount of the allowance depends on the area in which the house is situated and your household income, while the percentage assistance varies from 30 to 85% on a case-bycase basis. You will find detailed information about the facade enhancement allowance on logement.brussels/ primes-et-aides/primes-facades (only in French or Dutch).

Interested in owning or renovating a house in Brussels? Contact KBC Brussels Live by phone on 02 303 31 60 (Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. or on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.), by mail info@kbcbrussels.be or visit www.kbcbrussels.be/immo

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THE RISE OF BELGIAN ENTREPRENEURSHIP HOW TWO BRUSSELS STUDENTS BECAME THE MOST PROMISING YOUNG INNOVATORS IN EUROPE By Martin Banks

hen Aline Muylaert and Wietse Van Ransbeeck were studying at university in Brussels together, it was their dream to start their own business. Little did they know it at the time, but their ambition would come to fruition a great deal sooner than either could ever have anticipated. Still in their early 20s, the two friends started the aforementioned business – an online, cloud-based platform – as soon as they left college and such is the impression they’ve already made that it can now be found on the 2018 edition of the famous Forbes “30 under 30” Europe list.

“Launched in 2015, in its first year, the CitizenLab initiative was recognised as one of the most promising small businesses at the Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona.” Every year, Forbes features young, talented people across a diverse list of categories. It is a highly prestigious accolade which the financial magazine awards only to the most promising European innovators aged below 30. The reporters and editors of Forbes vetted thousands of nominations and polled expert judges to compile the list, and each person on the list has one thing in common: they are a leader in their field.

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Two new names appear in the 2018 edition in the law and policy category - Brussels-born Aline and Wietse, amazingly, just 24 years old. Along with web developer Koen Gremmelprez, they are founders of CitizenLab, a civic engagement platform on which people, according to the young executives, “co-create their city.” The platform facilitates a two-way communication between a chosen city and its citizens. People can post ideas and solutions to an existing problem, discuss them with each other and vote on the best ideas.

Reimagining the democratic process Through the application developed by Aline and Wietse, users can publish proposals and contribute to those already posted, flagging civic issues of interest and concern to them. Last year alone, CitizenLab succeeded in bringing 15,000 citizens “closer” to their elected officials in this way. Launched in 2015, in its first year, the CitizenLab initiative was recognised as one of the most promising small businesses at the Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona. The inclusion on the 2018 Forbes Top 30 list is further recognition for these two budding entrepreneurs, who are based in a “digital hub” above the central station in Brussels. Essentially, the aim of the business is about strengthening the democratic process, no bad thing at a time when the so-called “democratic deficit” has been blamed for alienating people from the EU and the subsequent rise of populist parties across Europe (most recently seen in the Italian national elections).

The two friends from Brussels were recognised by Forbes in 2018 as one of the most promising innovators in Europe under the age of 30 for their company CitizenLab.

Effective democracy is not something you might necessarily associate with Belgium, either. Think back to 2010-11 when political parties spent 541 days negotiating a coalition, beating war-torn Iraq for the record of the longest time a country has gone without a government. But, as Wietse said, this is one of the issues that CitizenLab seeks to address. Acknowledgment by Forbes is, he says, a “great honour and shows once again that a growing democratic renewal is needed within our governments.”

Entrepreneurial spirit and drive in Belgium Forbes selection is based not only on the candidates’ abilities and potential, but primarily on their entrepreneurial spirit and the probability that they will bring about a change in the political landscape. CitizenLab was founded by Aline and Wietse (now the CEO) when they were still studying, during their business engineering studies at Brussels Solvay Business School. The idea, says Aline, came from their personal experience of modern life in Belgium. “As citizens, we were feeling the need

“The platform facilitates a two-way communication between a chosen city and its citizens. People can post ideas and solutions to an existing problem, discuss them with each other and vote on the best ideas.” to have our voices heard by local officials, in an easy and transparent way”, she explains. Their first project was in Hasselt in April 2016 when the city government wanted to get citizens’ input into the renovation of the local Kapermolenpark. Since its launch, CitizenLab has become a fast growing company and is now active in more than seven countries, the most recent being Denmark and Norway. Its 65 clients range from big cities like Vancouver, The Hague and Brussels, to small Belgian municipalities like Vilvoorde, Steenokkerzeel and Knokke-Heist.

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The founders of CitizenLab grew up in Brussels and always had lots of ideas for changes in the city, but never knew how to effectively communicate with the decision-makers and local authorities.

“Effective democracy is not something you might necessarily associate with Belgium. Think back to 201011 when political parties spent 541 days negotiating a coalition, beating war-torn Iraq for the record of the longest time a country has gone without a government.” Despite very high voter turnout (89% in the most recent elections), Belgium ranks below the European average in the UN’s E-Participation Index and below the OECD average for stakeholder engagement in developing regulations, a measure of civic engagement. Belgium came 35th in the latest Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index and scored lowest in Europe (5 out of 10) for political participation.

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Success stories and international expansion But CitizenLab aims to change all that and two Belgian cities of varying sizes are good examples of how it has interacted positively with local authorities and citizens. In Lommel, a moderate sized Flemish city, the local council wanted to develop the area around the train station into a high-quality residential area. In collaboration with CitizenLab, the city of Lommel informed local people about participation initiatives via social media (Twitter and Facebook) and newsletters. The city was swamped with responses from residents through CitizenLab and organized consultations on its plans with stakeholders and the project developers. In Liège, meanwhile, CitizenLab was chosen to crowdsource its “City Plan”. More than 14% of Liège’s population of 200,000 have since browsed the CitizenLab platform, with over 1,000 ideas proposed and more than 3,000 comments submitted. Thanks in no small part to the collaboration with CitizenLab, Liège citizens responded to the chance to participate online in discussions

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Discussion on eDemocracy with one of CitizenLab’s founders Wietse Van Ransbeeck

about their city’s future in “unprecedented” numbers with 95,000 casting a vote on the City Plan.

space of time. They now have a 12-strong workforce, and it’s gaining an international reputation.

Jean-Christophe Peterkenne, strategy director for the scheme, said, “We have been pioneers in citizen participation, but this time we really wanted to accelerate and change the paradigm. CitizenLab will allow us to see broader tendencies take shape.”

He said, “It was our intention to start a business, but we couldn’t have imagined it would move so rapidly. We are now operational in lots of countries, not just Belgium. But it doesn’t matter if you are Belgian, Portuguese or Danish, citizens all over the world still face the same issues and challenges when it comes to what you might call democratic participation. This is badly lacking in many countries, including Belgium and that’s why we are trying to energise citizens to get involved.”

“It doesn’t matter if you are Belgian, Portuguese or Danish, citizens all over the world still face the same issues and challenges when it comes to what you might call democratic participation.” A concern frequently expressed by local governments is that some users could take advantage of the platform to make negative comments but the Liège platform manager only had to ask users to moderate their posts five times out of more than 1,000 ideas that were posted, that is, in less than 0.5% of cases. Looking back, Wietse admits to being surprised at how far he and Aline have come in such a short

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Wietse himself comes from an entrepreneurial background – his parents were self employed – and accepts that, unlike a lot of start-ups, the financing of theirs was relatively “smooth.” Looking to the future, he says the Forbes accolade gives CitizenLab the “all important” added credibility and will help pave the way for it to put its plans for further expansion into practice. Growing up in Brussels, he recalls, “I was keen on trying to change things in the city but could never find an adequate way of communicating with the local authorities here. We launched this business to change that.” The 2018 Forbes billionaire list has just been released (the Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos, has seized the top spot). The two Belgian entrepreneurs are not there yet but, who knows how long it will be before they are among the 50 richest people in the world!

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BELGIUM: TAX HAVEN AND HELL By Jelter Meers

elgium attracts multinationals looking for tax benefits. At the same time, Belgian money disappears to offshore tax havens. In 2016, Belgium ranked second when it comes to tax evasion in Europe. Even the Belgian state itself appeared as an investor in tax havens as disclosed in the Paradise Papers. While anti-tax avoidance measures have been implemented since then, Belgium still lags compared to the rest of Europe.

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2017 was a record year for Belgium’s Special Tax Inspectorate (STI) as they raked in 2.1 billion euro in fines and tax increases. The STI’s mission is to “fight against serious and organised tax evasion” and examine “fraud cases in connection with organised economic and financial crime.” In 2017, they opened 28 percent more cases than in 2016. On Feb. 2, 2018, an Antwerp financial judge restricted the STI from obtaining transaction

“In 2016, Belgian-based companies transferred 221 billion euro to tax havens, such as the Cayman Islands, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Bermuda and Jersey Guernsey”

“Based on the study by the European Commission, you could say that Belgium is a tax haven”, said Maaike Vanmeerhaeghe, policy officer of inequality and tax at Oxfam. “That was then, at the end of 2015, not a surprise as Belgium offered harmful tax benefits to multinationals.”

information from payment services without direct evidence of fraud. The verdict followed STI’s request for information about purchases in Belgium with foreign credit and debit cards.

“The most important tax benefits were the excess profit rulings, the notional interest deduction syssys tem, and the patent box, which is a tax benefit on income from intellectual property”, Vanmeerhaeghe said. “In 2018, this situation has changed a lot because those three benefits are either no longer allocated or have been reformed.”

By reviewing the information from payment serser vices such as Worldline, Alpha Card Merchant Services and Ingenico Financial Solutions, the STI wanted to uncover hidden assets in Luxembourg, Monaco, Switzerland and other tax havens. Besides confirming the record year figure, the STI declined to comment. “There is not a lot of enthusiasm to elaborate on STI”, said Francis Adyns, spokesperson for the Federal Public Service Finance (FBS).

The money flow In 2016, Belgian-based companies transferred 221 billion euro to tax havens, such as the Cayman Islands, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Bermuda and Jersey Guernsey, according to Federal Public Service Finance data obtained by Walloon newspaper Le Soir. Companies that have over 100,000 euro in fiscally-advantageous locations must report this to the Ministry of Finance. Only 853 companies made declarations, however, and at the time, Singapore, Hong Kong and Panama were not listlist ed as tax havens by FPS Finance. The declarations concern any kind of payment, making it hard to assess what the money really represents. Besides losing money to tax avoidance, Belgium has also been a destination for multinationals looking for better tax conditions. A 2016 Oxfam Novib report based on investigations by the European Commission ranks Belgium second in Europe when it comes to corporate tax avoidance. The Netherlands ranks first and Cyprus third.

Under the notional interest deduction system, companies subject to Belgian corporate tax could deduct interest based on shareholder net asset equity from their taxable income. Multinationals used this system by setting up financing companies in Belgium and then loaning money to subsidsubsid iaries in other countries.

The Cabinet of the Belgian Minister of Finance Johan Van Overtveldt said that in 2017, the notional interest deduction has been limited as part of an overhaul in corporate tax policy.

“A recent report based on investigations by the European Commission ranks Belgium second in Europe when it comes to corporate tax avoidance. The Netherlands ranks first and Cyprus third.” “The system was attuned to the track chosen by the European Commission itself, namely to follow the guidelines of the Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base”, the cabinet said. “Plenty of complex fiscal deductions were constricted; the few that remain are linked to real economic activity in Belgium.”

Loopholes in the tax system Van Overtveldt has been criticized by opposition party members for blocking transparency and corcor porate tax initiatives such as the financial transaction tax, the Tobin tax, of which he has been an outspoken opponent, and European tax avoidance directives. But his cabinet responds that the

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The North Galaxy Towers in Brussels, where Belgium’s Special Tax Inspectorate (STI) sits. 2017 was a record year as they raked in 2.1 billion euro in fines and tax increases, and opened 28 percent more cases than in 2016.

minister has created several initiatives to combat tax avoidance and financial fraud. “Following our minister’s proposal, the Cayman tax was fortified in the beginning of October,” they said. “Belgium is an active player in various international initiatives aimed at dealing with the complex concon structions of multinationals. Belgium was the first country to exchange rulings information with other member states, and we increased the STI budget and the number of civil servants fighting fiscal fraud.” While restrictions to prevent tax avoidance increased, other tax reforms have been beneficial for multinational corporations. “In general, you can say that the government – under international pressure – undertook steps to rere form harmful tax benefits”, Vanmeerhaeghe said. “But Belgium compensated for these reforms by lowering corporate tax and taking part in an international ‘race to the bottom’ where countries bid against each other for low corporate income tax.” When it comes to implementing EU guidelines against tax avoidance, Belgium is either slow to implement them or does so in a minimalistic, corporate-friendly way.

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“When it comes to implementing EU guidelines against tax avoidance, Belgium is either slow to implement them or does so in a minimalistic, corporatefriendly way.” “The Belgian government is still not the best stustu dent in class”, Vanmeerhaeghe said. “Belgium implemented several EU guidelines, like the anti-tax avoidance directive, in a weak way, making our country lag behind in the fight against tax avoidance.” Tax avoidance hurts people across the world by reducing government budgets for public serser vices such as education, health care and social care. “Oxfam focuses on tax avoidance because developing countries are the biggest victims”, Vanmeerhaeghe said. “They lose an estimated $100 billion per year because multinationals avoid taxes.”

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“Tax avoidance hurts people across the world by reducing government budgets for public services such as education, health care and social care. Developing countries are the biggest victims. They lose an estimated $100 billion per year because multinationals avoid taxes.”

Case study in Belgian state involvement One state-owned Belgian company, the Belgian Corporation for International Investments, known as BMI-SBI, was named in the Paradise Papers, the trove of financial documents on hideaways in offshore tax havens that was leaked last year. Reporters from Belgian publications De Tijd, Knack and Le Soir worked together with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists to uncover Belgian connections to offshore companies. BMI supports foreign investments made by Belgian companies. The Belgian state owns 63% of BMI through the National Bank and the Federal Holding and Investment Company. BMI was a shareholder of InfraAsia Development Vietnam Limited, an entity created by offshore legal service provider Appleby in the British Virgin Islands. Through its stake in InfraAsia, BMI was an investor in a harbour project in Dinh Vu, Vietnam. InfraAsia itself was a letterbox company, with no office, employees or economic activity of its own. In BMI’s annual financial statements, InfraAsia was listed as a Vietnam-based company, and there is no mention of the British Virgin Islands. According to BMI, this was a human error and unintentional. However, leaked email exchanges with Appleby suggest that InfraAsia Development was being managed from Antwerp. In an ironic twist, Hans D’Hondt, chairman of the Federal Public Service Finance, was on the council of BMI for 10 years. As the head of FPSF, D’Hondt overlooks the federal entities that investigate fraud, such as the STI. To the Belgian Press, D’Hondt said that the offshore arrangements were made before he became a director at BMI and that he was not aware of them.

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As the Belgian state would be on the receiving end of Belgian taxes, it does not gain directly from using offshore practices. By doing so, however, the state did help other, private investors avoid paying Belgian taxes. When BMI’s involvement was exposed, Minister of Finance Van Overtveldt told Flemish broadcaster VRT that he wanted to expose the facts “quickly and correctly”. When The Brussels Times asked what measures have been taken, his cabinet told us to look at the minutes of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives Commission on Finance and Budget meeting of 22 Nov. 2017. During that meeting, the Chamber of Representatives asked questions about InfraAsia, BMI’s role in the tax avoidance construction, various conflicts of interest, related cases of corruption and fraud, what measures have been taken since the revelations and why the dossier has restricted access. In general, the chamber members lamented the lack of direct action and the reluctance to share information. Left-wing politicians made pleas to create a law that will prevent this from happening again. Following the revelations, the minister asked the Federal Holding and Investment Company and BMI for an analysis. According to him, there are many means in place to prevent investments in tax havens. Following the analysis, his cabinet will confirm and fortify those means. In the meantime, they are investigating how they can expand the ways to combat this problem. On 31 December 2017 BMI left the Vietnamese harbour project, in which it had a stake in since 1999. Since the meeting in 2017, BMI’s offshore involvements have not been discussed by the parliamentary commission.

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HERTZ’S 100TH YEAR ANNIVERSARY The year 2018 will be all about the 100th year anniversary of Hertz Rent a Car. This important anniversary takes the brand back to its start in 1918, where Walter L. Jacobs started a small car rental company with only a dozen Model T Fords. Since that day, Hertz has become one of the largest vehicle rental companies, and the Hertz brand is one of the most recognized in the world. Today, Hertz operates in 150 countries with approximately 9.700 corporate locations and 36.000 employees. It takes talent, a clear vision of the road ahead, a driving passion for excellence, but most of all, great people to ensure Hertz’s position in the market. They’ve been doing this for a century and Henk van den Helder, the General Manager of Hertz Benelux, explains why this is so special.

The dynamicity of the industry “Existing a century is a very special milestone! The car rental business is constantly on the move which provides us with daily challenges. Looking back to those 100 years, you’ll see that today it’s a totally different business. Nowadays, we’re facing the competition of a lot more competitors than we did fifteen years ago. And, the threat of substitution like carsharing platforms has influenced our business. The reason we’re still on top of our game is because we believe in our strengths and we have confidence in the abilities of our employees,” Van den Helder says. “The rise of price comparison websites has changed the game a lot. Car rental has become even more focused on the lowest price than it ever was. It’s because of the Hertz strategy to trust in the daily deliverance of quality and service that we’ve been successful for so long.”

Continuous improvement Hertz’s 100th anniversary is due to the corporate drive to keep pushing ourselves to become better. The connection with the customer is of great importance. Staying in touch with all our customers enables us to measure up to all the different needs. And that’s the

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Henk van den Helder, General Manager at Hertz Benelux brilliance of Hertz; because we know our customers so well, we can be the solution for almost every mobility problem. And it doesn’t stop there! The launch of the new Hertz Connect service provides exceptional care to our loyal customers. A big worldwide issue for our long-haul travelers is the expensive cost of mobile data and phone usage. The Hertz Connect offers 30 minutes free international call per day, free Wi-Fi and a brilliant voice translator.

Minilease The Brussels Times readers know Hertz as no other. The increasing number of expats in the Brussels region and the simultaneous demand for short term car leasing resolved into the success of Hertz Minilease. Minilease characterizes itself by outstanding flexibility for all expats. With a minimum rental period of only 30 days, it is the shortest leasing product on the market. And the flexibility keeps on going. We delight our Minilease customers with the possibility to change models within their rental period. ‘At Hertz we know that a car is more than just a means of transportation. A Hertz rental is so much more satisfying when you feel that the connection

“It takes talent, a clear vision of the road ahead, a driving passion for excellence, but most of all, great people to ensure Hertz’s position in the market.”

between you and the car is right. Especially when you use that car for a longer period. Therefor we enabled the Minilease customer to change cars. Of course, free of charge,” Van den Helder says.

Loyalty Hertz believes that you must be grateful for every customer and be even more grateful for the customer who is loyal to Hertz. The Hertz Gold Plus Rewards program rewards the frequent Hertz customer with free extras. “An international team of CRM experts are currently working hard to improve the Gold Plus Rewards even more. The only person who knows what the customer really wants is the customer himself. Therefore we are listening closely to serve the customer exactly like they desire from Hertz.“

Customer needs Gratification of the customer needs is the key to success in a customer intimacy strategy. Hertz combines employees experience with a human touch. You can rent a variety of cars for example at the Hertz office at Zaventem Airport or at the Midi Railway Station. You can experience ultimate luxury in a Maserati Quattroporte, the roaring sound of a Jaguar F-Type or the feeling of acceleration with a Tesla Model S. Do you prefer something more economical? Maybe an easily to park Opel Adam or Fiat 500 is what you need! “But the human touch is what’s most important. We’re stimulating courtesy towards all our customers and that is exactly why people end up with Hertz. They know we don’t like to take shortcuts. They know you can rely on Hertz.”

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Martin Banks is a British journalist and has worked in Brussels since 2001. He covers a wide range of topics from EU affairs to cuisine and sport.

GUN CONTROL IN BELGIUM HOW EASY IS IT TO GET HOLD OF A GUN IN BRUSSELS?

he recent Florida school shooting has again, tragically, focused minds on gun crime. A total of 17 people were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. The attack on Valentine’s Day, 14 February, was the deadliest US school shooting since 2012. The current crisis of gun crime in the United States is, of course, well documented, but it is not the only country with such a problem. Every year, about 6,700 people are killed with a firearm in the European Union. According to UN data on homicides by firearms in Belgium, dating from 2004, the country has had a relatively high death rate by European standards. The rate of homicides caused by firearms is put at 0.7 per 100,000 deaths, meaning that Belgium’s rate was similar to those of Italy and Bulgaria — countries notorious for organised crime. In fact, it has been estimated that the gun homicide rate is double that of the Netherlands and three times as much as Germany (indeed, so serious was the situation at one point that Liège was once branded the “murder capital” of the EU). It is also claimed that more than 5 per cent of families in Belgium possess a firearm, one of the highest numbers in Western Europe. Still, by international standards, Belgium remains safe. The US rate is around 3 or 4 deaths caused by firearms per 100,000 deaths. In Honduras, it is an astonishing 64. Even so, the Brussels-based Flemish Peace Institute, in a report on gun policy, concluded that “countries with more firearms have more firearm deaths.” Although terrorism activity have most recently and horrifically cast the spotlight on Belgium’s

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“Every year, about 6,700 people are killed with a firearm in the European Union.” “ “gun culture”, it has been estimated by Claude Moniquet, co-founder of the European Strategic Intelligence and Security Centre, that 95 per cent of weapons on the black market are destined for criminals with no relation to terrorism. It begs the question: where are these weapons coming from and how easy (or otherwise) is it to acquire them?

Firearms seized from a gang of arms smugglers displayed at the federal police headquarters in Brussels.

In an attempt to try and find out, I went “undercover” on the streets of Brussels. My inquiries started in the area around the city’s Midi Station, which – in the past at least - has had something of a reputation for gun running. I wanted to find out how one goes about buying an illegal firearm on the black market, what type of weapons might be available and the cost. My search didn’t get off to the best of starts. A few, very discreet, inquiries at the first bar I tried came to absolutely nothing. Indeed, my questions about

acquiring a firearm were met with something of a bemused (and suspicious) response. A second night attempting the same thing yielded the same result. I tried again for a third night and, after a while, the response from a man stood near a bar in an area not far away was more promising. He told me he could get hold of “anything of my choice” and, when I asked for proof of this, he very quickly produced a mobile device displaying what appeared to be an array of firearms, including a pistol, shotgun, handgun and rifle. He even said that, should I want one, he could obtain an AK-47.

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Estimates suggest that about 5 percent of families in Belgium possess a firearm, one of the highest numbers in Western Europe.

Weapons from Western Balkans It seemed to amount to a “shopping list” of firearms and prices. The man declined to give me his name or phone number and told me he would have to take me to a “secret” destination for any transaction to take place. Curious as to where he had managed to acquire such items he’d shown me on this mobile phone, I delicately inquired about his source and supplier. He was clearly reluctant to give much away – no surprise there - but told me that, generally, the Balkan states were the biggest source of unlicensed guns in circulation.

“It has been estimated that 90 per cent of the arms circulating in Belgium probably originate from the Balkans, including Bosnia and Albania.” This had a ring of truth to it since I’d heard on good authority that the flow of illegal guns into Belgium first started in the 1990s amid the Balkan wars and the fall of the Soviet Union. It has been estimated that 90 per cent of the arms circulating in Belgium probably originate from the Balkans, including Bosnia and Albania, and Dutch police say drug gangs there increasingly use Kalashnikovs rather than handguns because of their reportedly relatively easy availability in Belgium.

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My newly-established contact, a lightly built French speaker who wore tatty jeans and leather jacket, said we’d have to move to an undisclosed “safe house” for any purchase to take place but cautioned that this would not come cheap. I was quoted €2,000 for a handgun (he said this was the preferred type of firearms for criminals because they are easy to conceal), €800 for an assault rifle and €1,500 for what was called a “military-style” weapon. He could, he said, also supply ammunition. Speaking in very badly broken English, he told me that I should be mindful that some of the weapons he apparently could obtain were deactivated weapons. These are more commonly used as mere props in theatres or antique collectors’ items. There are differing standards on what deactivation actually means and the contact informed me that, should I buy one of these, it could “very easily be reactivated.” When asked if any of the guns he could supply were licensed, he replied, “Of course not.” At no point was I asked what I wanted a weapon for or if I had a firearms licence. It was clear that these were undocumented items being offered. Until 2006, the gun control laws here were relatively liberal and even lax. Now, though, they are far more rigid and strict. In Belgium, there are several categories in which users must comply with to get a weapon. Gunsmiths, collectors, hunters and marksmen may be given specific exceptions when it comes to the purchase and use of a weapon. A rigid legal framework – tightened in 2006 after two innocent people were gunned down, now exists and ordinary citizens must meet strict criteria before they can legally own a firearm. But concerns still exist about the illicit gun market here.

B r u s s e l s L e Lo u i s e

“The gun homicide rate in Belgium is double that of the Netherlands and three times as much as Germany. Indeed, so serious was the situation at one point that Liège was once branded the “murder capital” of the EU.”

The stumbling block in the “negotiations” with my contact came regarding payment, with him insisting I pay “in full and up front” before I’d actually seen any item. It was at this point that I told him I’d give the idea some more thought and discreetly left. The experience had been, in truth, rather unnerving, not least because I was left in little doubt that the person I’d been dealing with was, in terms of his willingness and apparent ability to supply an illegal weapon, perfectly genuine. The relative ease with which I’d penetrated this shadowy, yet seemingly eager, criminal fraternity was scary. It hadn’t taken a great deal of effort on my part to get a taste, albeit relatively fleeting, of Belgium’s black market for firearms.

Belgian gun laws Traditionally, Belgium has always been a leading manufacturer of firearms and is ranked among the world’s leading firearms exporters. The biggest player in Belgian firearms manufacturing is Fabriques Nationales in Herstal. A few years ago, police in Charleroi dismantled a gun running ring in the city in which the smugglers had been faking the signature of the minister president of Wallonia on import documents. The Belgian government subsequently announced extra steps to break up smuggling gangs. This included the reactivation of the “committee for interdepartmental coordination on illegal arms transfers”.

But gun crime here (as elsewhere) persists and, while it is public shootings like the one in Florida that grab the headlines, what should not be overlooked is the fact that every year, over 4,000 suicides by firearm are registered in the EU.

A source at Belgium’s foreign affairs ministry said, “In order to fight the illicit trade, our country defends the need for marking and registering weapons in order to increase their traceability. Belgium supports initiatives aimed at supporting countries affected by the illicit arms trade through better control of arms flows, the securing of stockpiles, better border control and strengthening of administrative and regulatory competences.”

Belgium, in trying to tackle the issue, also faces the added complication of its federal structure. The Weapons Act, which regulates possession and use, is a federal matter but the control of the import and export of firearms, as well as hunting and shooting regulations are a regional competence. Such a system, it is argued, can hinder cooperation and intelligence-sharing between the country’s administrations.

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Traditionally, Belgium has always been a leading manufacturer of firearms. The biggest player in Belgian firearms manufacturing is Fabriques Nationales in Herstal (its headquarter pictured above), which is the largest exporter in Europe.

“Traditionally, Belgium has always been a leading manufacturer of firearms and is ranked among the world’s leading firearms exporters.”

It must be stressed that the spot near Gare du Midi had no known links to illegal firearms dealing. It was chosen quite randomly. But what my (strictly unscientific) experiment may have shown is that it is possible to buy such lethal items on our streets. What it also showed is that, should you be desperate enough to go down this route, such potentially deadly purchases will also come at quite a price.

So, is (as it has been dubbed in the past) Belgium a “dream destination” for criminals (and terrorists) who want to get their hands on illegal guns? Of course, the country has a black market for guns but, as gun-related crime in other EU member states has shown, this is a problem shared by many others.

In 2016, Belgian Interior Minister Jan Jambon said that while the overall crime rate had gone down (by 8.8 per cent), the illegal gun trade in the country was up by more than 50 percent. Let’s hope it doesn’t take a Florida style incident here to focus political minds on the need to eradicate the illegal flow of firearms.

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SERVCORP BELGIUM JOINS THE BIG GAME OF COWORKING In 1976 the entrepreneurial Mr. Alf Moufarrige was about to embark on a new venture. First, he required an office space, receptionist then secretarial support. Soon he realized these costs were eating into his profits and the team and space were not used 100%, so he looked to share these to reduce his overheads. In 1978 from a corner office in the MLC Centre Sydney Australia Mr. Alf Moufarrige took a piece of chalk to

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divide up the space - and Servcorp was born! The idea took hold and evolved organically and in just 12 months, a full 2 floors within the MLC Centre were occupied along with 1 location in Melbourne.

“The way people work, interact and evolve in their work environment keeps changing. Therefore, business centers need to adapt their products to the needs of companies and generations.” Growth steadily continued, pioneering the Virtual Office concept in 1980 and expansion into other countries. This new and revolutionary product allowed companies more flexibility and profitability to achieve their desired success. Decades have passed by since, but the way people work, interact and evolve in their work environment keeps changing. Therefore, business centers need to adapt their products to the needs of companies and generations. With that in mind, Servcorp has decided to join the big game of Coworking spaces. The company has lately invested millions for its new coworking spaces globally. Once again with the objective to satisfy the growing demand of flexible workspace.

Coworking on the Luxury Market Servcorp’s new coworking project started in Australia and Asia and is now entering the European Market.

In May, brand new coworking spaces will open in Brussels. As for all Servcorp workspaces, these will be in prestigious buildings and strategic locations – Bastion Tower in Leopold’s Quarter and one on Schuman Roundabout. Servcorp is known for providing affordable luxury workspaces across the globe.

‘The ultimate flexible workspace ecosystem’ Even though the workspaces are being renovated, the traditional Servcorp spirit will remain unchanged. Same design finishes and space layout across all Servcorp prestigious locations. These workspaces for grownupsmeaning a businessman will not be afraid of inviting a potential client into the premises- will also provide Servcorp’s strength: technology. Technology is a big part of the services: Servcorp offers internet services, IT assistance and call-routing technology with the most flexible agreements terms on the market. According to Marcus Moufarrige, COO of Servcorp, the company has been considering this investment during the last year, “We have been investigating co-working, modern design and technology as part of our product offering, and strongly believe we have cracked the code for the ultimate flexible workspace ecosystem – providing benefits not just for our clients, but for our team and shareholders.”

A community to work with Another aspect of Servcorp’s big renewal is an access for each client to an international community – reachable and at your fingertips. Servcorp is genuinely interested in the success of its clients and always creates products and technologies that will benefit its clients’ businesses. With the creation of a dedicated Community accessible through a platform, Servcorp offers them the opportunity to grow their activity and network by bringing all kinds of businesses together.

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photo: lies willaert

Innovation and Expertise The Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel (University Hospital Brussels) on the Brussels Health Campus in Jette stands for quality medical care. It offers both basic care, as well as innovative, high-tech healthcare solutions at the regional, national and international level at an affordable cost. The hospital’s clinical excellence, scientific commitment and human-centric tuition ensure the highest degree of competence in many fields. The more than 3.800 multilingual employees (doctors, nurses, paramedics, ICT techs, etc.) are driven by the patient’s quality of life. People are given care in a respectful way, regardless of origin, language or religion.

The training hospital of

www.uzbrussel.be Brussels Health Campus — Laarbeeklaan 101, 1090 Jette

MISCONCEPTIONS, LIES AND RED TAPE IS WATER SAFE TO DRINK IN BELGIUM? By Hughes Belin

n Belgium, a beer country, the issue of water is of national significance. Tap water is usually seen, in Western countries, as the cheapest, safest water to drink - around 800 times cheaper than bottled water! However, in early February, the European Commission’s proposal for a revision of the Drinking Water

Directive caused an outcry in the Belgian press. Its impact assessment singled out Belgium as one of the worst performers, with 850,000 people or 8% of the population “at potential health risk” from drinking tap water. “Misleading” screamed every water management authority in the country. Who’s telling the truth?

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The Eupen Dam and its local water plant in Eastern Belgium supplies the region with drinking water.

The concept of population potentially at health risk (PPHR) was “specifically developed in the context of the impact assessment study,” explains the Commission. In the absence of statistics linking water quality to health problems, this indicator was used to assess a number of people in each country, “which could potentially suffer health problems through the consumption of lower quality water.”

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Bacterial world Acteon, an Irish consultancy that helped draft the impact assessment, led the consortium which developed the PPHR indicator. The latter is based on health data collected by the Stockholm-based European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. The figures for Belgium

“In February, the European Commission’s proposal for a revision of the Drinking Water Directive caused an outcry in the Belgian press. Its impact assessment singled out Belgium as one of the worst performers, with 850,000 people or 8% of the population “at potential health risk” from drinking tap water.” ter quality figures,” the Commission explained. Hence the consultants had to estimate the likelihood that they came from drinking water. A comparison of statistics for the six diseases with the PPHR indicator showed a statistical correlation. For Belgium, the impact assessment lists 23,681 sick days attributable to the six diseases. “This is significantly more than the EU average of 14,568, thus this corresponds to a higher PPHR for Belgium,” the Commission concluded. The figures are impressive but the estimates that use them, for example of where diseases come from, are less definitive. “Sometimes, we have “shaky” estimates, whose reliability has to be seen,” warns Milo Fiasconaro, Executive Director for Aqua Publica Europea, the European Association of Public Water Operators. Some of the data behind the estimates is also poor, he adds.

Major methodological mistakes

come from the national Scientific Institute for Public Health (ISP-WIV), which forwarded them to Stockholm. The consultants used statistics of sicknesses attributed to Campylobacteriosis, Cryptosporidiosis, E.coli, Giardosis, Shigellasis and Legionella. “These very low and discrete figures could however not be linked to available drinking wa-

The PPHR modelling is not only based on the number of sick cases, but also incorporates nationally available data such as water network connection rates and bottled water consumption. For Belgium, the main parameters for water quality that were significantly different to other European countries include: a low percentage of water bodies in good quality status; high pharmaceutical products consumption; high nitrogen losses to surface and ground water; high percentage of water bodies subject to point source pollution and low achievements on environmental objectives for groundwater. This reflects the high pressures in a densely populated country with intensive industry and agriculture, the Commission explains. With these and

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Wastewater treatment plant in Liège.

“The European Commission study quotes the example of a whole pack of scouts who were once infected by water in Belgium.” other inputs, such as lists of polluting substances, the study estimated how drinking water was affected. In other countries, other parameters were crucial, for example low connection rates or weaker risk-based approaches to water management. “PPHR is based on major methodological mistakes,” says Cédric Prevedello, scientific adviser at Aquawal, the federation of public water operators of Wallonia, who questions the PPHR modelling. If it is true that Belgians consume a lot of pharmaceuticals, they are mostly found in surface waters. A recent study in Wallonia showed that “the contamination level of drinking water by pharmaceuticals is almost absent,” he says. Nitrogen is problematic for bottled-fed infants once the nitrate concentration is above 50mg/l, according to the World Health Organisation. The most-used method for reducing nitrate contamination of water is to mix water from different sources together to lower the concentration. In Wallonia,

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more than 99% of drinking water complies with the 50mg/l standard. As for water bodies subject to point source pollution, the study does not distinguish between groundwater and surface water. “Moreover, water is never distributed without treatment, usually chlorine, in order to prevent its microbiological deterioration,” Prevedello adds. This impact assessment study “shows a very high level of mistakes regarding both methodology and figures. The consortium of research centres shows evidence of very low knowledge on the functioning of the water sector in general,” he concludes.

Theoretical indicator The methodology for modelling the PPHR indicator was discussed with the water sector experts who warned against “the lack of scientific soundness” of the theoretical indicator. However, they agreed that for the purpose of the modelling, for which it was developed, it is indeed valuable. In other words, the purpose of the indicator is not to evaluate the real current situation, but to have a tool to assess and compare the impacts of different policy options. An indicator such as the PPHR does not give “real” information on health risks, an EU official explains. It just helps the Commission to quantify benefits and justify policy choices. In this case, the impact

“The impact assessment study shows a very high level of mistakes regarding both methodology and figures. The consortium of research centres shows evidence of very low knowledge on the functioning of the water sector in general.” assessment suggested that the Commission’s proposal would reduce the PPHR for Belgium down to 290,000 people or 2% of the population. But as far as the on-the-ground situation is concerned, “there is no real danger for Belgium when it comes to the quality of its drinking water,” the Commission acknowledges.

The leakage issue Nevertheless, a high rate of leakage from pipes in Belgium (50%, second after Bulgaria and twice as much as the European average) was also identified by the Commission as a health issue. In 2015, the University of Sheffield published a study which is the first to prove beyond a doubt that contaminants can enter pipes through leaks and be transported throughout the network. The pressure in main water pipes usually forces water out through leaks, preventing anything else from getting in. But when there is a significant pressure drop in a damaged section of pipe, water surrounding that pipe can be sucked in through the hole. Lead researcher Professor Joby Boxall says: “Previous studies have shown that material around water pipes contains harmful contaminants, including viruses and bacteria from faeces, so anything sucked into the network through a leak is going to include things we don’t want to be drinking.” For Prevedello, “the leakage rate has nothing to do with the quality of water.” It’s the compliance rate with the EU Drinking Water Directive which matters, and that’s well above 99% in Belgium. In Brussels, controls at the tap by water network operator Viavaqua show that water distributed in the Brussels-Capital Region is “of excellent quality,” according to the Ministry of Environment. Compliance with the EU Drinking Water Directive in 2016 was 99,59%. According to the Flemish Environment Agency, “the quality of the drinking water in

Flanders to a very great extent meets the relevant quality requirements.” In any case, the leakage rate “is not a good indicator of the quality of a network – or investments made in it,” according to Fiasconaro. “Other indicators are better. You need to look at consumption and network size to have a comparable indicator.” Even in Belgium, it’s difficult to compare Flanders, which has 90 distribution zones to supply 6 million inhabitants and Wallonia, which has 600 distribution zones to supply 3.4 million inhabitants,” notes Prevedello. The Flemish water grid is therefore much denser than the Wallonian one, because of differences in demographics and topography Flanders is much flatter than Wallonia.

Still some issues So, is all well in Belgium? Well, unusually the Commission study quotes the example of a whole pack of scouts who were once infected by water in Belgium. “This happens all the time,” Prevedello says, pointing out that private distribution, e.g. from camping sites, is still a real problem. “The issue was addressed at the last informal meeting of Member States’ experts with the Commission when they discussed the new Drinking Water Directive. Opinions are diverging,” Fiasconaro acknowledges.

“A high rate of leakage from pipes in Belgium - 50%, second after Bulgaria and twice as much as the European average - was also identified as a health issue.”

In Wallonia, the latest drinking water report dates back to 2012, when more than a third of private distribution zones (read: camping sites) were non-compliant, especially on microbiological indicators (particularly E.Coli) and chemicals, especially pesticides. The next report on Wallonia will be issued in 2019. In the meantime, “I would check data on compliance before going camping in some places,” Prevedello says, pointing to the lack of treatment, bad state of pipes, and illegal supplies straight from surface and groundwater in remote areas. Willy Verstraete, Emeritus Professor at Ghent University’s Department of Biochemical and Microbial

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Technology, assures that, overall, the microbial quality of Belgian drinking water is fine: “There was nothing shocking so far.” However, he raises the problem of pharmaceuticals, which are increasingly present in wastewater and therefore re-consumed through tap water. “You need a more advanced microbiological approach in relation to these molecules, but we still don’t know how to do it,” he warns. Verstraete advocates for more fundamental research on micropollutants because “some bacteria must be able to digest these molecules”. So far, they are untouched by micro-organisms present in water and accumulate in the environment. “This contributes to the general resistance to antibiotics,” Verstraete warns. One of the solutions may come from upgrading water treatment, but it’s expensive. “Most European wastewater treatment plants today clean water in three steps. A fourth step would allow the elimination of drugs and micropollutants, for instance by ozonisation,” explains Cedric Hananel, Director of Arctik, the consultancy in charge of communications for the EU research project Powerstep. “The problem is that this fourth step is very expensive,” he explains. European wastewater treatment plants today eat up the biggest part - a fifth - of municipalities’ electricity bills. Upgrading European wastewater treatment plants to generate energy “makes economic sense,”

“Previous studies have shown that material around water pipes contains harmful contaminants, including viruses and bacteria from human waste, so anything sucked into the network through a leak is going to include things we don’t want to be drinking.” he says: more efficient plants can reduce the cost of water quality improvements or compensate for the additional energy demand of more advanced future treatments. Moreover, energy-neutral plants produce water of the same or even better quality as conventional plants. The potential in Europe is huge: “They could be producing up to twelve power plants’ worth of efficient, renewable, flexible energy that contributes to the low-carbon, circular development of the European economy,” Hananel says. It already exists in Copenhagen and could be replicated anywhere in Europe, including Belgium.

European wastewater treatment plants today eat up the biggest part - a fifth - of municipalities’ electricity bills. Upgrading these plants to generate energy could reduce the costs of water quality improvements and compensate for the additional energy demand of more advanced future treatments.

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Two personalities from two different worlds joined together on a venture to open the first Blockchain themed CryptoBar in Europe in an attempt to unite cryptocurrency and Blockchain enthusiasts.

Dmitriy from Ukraine - CEO of European Blockchain Assist, one of the organizers of the event. Aged 58. 5 children, an acrobat in the past, PhD in Philosophy, also an architect. For a long time managed a Ukrainian bank, but switched to the cryptocurrency market in 2017. Peculiar views on the crypto, the psychology of relationships, sexuality, attitude towards authority.

Doudou Niang is originally from Senegal - “I am a citizen of the world of a Senegalese father and a Cape Verde mother and I’ve been in Belgium for more than 20 years. Today I am known under the name of Kanodou because of my experience as an artist and also in the world of catering. I worked in the most trendy bars and restaurants in Brussels and after that I opened my own establishments.”

cryptoBAR BXL - the first social event of European Blockchain Assist (EBA), one of the leaders in the adaptation of the European continent to the crypto world. Ground floor @ Chaussée de Charleroi 83, 1060 Brussels Purchase from 27.03 - 7.04 - €20, from 8.04 - 17.04 - €30, from 18 till 27.04- €40. All drinks are free until midnight. ? Becoming a speaker & questions: kirill@blockchainassist.eu, victoria@blockchainassist.eu

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IN CELEBRATION OF THE CHINA-EU TOURISM YEAR AND THE CHINESE LUNAR NEW YEAR, A SERIES OF CULTURAL EVENTS WERE HELD IN BRUSSELS IN FEBRUARY 2018.

Gala Show by Shenzhen Arts Troup On 15 February, the Chinese New Yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Eve, arts performances were staged at BOZAR, Center for Fine Arts in Brussels. Nearly 2,000 people attended the event, including Chinese Ambassador to the EU Mr. Zhang Ming, Chinese Ambassador to Belgium Mr. Qu Xing, Commissioner Tibor Navracsics for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport of the European Commission, guests from all walks of life at both EU and Belgian level. The show, featuring traditional Chinese folk music, dances, fascinating acrobatics and martial arts, brought out the beauty of traditional Chinese culture, the vigor of China and Chinese people, resonated strongly with the audience and left with them a deep impression.

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Lantern Hanging at Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert On 16 February, Chinese New Yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day, a lantern-hanging ceremony was held at the Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert. With over 400 people participating, the event was held in a festive and joyous atmosphere. Nearly 200 red lanterns brought a new look to the gallery. Belgian and Chinese artists presented lion dances, Chinese folk music, Shaolin martial arts and fast-mask-changing performances, winning cheers and applauses from the audience.

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Chinese Lantern Expo in Grand Place From 22-28 February, a grand lantern show was held in the Grand Place of Brussels and its surrounding areas. Colorful lanterns of varied shapes featuring both distinctive Chinese and Belgian elements, were characterized by patterns such as images of Peking Opera figures, Giant Pandas, Beijingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Temple of Heaven and the Atomium, a landmark building in Brussels. Thousands of locals and tourists swarmed to enjoy the bright lights in the city center. The interaction of Chinese and European Cultures was heartedly applauded. On 22 February, more than 300 guests attended the reception and inauguration ceremony to light up the lanterns, including Chinese Ambassador to the EU Mr. Zhang Ming, Chinese Ambassador to Belgium Mr. Qu Xing, Director-General Lowri Evans and Deputy Director-General Irmfried Schwimann of DG-Grow of the European Commission, Mayor Philippe Close and Alderwoman Karine Lalieux of the City of Brussels, and former Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo.

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Promotion Event for Sichuan Province On 23 February, a promotion event under the theme of “Taste Sichuan, Experience China” was held in Tangla Hotel Brussels. Ambassador Zhang Ming, head of the Chinese Mission to the EU welcomed the guests. Vice Governor Yang Xingping made a presentation on Sichuan. Live performances with distinct Sichuan features were staged. Intangible cultural heritage such as shadow puppetry, paper-cut and dough figurines were also displayed. The attendees also had an opportunity to taste Sichuan gourmet. Sichuan province, located in South-west of China, has been known as the “land of abundance” since ancient times, with beautiful mountains and rivers. It has many things to be proud of -- the UNESCO heritage sites Jiuzhaigou nature reserve and Huanglong scenic area, the cute giant pandas and the delicious Sichuan food. Sichuan and Europe also enjoy close connections and huge potential of cooperation.

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ART ON SIGHT IN KNOKKE-HEIST

Inspiration from travelling clouds and wild roaring waves, the kind of emotions canvasses crave. In Knokke-Heist, art in all its expressions is born, admired and felt, making every delicate soul melt. This is the place for ideas to thrive. Art loves life, life loves art, and creativity will always be Young at Heart. YOUNG AT HEART artlover myKH

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Denis Maksimov is a critic, curator, consultant and educator of art and politics.

POLIAESTHETICA CONTEMPORARY ART, POLITICS & CULTURE MELANCHOLIA AT VILLA EMPAIN // from March 15 until August 19 open Tuesday to Sunday, 11 am - 6 pm @ Avenue Franklin Roosevelt 67, 1000 Brussels €10 admission; €8 concessions Prior to commencement of the busiest month for the Brussels art world, the Boghossian Foundation opens an exhibition-reflection on one of the most pertinent, creeping and invisible to naked eye issues of contemporaneity: dehumanisation of relationships with ourselves and the planet we inhabit. Amidst the disastrous climate crisis, complete commercialisation of everything (including arts) and empty celebrity cults, curator Louma Salamé turns to melancholy. Through a dialogue between the works of modern and contemporary artists, who inspire or are inspired by the ephemeral feeling of an elsewhere or a before, and by representations of loneliness, ruins and passing of time, the exhibition invites the public to explore the feeling of melancholy and its manifestations. The exhibition presents works by major artists from different parts of the world and installations specially designed for the occasion, such as Pascal Convert’s library or Animitas, and Christian Boltanski’s installation in the Villa’s garden. Other examples include sculptures and installations by Claudio Parmiggiani and the fresco by Abdelkader Benchamma. A link is woven through the works of 38 artists and a dialogue is created between the paintings of Rémy Zaugg, the self-portraits of Giuseppe Penone and Joseph Beuys, the sculpted work of El Anatsui, the installation of Barbara Bloom and the sound work of On Kawara. The exhibition also features many Belgian artists such as Léon Spilliaert, Constant Permeke, Paul Delvaux, Jef Geys, Geert Goiris and the collective KRJST Studio.

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50TH EDITION OF ART BRUSSELS // April 19 to 22 open Thursday, 5 pm to 10 pm (vernissage), Friday-Sunday, 11 am - 7 pm, @ Tour & Taxis, Avenue du Port 86, 1000 Brussels €50 vernissage; €20 admission; €8 concessions Despite turning a noble 50 this year, Art Brussels continues to focus on retaining an appeal as the place to discover new artists. This year, 145 galleries will be present in various sections: “Discovery” will be showing recent works of the lesser-known artists, produced between 2015-2018, “Prime” will present works of modern and contemporary established artists and “Rediscovery” is dedicated to art from 1917 to 1987, presenting living or deceased artists who are under-recognised, underestimated or forgotten. There will also be the traditional “Solo” section, where the presentation will be focused on the practice of the specific artist. The artistic project of 2018 edition of the fair, titled “Mystic Properties”, is curated by recently appointed new director of HISK (High Institute for Fine Arts) in Ghent, Elena Sorokina, who says: “This exhibition is conceived as a conversation between several generations of artists who have been residents at HISK, an institute founded as a free, non-hierarchical, open and experimental space of artistic exchange, based on conversation as a learning and teaching method.” “Sculpture Project” will feature nine largescale sculptures in the outdoor area of the fair. Art Brussels will also feature a programme of talks and conversations, covering the issues of curating, collecting and presenting contemporary art. As the whole city is structuring its cultural offerings in conjunction with the fair, there is also rich “OFF Programme” that is updated daily during the fair, where the city’s museums, cultural centres, galleries and other institutions will be presenting rich and diverse line up of events. Stay tuned and make sure to cross-check the selection several days before the fair starts.

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BRUSSELS GALLERY NIGHT // April 18 6 pm - 9 pm @ all around the city free admission

Pendleton, Raymond Pettibon and Robert Rauschenberg, among others. Harlan Levey Projects will give a floor to a solo presentation of Ella Littwitz. And gallery Levy.Delval will showcase Martin Kohout’s and Viktor Timofeev’s works. More than 20 galleries and not-forprofit spaces will be competing for the attention of the art crowd in the evening.

Pub crawls are passé: art crawling is the now the thing. The night before the opening of Art Brussels anniversary edition, numerous galleries all across the city will offer you great art, celebratory drinks and jolly crowds of enlightening people hungry for the sparks of vital visual culture. Xavier Hufkens will present acclaimed conceptual artist Sherrie Levine. Super Dakota will feature a group exhibition including works by Alex Clarke, Douglas Gordon, Wade Guyton, Adam

There are at least two equally legit strategies of spending that night in a smart way. Firstly, you could look up the programme some days in advance and build up a route. Secondly, as Brussels is quite a walkable city with galleries mostly clustered around specific areas, you could just start off your trip around 6 pm from the end of the Avenue Louise/La Cambre and head towards the centre by 9 pm. The most important thing is not to miss this night if you are in Brussels!

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POPPOSITIONS OFF FAIR 2018 // April 19 to 22 11 am - 7 pm @ Place du Nouveau Marché aux Grains 22-23, 1000 Brussels €5 admission Representing an even younger perspective on the contemporary art world, the 7th edition of Poppositions Off Fair will present emerging talent in a site-specific context, this year occupying the former Atelier Coppens, which is located in the heart of the Dansaert district. The building was conceived for entrepreneur Gérard Koninckx, a fruit and vegetable trader who employed the site as a banana warehouse. From 1990 until 2012, the building was occupied by the accessory designer Christophe Coppens, famous for his extravagant surrealist hats and brooches. The memory of the design by architect E. De Boelpaepe in the 1932 building sets the stage for the curated event,

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which blends the formats of group exhibition and art fair. Curated by Niekolaas Johannes Lekkerkerk for the second time under the framework titled “In Watermelon Sugar”, the event collects young galleries, not-for-profit spaces and collectives “that engage in world-making projects.” The fair jury selected projects that address the matters of care, shared concern and feeling of urgency in the context of the increased instability of environments and ecologies due to the negative impact of fossil fuelled economies. As the curatorial framework highlights, “Ultimately we would like Poppostions to become an assembling ground, one that links the living and the inert while being both, that serves as a basis to explicate the social and the material, beyond the realm of the formal, one that leads us back to being animals….”. In total, 29 participants will join the curated visual dialogue, featuring entries from Belgium, France, Switzerland, Spain, UK, Russia, Canada and Israel, among others.

JAN FABRE THE APPEARANCE(S) AND DISAPPEARANCE(S) OF BACCHUS, ANTWERP, CHRIST AT TEMPLON // from April 18 until May 28 open Tuesday to Saturday, 11 am - 6 pm @ Rue Veydt 13A, 1060 Brussels free entrance Jan Fabre’s exhibition in the imperial setting of The State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg in 2016 created a public outburst in Russia. Skulls covered with sacred scarabs, stuffed animals and ironically critical drawings in the neighbourhood of the one of the richest collections of Classical and Renaissance art in the world didn’t go down well with the conservative public of the Russian “cultural capital”. Almost two years after the event, Templon is bringing to Brussels some of the works that were exhibited in the Hermitage. “Knight of Despair/Warrior of Beauty”, as the exhibition in St Petersburg was titled, was one of the most extensive and radical projects of contemporary art “invading” the sacred cultural space of the Russian museum, to date. How does the specific context of showing the works in the space where they are considered alien and inappropriate change their character when they are coming back to their “native”, to some extent, soil? “The appearance(s) and disappearance(s)” is an interesting opportunity for visitors to investigate the realness of the power of the object independently from the context of its presentation.

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FERNAND LÉGER BEAUTY IS EVERYWHERE AT BOZAR // until June 3 open Tuesday to Sunday, 10 am - 6 pm, Thursdays until 9 pm @ Rue Ravenstein 23, 1000 Brussels €16 admission; €14 concessions Fernand Léger is one of the most prolific artists of the 20th century. His depictions of the rapidly changing industrial environment, crises and embedded social transformation influenced several generations of artists and designers, as well as his contemporaries. His paintings were breaking conventions and captured the dynamism of accelerating pace of life, instalment of new norms and meanings in social, political and cultural life. Before becoming a painter, Léger was an architect’s apprentice, and his special connection with

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architecture would stay with him. He shared the avant-garde poets’ fascination with new forms of visual communication, like advertising and typography. He was inspired by Charlie Chaplin and cinema, and throughout his career, Léger worked with directors, choreographers and composers, designing scenery and costumes. The review of his contribution to the visual culture of the century at BOZAR aims to present “every facet” of Léger’s practice. It is up to you to judge whether the aim was achieved: as the task is definitely not an easy one, considering the richness and multiplicity of the artist’s practice.

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VOICI DES FLEURS AT LA LOGE // from April 17 until June 30 open Thursday to Saturday, 12 pm - 6 pm @ rue de l’Ermitage 86, 1050 Ixelles free entrance Voici des Fleurs looks at art and life as a set of relations, exploring the production dynamics at play in contemporary practices, the principle of “gesa-

mtkunst” or “total art” as opposed to artistic purity and medium specificity. How does one live a life as art? Marcel Duchamp, arguably the most important disruptor of rules and opener of the creative Pandora box that led the phenomenon of ephemeral, conceptual and medium-free art once stated: “I like living, breathing, better than working, my art is that of living. Each second, each breath is a work which is inscribed nowhere, which is neither visual nor cerebral. It’s a sort of constant euphoria.” The exhibition is constructed around the networks of relationships that produce and are produced by “an oeuvre” - the total entirety of objects, relations, materials and the context around them. Voici des Fleurs is an exhibition that is “contaminated” with the artistic legacy of Akarova (19041999), a celebrated Bruxelloise of the interwar years who devoted her life entirely to music, dance, choreography, painting and sculpture. La Loge invited contemporary artists to exhibit along Akarova’s work and to relate to her ideas and production dynamics. Through a diverse constellation of interdisciplinary bodies of work comprising film, voice, painting and performance, the exhibition considers ideas of self-affirmation, feminism, autonomy, and artistic integrity, at times having recourse to the historical avant-garde, traditional crafts and the synthesis of the arts.

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URBAN DEVELOPMENT AND SECLUDED UNIVERSES Interview with Belgian Photographer

NICK HANNES By Boré Kedober

ick Hannes is a photographer based in Ranst, Belgium. Born in Antwerp in 1974, he graduated from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent in 1997. After eight years working on assignments as a photojournalist, he decided to fully concentrate on self-initiated documentary projects. His work has a strong political and social component, and often deals with the problematic relationship that we have with our environment. His style is characterized by the use of irony, ambiguity and visual metaphors. Hannes’ new series ‘Garden of Delight’ deals with the entertainment industry in Dubai, and was awarded the Magnum Photography Award in 2017 and the Zeiss Photography Award in 2018. It will be published in a book in 2018. The Brussels Times sat down with Hannes to learn more about his photo documentary style, philosophy and projects.

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The theme park Global Village consists of replicas of landmark buildings and shopping pavilions representing 75 countries. The buildings are changed every season to ensure repeat visitors get a different experience each time they travel here.

“I think sometimes you can predict a certain situation, foreseeing something and then you need to be ready to shoot at that moment.” In 2017 you won the Magnum Photography Award for the Dubai series, followed by the Zeiss Photography Award in 2018. What inspired you to work on this project and what did you hope to achieve with it? I’m fascinated about how cities are developed and the dynamics behind urbanisation. Those topics were also featuring in my previous project “Mediterranean: The Continuity of Man”. When I travelled around the Mediterranean coastline, I saw a lot of gated tourist resorts and closedoff neighbourhoods. To me they almost resemble

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fortified cities. Inside it feels very safe and relaxed, and everything is under control, nobody needs to be afraid. It’s like an island or a bubble. Dubai is full of those examples – little islands or secluded universes – I like to call them capsules. It can be a shopping mall, a theme park or even a nightclub at a hotel. In other words, places where people go to have fun. The bottom-line I’m getting at is that the urbanisation in Dubai is not organic but market driven and completely revolves around money. In fact, I recently changed the title of the project; it will be called “Garden of delight”, a reference to the aspect of entertainment in Dubai.

Emirati boys playing a game of pool at Hub Zero, a gaming and entertainment complex in Dubai.

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Do you feel that people in Dubai question the lifestyle of its society and the political decisions. Is there any internal debate? No, there is no public debate at all in Dubai. Nobody questions it. Whatever happens in Dubai is the will of the Sheikh, the ruler, and he is very popular because he distributes the country’s wealth. However, only 10% of the population are in fact Emiratis. The rest are expats. These 10% receive a lot of material possessions and privileges so they are happy and that’s why there is no criticism.

Portrait of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, ruler of Dubai, at the Dubai Royal Equestrian Club.

I think the Dubaians are satisfied with their lives. They are proud of the stability and often point to the turmoil in the surrounding countries in the region. The foreign workers who would have more reason to be critical, do not protest, simply for the fact that they’d be expelled. They are like modern slaves.

“In the press, the most important is to get the story, while my stories are more about the background behind the headlines.” A private driver is pushing a shopping cart with a toy Ferrari at the car park of Oasis Mall in Dubai.

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A gardener is watering palm trees at a car park in Dubai.

“I use humour to capture the viewer’s attention and once they start to look closer, they see there is another level to it, maybe something more serious.”

Do you plan to hold the exhibition in Dubai? No, I don’t think I’ll show it in Dubai. For now, the complete work will be shown for the first time here in Belgium in December at De Garage in Mechelen. It’s a work made for the public in the West. However, if there is an opportunity, it could be interesting and I wouldn’t object. Having said that, many pictures of the nightlife might not be appreciated, although it is not a secret that partying and drinking goes on, especially amongst the tourists and expats. Many of your pictures are humorous at first sight while they seem to portray serious issues. Is this part of a conscious effort in your work?

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Yes, it’s on purpose. I think there is a lot of photography out there that show strong images of misery and suffering. However, I’m looking for a different way to tell my stories. So I use humour to capture the viewer’s attention and once they start to look closer, they see there is another level to it, maybe something more serious. So while my pictures are humoristic, they deal with serious issues. However, I don’t just use humour but also think a lot about composition. I try to make a well-balanced composition, which make the pictures easy and “pleasant” to look at. That’s part of the aesthetics. So I use humour and aesthetics to capture the attention, and then behind that one finds the underlying issue, for example an ongoing conflict, urban environmental issues or migration.

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;I attended the wedding party of Anna (26) and Christos Karalis (44) in Rio, Greece. Christos, who owns a petrol station, decided to have the party at his workplace, in order to save on party expenses. This is the middle class, suffering from the severe austerity measures implemented in recent yearsâ&#x20AC;?

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You started out your career as a press photographer reporting on conflicts around the world and eventually started doing your own documentary projects. How has your photography style evolved? As a press photographer, you are really supposed to be in the middle of the action and show the news and how the events are unfolding. While as a documentary photographer, I can spend more time and take some distance. Basically, I don’t have to chase the news. In the press, the most important is to get the story, while my stories are more about the background behind the headlines. There are more layers in the pictures. Previously as a press photographer I was realising someone else’s ideas. Now I’m the author of the story and this gives me much more satisfaction.

Go go dancers in a gilded cage in a nightclub in Dubai.

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Also, most of the time my images are more “quiet” and much more open to interpretation. For me that’s very important. I like to let people decide or rather force people to reflect and think for themselves. In my work, I don’t want to be moralistic or pretend that I show the truth. I do choose the objects in the images but what I show is more my concerns about the world, so it’s a personal concern for the world and how we relate to the environment. I think we are reaching critical social and ecological borderlines and are asking for trouble. The way we live is not sustainable at the moment, especially in cities such as Dubai. So in a way, my work is about raising awareness.

25 26 27

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The anti-immigrant fence in Ceuta, a Spanish enclave in Morocco. Nick Hannes: “My series on the Mediterranean region is not about refugees. It’s about us, and how we try to keep them out by all means, and protect our ’Fortress Europe’.”

What did you learn from your trips around the Mediterranean Sea in your project Mediterranean - The Continuity of Man? The idea behind the book came from me wanting to revisit the time when it was part of the Roman empire, a kind of unified region and a crossroad. Today it is full of conflicts and front lines and a very explosive region, especially when I carried out the project between 2010 and 2014. The Arab Spring and the migration crisis over the sea were breaking out. The title of that project “The continuity of man” is a bit ironic when you look at the realities on the Mediterranean shores. You cannot see that the continuity of man is in progress or going in the right direction. That was the impression that I was left with from the project. You once said that you aim to go “hunting for coincidences” in your projects. Can you explain what you meant? It sounds contradictory because a coincidence just happens and you can’t plan for it. But what I meant to say is more about being ready. For that you need to use all your senses and be aware that strange things can happen all the time. I think sometimes you can predict a certain situation, foreseeing something and then you need to be ready to shoot at that moment. This is also why I don’t intervene in any events. If I can freeze a moment and capture that sudden magic of the moment, it really gives me complete satisfaction. That magic would be gone if I had staged the images.

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What projects are you currently working on and plan for the future? I will probably continue to work on the same topics. Urban stories and dynamics and how cities are built and expanded, but at the moment I am not sure where in the world exactly. To see more of Nick Hannes’ work, visit his website: www.nickhannes.be

”This tourist resort in La Manga del Mar Menor in Spain reminded me of a fortified city, or a citadel. It’s an example of capsular architecture: Inside one can relax in safety, without interference from unpredictable encounters.”

“I’m fascinated about how cities are developed and the dynamics behind urbanisation.”

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PHILOSOPHY, CULTURE AND HISTORY 82-112 p This spring marks 50 years since mass protests and demonstrations took place in Paris and elsewhere around the world. Belgian campuses took notice to what was happening and also contested the status quo, some talking of the “May revolution”. Perhaps the largest and most violent demonstrations took place in Leuven, where students from the Dutch-speaking sections demanded the Walloons to move out from the town. Even though French had been the main language at the University since the 18th century, until some courses in Dutch were introduced in 1920, the movement was afraid that the French language would spread its dominance beyond Brussels. The split took place shortly after and the Francophone University “Louvain-La-Nouve” was created 25 kilometres to the south of Leuven.

THREE QUESTIONS TO PVP

Philippe Van Parijs is a philosopher and a Brusseler. He teaches at the Universities of Louvain and Leuven, and is a Robert Schuman Fellow at the European University Institute in Florence.

THREE QUESTIONS TO PHILOSOPHER PHILIPPE VAN PARIJS ABOUT BELGIUM IN 1968 We are about to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the May 1968 event in Paris. What was the mood in Brussels at the time? In May 68, I was still at secondary school. But my classmates and myself were following the events closely. What we saw on television was mind-boggling. We were talking of the “May revolution”. We thought it might be the outbreak of a completely new era — perhaps as the young Karl Marx did when he was following from Brussels the Paris insurrection of 1848. Along with some of my classmates, I could not resist the pull. We spent a couple of days in Paris some weeks after the start of the trouble. There were still crowds of young people striking, demonstrating, chanting, distributing leaflets in the streets. I remember in particular a huge gathering at the Palais de Chaillot. A young woman and a young man arrived carrying a large American flag. They took their clothes off and made love under the flag — or at least did everything to suggest that they did. When they emerged and ran off wrapped in the flag everyone cheered. My God, I thought, this is really different from life in my catholic boys school in Ganshoren.

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The Flemish movement was afraid that French would keep spreading beyond Brussels as the dominant language if the university in Leuven remained a Francophone university as it had been since the 18 th century when French replaced Latin as the university’s primary language.

Meanwhile, was everything quiet in Brussels? All Belgian campuses were receptive to what was happening in Paris at the time and indeed in many other cities in Europe and beyond. The Free

“We thought it might be the outbreak of a completely new era — perhaps as the young Karl Marx did when he was following from Brussels the Paris insurrection of 1848.” University of Brussels, in particular, was the site of a powerful contestation movement, with students occupying part of the campus from May to July 1968 and a flourishing of left-wing activity with Maoists and Trotskyites at the forefront.

The student climate remained very agitated for quite a while afterwards. Most memorable for me is something that happened in September 1972. I was then a second-year student at what is now called Université Saint Louis, a small institution

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“The Free University of Brussels, in particular, was the site of a powerful contestation movement, with students occupying part of the campus from May to July 1968 and a flourishing of left-wing activity with Maoists and Trotskyites at the forefront.” located in the centre of Brussels. Because of a decision by the national government to raise the fees of foreign students, some students went on hunger strike in Leuven, where the Francophone university was still located at the time. As president of the Saint Louis student union, I thought we had to show our solidarity — which we did by marching towards the Justice Ministry with a few hundred students, while chanting “Solidarité étudiants étrangers”. The Brussels police did not appreciate this unauthorized demonstration and I ended up in a cell. Did the 1968 agitation have any long-term effect in Belgium? It had the same sort of slow cultural liberation effect as it had elsewhere and some immediate effect on the structures of academic institutions, with students entering decisions-making bodies from which they were entirely excluded until then. However, something else coincided in Belgium with the general contestation phenomenon, something that had a far deeper impact on the fate of the country. In 1968, Belgium’s most massive and most violent demonstrations happened in Leuven. The main slogan was not “L’imagination au pouvoir” or “Sous les pavés la plage”, but “Leuven Vlaams” and “Walen buiten”. What the students of the Dutch-language section of the University were demanding, with the backing of their professors and of a broader movement spanning the whole of Flanders, was that the French section of the University should move out of Leuven. Founded in 1425, the University functioned in Latin until the 18th century, later exclusively in French until the 1920s, when some courses started being offered in Dutch. In the 1960s, with the arrival of the baby-boomers, both sections of the University had to expand. What the Flemish movement was afraid of was that the further growth of Belgium’s oldest and biggest Francophone university in and around the Flemish town of Leuven would further

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spread the “oil stain” of dominance of the French language far beyond Brussels. “Walloons Go Home” was their conclusion and their slogan. My predecessors in the Francophone University were outraged. Given that French had been the University’s medium of instruction for much longer than Dutch, they felt they had every right to stay in the beautiful old town. The conflict could not be settled internally and spread to the national government, which itself could not get its French-speaking and Dutch-speaking components to agree and had to resign. The governmental crisis lasted for 132 days — a record at that time — and could only be solved when the Francophone parties agreed to the transfer of the French section of the University to Wallonia, with the funding for the new campus in Louvain-laNeuve provided by the national government. The intensity of the conflict left deep and lasting marks in Belgian political life. One after the other, all three national parties — Christian-democrat, liberal and socialist — split up along linguistic lines. This made Belgian politics ever since even more laborious than it could otherwise have been. Nonetheless, even though I have been a student and then a professor at the Francophone University ever since 1971, I must say that the decision to expel us from Leuven was one of the wisest in the history of the country. Had this difficult decision not been made, the province of Brabant wallon (where Louvain-la-Neuve is located) would not have joined Vlaams Brabant (where Leuven is located) as one of Belgium’s two most prosperous provinces and the only thriving one in Wallonia. Moreover, after a difficult, tense period, the Universities of Leuven and Louvain survived their split quite happily. They are today the largest universities on their respective sides of the linguistic border. Thanks to what happened in 1968, they also collaborate far more smoothly than they ever did before and — certainly — than they would have done had Louvain managed to keep imposing its presence in Leuven.

“In 1968, Belgium’s most massive and most violent demonstrations happened in Leuven. The main slogan was not “L’imagination au pouvoir” or “Sous les pavés la plage”, but “Leuven Vlaams” and “Walen buiten”.”

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DEATH AND THE MISER IS THERE A EUTHANASIA DEBATE IN BELGIUM? By Alexandre D’hoore

he 2008 euthanization of European literary icon Hugo Claus, who was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, spurred a debate in Flanders, where 80% of Belgium’s euthanasia requests are received.

Shortly after his death, René Stockman, the head of Broeders van de Liefde, a Catholic organisation with over 17,000 employees in healthcare and education, penned an article claiming that it was “nauseating” how some people tried to suggest heroism in Claus’ decision to die via euthanasia. Further critique followed from Belgium’s most prominent religious figure, Archbishop Danneels in his Easter speech. Euthanasia advocate Dr. Wim Distelmans of the VUB, reacted strongly. He has since come to head Belgium’s Federal Euthanasia Commission. Ten years on and the issue has shifted dramatically. Euthanasia and assisted suicide are now legal in a handful of countries and more normalised in Belgium. But the transition has been far from smooth and new issues are arising with the increased prevalence of euthanasia cases. Lost behind the moral-absolutist din of anti-euthanasia campaigns is a trickle of legitimate bioethical concern and serious questions are starting to be raised about Belgium’s euthanasia laws.

The opposition and controversy In 2002, Belgium became the second country in the world to legalise Euthanasia. It has since been made legal for patients suffering from psychological ailments, as well as for minors, though

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“In 2002, Belgium became the second country in the world to legalise Euthanasia. It has since been made legal for patients suffering from psychological ailments, as well as for minors, though minors may not request euthanasia for psychological reasons.”

In 2002, Belgium became the second country in the world, after The Netherlands, to legalise euthanasia. On average, about 1,500 people opt to be euthanised in Belgium each year.

minors may not request euthanasia for psychopsycho logical reasons.

in a state of mental clarity and that the request be handled by at least two medical professionals.

In concrete terms this means that: “At the request of the patient, a doctor may apply euthanasia if all conditions laid down in the law are met. This request is expressed by a legally competent patient who is conscious or by a prior consent.”

On the one hand, a loosely organised group of campaigners, generally linked with religious oror ganisations, are continuing to express vociferous opposition to euthanasia at large. Sometimes apparently objective articles will make unsourced, unsubstantiated claims. One heavily cited article published by the catholic news agency cynically tried to link the Nazi “euthanasia” programme, whereby handicapped individuals were euthanised without consent, with contemporary

Those conditions demand – among other things – that the physical or psychological suffering of the patient be incurable, that the patient requests to be euthanised is of their own initiative and made

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Catholic groups have been vocal in their opposition to euthanasia.

euthanasia programs, despite the fact that there is nothing in common between the two. The objections are moral in nature, and though their coverage may ostensibly point to seemingly faulty mechanisms in the euthanasia infrastructure, it is fairly clear that they oppose euthanasia altogether. This vocal opposition has created a low rumble of interference that has sensationalised recent cases of alleged malpractice in the world of palliative care in Belgium and abroad.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Public support for euthanasia in Belgium is still very high, and the number of people opting to ease their own death medically is increasing year on year.â&#x20AC;?

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With euthanasia for both terminally ill and non-terminally ill patients increasing in frequency in Belgium and the Netherlands, there is more than enough fodder for campaigners. These sensationalised occurrences evoke deeply emotional responses in the minds of readers, and the moral pandering obfuscates some of the legitimate bioethical questions. Stories of botched sexual reassignment surgery leading to euthanasia, or doctors being emotionally distant and hands off with requests pose serious moral dilemmas, but advocates of euthanasia say that they were undertaken in a procedurally sound way. They argue that these cases are sensational precisely because they are extreme in nature. The last available statistics from the Belgian government (2014-2015) would agree with that assessment, with only 0.2% of the 2,022 euthanasia procedures requiring further proof to determine if they were correctly executed medically. The vast majority of requests, around 84% are for people above the age of 60 (no minors were

their own death medically is increasing year on year. Proponents are unabashed in their support, and public figures from government ministers to para-athletes are openly declaring that they have opted for euthanasia when the time comes. There was even substantial public backlash against a religious healthcare provider who refused to allow a 74 year old patient suffering from terminal lung cancer to be euthanised. The vulgarity of prolonging someone’s suffering against their wishes was not lost on the general public. The backlash against this case forced Broeders van Liefde to officially comply with euthanasia laws in Belgium. In March of 2017, the Catholic health care organisation released a mission statement on euthanasia outlining their beliefs. They centred their argument on three fundamental pillars: the sanctity of life, patient autonomy and the relationship between carer and patient. The decision was taken by a board of directors whose majority is not religiously affiliated. In response, the aforementioned brother René Stockman brought a complaint against his own organisation to the Vatican, which have since given them an ultimatum.

The importance of debate and improvements to the law

“Public figures from government ministers to para-athletes are openly declaring that they have opted for euthanasia when the time comes.” euthanised during that same time period). Around 97% of euthanasia procedures were for non psychological ailments, meaning that the patients were terminally ill and suffering incurable pain. Of those that were euthanised for psychological reasons, only about one-third of them had their applications approved.

Support in the public eye remains strong The anti-euthanasia campaign has not had the desired effect. Public support for euthanasia is still very high, and the number of people opting to ease

What is being obscured by the zealous attempts to “end” the practice are the legitimate calls for reflection on the state of euthanasia as an institution. Last year, Ariane Bazan, ULB psychology professor and member of the mental health advocacy think tank, Kollectief Zonder Dwang, elaborated in an interview why she was advocating for a complete scrapping of euthanasia for psychological reasons. The general argument being that a lack of public understanding about mental health and the curability of mental illness leading patients to first consider euthanasia as a treatment option is ethically dubious. A psychiatrist simply cannot know, she claims. Again, the law states that whatever illness a patient is suffering from must be incurable. Other psychiatrists have suggested that it is possible that some people have been euthanised despite there having been other treatment options. This type of argumentation moves the issue away from the moral into the professional-ethical. Oftentimes, one of the doctors signing off on a euthanasia request is a family practitioner. Is it ethically correct for a doctor who likely hasn’t attended any mental health training in decades to be one of the doctors signing off on such a request? There have been instances where patients were euthanised due to psychological suffering, and the time elapsed between

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“Reports suggest that family members asked doctors to euthanise the patient, and that they had not once asked for the procedure themselves. A doctor even had to dictate what needed to be written in the application.”

Miet Smet is a Belgian politician serving as a member of the Flemish Parliament for the Christian Democrat and Flemish party. She recently made headlines following her open announcement, confirming she had filled in the necessary paperwork to become euthanised. In an interview, she explained that having seen her husband suffer, she decided that “I want to die with dignity. If I get worse, I’ll choose euthanasia. The paperwork is ready and signed”.

“A lack of public understanding about mental health and the curability of mental illness leading patients to first consider euthanasia as a treatment option is ethically dubious.” first consultation and execution is only a month, leaving family members demanding answers. While Wim Distelman recently spoke out, and even distanced his medical practice from that of psychipsychi atrist Lieve Thienpont, who was profiled in a Washington Post article in 2017 for being very lax in her granting of euthanasia requests, he has been unauna bashed in his support of other questionable cases. Perhaps the most troubling case revolve around the resignation of self proclaimed “euthanasia supporter” Ludo Vanopdenbosch from the Federal Euthanasia Commission (FEC). Dr. Vanopdenbosch, who has his own palliative care practice, tendered his resignation after feeling silenced at the monthly FEC meeting in September, when raising objections to the euthanisation of a patient suffering from dementia and Parkinson’s who had never specifically asked to be euthanised.

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Reports suggest that family members asked doctors to euthanise the patient, and that they had not once asked for the procedure themselves. A doctor even had to dictate what needed to be written in the application. After hours of debate, the FEC waved off suggestions that it should be sent for review to a prosecutor’s office. To date, not a single case has. When confronted, Dr. Distelmans claimed that it was mislabeled by the doctor as euthanasia when it should have been called palliative sedation. But palliative sedation is not intended to kill, only to alleviate symptoms of suffering. On top of that, it took more than a month to get the approval to perform the euthanisation, which would mean that the doctor did not provide palliative sedation for that whole time, presumably leaving their patient to suffer. Any way you cut it, it is a pretty clear-cut violation of ethics. According to Dr. Vanopdenbosch, the patient was not even capable of requesting euthanasia. It has led many experts in the field to suggest that the FEC has too much oversight over its own activiactivi ties, and that they have lost the plot. This, despite the FEC having to answer directly to the Belgian parliament on a yearly basis and having been requested clarifications on a number of occasions. While cases such as these shed light on the possible failings of patient protection, they remain only a fraction of the total procedures executed. Euthanasia continues to ease the suffering of thousands of patients every year and spares them the indignity of a discrete, illegal suicide, or a drawnout painful death. A petition to restrict euthanasia is currently going around, and bears the signatures of both profesprofes sionals and moral crusaders, once again conflating the issue. The effectiveness of this petition may be limited, but renewed public interest, as well as inaction and dismissiveness on behalf of the FEC could encourage a healthy and productive euthanasia debate in the near future.

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BELGIUM: HOW PROTESTS AND REBELLION CREATED A NATION IN 1830 By Tom Vanderstappen

n 25 August 1830, violence broke out in Brussels. Groups of protestors broke up cobblestones from the streets, looted shops and set houses on fire. Inhabitants of the city were agitated and joined the mob. A mere month before, another uprising had taken place, in Paris. They both targeted the regimes installed by the Congress of Vienna (1814-1815), after the French Revolution (1789) and the conquests by the French Empire that had shaken up Europe. In Belgium, a nation would be born in a new state that seceded from the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a long-standing romantic idea that the creation of the Kingdom of Belgium was directly triggered by an opera on 25 August in 1830, on the last of a three-day festival celebrating the Dutch King William I’s 15 year reign. La muette de Portici (The Mute Girl of Portici) was indeed about nationalistic sentiments. In it, the spectators saw the inhabinhab itants of Naples freeing themselves from Spanish rule in 1647 out of “holy love for the fatherland”. This hugely popular opera had been forbidden by King William I for a month since the Parisian uprisupris ing in July. Its performances had also caused earearlier outbursts of protest. However, this sensitive opera was again allowed in Brussels on the last day of the celebrations. Tensions were already rising. For safety reasons, other festivities in Brussels on 25 August were cancelled. The performance of the opera turned out to be the main gathering place for protestors, Belgians – as they had called themselves for years.

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The theatregoers watching the opera at the Théâtre de la Monnaie (Muntschouwburg) in Brussels were said to be fuelled by patriotic sentiments. After hearing the aria “Amour sacré de la patrie”, they left early and joined the mob in the streets. From this day on, an uprising spread quickly in the south.

”Episode of the Belgian Revolution of 1830”: The famous romantic painting by Gustaaf Wappers, completed in 1835, picturing the confusing scene of reading the Belgian Declaration of Independence to the Brussels public in September 1830.

“It is a long-standing romantic idea that the creation of the Kingdom of Belgium was directly triggered by an opera on 25 August in 1830, on the last of a three-day festival celebrating the Dutch King William I’s 15 year reign.”

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The very site of the Belgian Revolution in 1830: Théâtre de la Monnaie (Muntschouwburg).

Was the birth of the Kingdom of Belgium the fulfilment of the will of a people throughout the ages, was it pure coincidence or an initiative of just a few of the elite? Is Belgium a historical nation or an invented one (as often popularly said), mainly installed as a buffer between the other powers and uniting two unrelated peoples (the Dutch speaking Flemish and the French speaking, later called, Wallonians) – bound for possible disaster? It is a rather complex history, both before and after the crucial year 1830 – and is still being written.

Nationalism as a historical process The concept of nationalism, of a nation as a bonding factor, is indeed a product of the romantic movements of the 19th century, as can clearly be seen in the case of Belgium. In fact, the lands on which the new state was to be born consisted initially of several fiefdoms and had known different transformations. They needed to unite before they could move and act together. The lands had to undergo several unifications, centralisations, all externally imposed, before any sense of a nation could exist. Language was never a unifying factor before the 19th century. It has often been said that the Belgian people was tired of being ruled by rulers from abroad. However, this never posed a problem when their privileges were respected and their grievances met.

“The theatregoers watching the opera at the Théâtre de la Monnaie (Muntschouwburg) in Brussels were said to be fuelled by patriotic sentiments. After hearing the aria “Amour sacré de la patrie”, they left early and joined the mob in the streets. From this day on, an uprising spread quickly in the south.” The first signs of the formation of a Belgian nation are seen as early as the so-called Burgundian Netherlands (1384-1482). By heritage, war and acquisitions, a number of the more or less connected fiefdoms fell into the hands of the Burgundian dukes, in a personal union. Duke Philip the Good was the first to implement unitary policies to cement his power. The Burgundian period would lead up to the Seventeen Provinces (1543). It referred to the provinces (the former fiefdoms) that fell into the hands of

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the Habsburg dynasty, culminating in the rule of Emperor Charles V and King Philip II. They styled themselves Lord of the Netherlands – uniting them only in name but seeing them as indivisible.

“The French Revolution of 1789 had set something in motion in Western Europe. Since the French King could be deposed, others could too. For the first time a ruler would be held accountable.” Habsburg rule An uprising against the Spanish crown under Philip II would lead to the Peace of Munster in 1648 and end the Eighty Years War. This caused the north to break away from the south, as the Republic of the Seven Netherlands, Netherlands, while the south remained under Spanish rule as the Habsburg Netherlands. These Habsburg Netherlands came under the strong influence of Catholicism, which eventueventu ally would become a national factor. The original Burgundian institutions, more a façade for unity during the reign of the dukes, still formed the central institutions. Provincialism (provincial thinking and interests) was however still dominant. It was stronger than any national idea and therefore a real unifying structure was still completely lacking. From 1740 on, the reign of Maria Theresia rationalised and centralised the institutions in the Austri Austrian Netherlands, Netherlands, as it had fallen in the hands of her branch of the Habsburg dynasty from 1714 on. A government was set up in Brussels, forming a central administration under the watchful eye of the Council of the Netherlands in Austria. Her governgovern ment in Brussels became a highlight of administrative centralisation. Besides other reforms, a national history was written about the Austrian countries to promote nation building. The Netherlands were pointed out for their individuality. Although Maria Theresia supported the unity of the Austrian Netherlands, the vernacular languages were not stimulated. French remained the cultural language, which again promoted a certain form of unity. The Austrian Netherlands, however, still lacked a few crucial aspects to really form a nation. There was no legal equality between its provinces, bebe cause differences in status still existed. Moreover, it was not a unitary state at all. The provincial differences were still huge.

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The Duchy of Burgundy and the Burgundian Netherlands in the north on a map from 1912.

Map of 1816 detailing the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which includes modern day Belgium. The King also ruled the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg in a personal union. Note that the map shows the province of Limburg, before it was split between the two nations in 1839.

Not surprisingly, their sudden reaction forced the troops of the Emperor to leave the Austrian Netherlands. However, the conservatives usurped power in coalition with the clerics. The liberals realised how fiercely the Catholics still opposed the ideas of the Enlightenment. Coin (liard, oord) by Maria Theresia, “Ad usum Belgii Austr 1751” used in the Austrian Netherlands.

French Revolution and Enlightenment The French Revolution of 1789 had set something in motion in Western Europe. Since the French King could be deposed, others could too. For the first time a ruler would be held accountable. Some rulers were already under the influence of the ideas of the Enlightenment. The Austrian Habsburg rulers Maria Theresia (1740 - 1780) and her son Emperor Joseph II (1780 - 1790) had implemented policy based on these ideas. Religious structures and institutions were taken down. Rule by the state was centralised and the law system simplified. Joseph II actually ruled as an enlightened despot; his rule was for the people, not by the people at all.

“Is Belgium a historical nation or an invented one (as often popularly said), mainly installed as a buffer between the other powers and uniting two unrelated peoples bound for possible disaster?” The success of the American Revolution, resulting in independence in 1776, inspired popular movements on the European continent. Opposition to Joseph II’s policies led to the Brabantian Revolution in 1789-1790, in which the Austrian Netherlands (Belgium of today) tried to make the Emperor listen to their grievances. Traditionalist-conservatives led by Brussels lawyer Van der Noot wanted to restore the old system and its privileges. Another leader and Brussels lawyer, Vonck, was an adept of the ideas of a liberal Enlightenment. Neither the grievances of the conservatives nor the liberals were met with any favourable action by the Emperor and prompted them to recruit small armies.

The resulting United States of the Netherlands (Foederati Belgii, Etats Belgiques unis) unis) were short lived. It only survived the months of January until December 1790 and was reconquered by the AusAus trians. This confederacy did not include the Prince Bishopric of Liège, which was autonomous and had also deposed their ruler in a successful liberal revolution themselves.

Under French rule The Austrian Netherlands were invaded by France in 1792 and officially annexed in 1795. They were restructured in newly drawn and named units, départements,, in a total territorial break with the past and provincialism. They still live on geographically in Belgium today, but were renamed as provinces. The Prince-Bishopric of Liège was also annexed and divided among the three neighbouring départements. After the Austrian Netherlands became an integral part of the French Empire,, revolutionary policies and laws were fully implemented. The Republic of the Seven Netherlands (Netherlands of today), was finally annexed in 1810 after having been ruled as a satellite state before. Jacobinian clubs were opened in the big cities. Here republican democrats could debate and form a strong national network. The most promprom ising members could rise up to become civil servants. Their formation in the cities would feed nationalist sentiments. French rule aimed for a total break with the past and revolutionary ideas found their way to everyday life. However, the constant proclamations, the sensed loss of old society and the forced conscriptions for the ongoing revolurevolu tionary war in Europe contributed strongly to the unpopularity of the French among both the broad public and the elite.

Protests and nationalism in making After the French Empire was weakened and ultimately defeated, the North was liberated in 1813 and became the Sovereign Principality of the UnitUnit ed Netherlands (Netherlands of today). The Belgian départements were freed by an international alliance. The Belgians did not take part in the liblib eration itself. Napoleonic wars and conscriptions had already decimated and demoralised most of the men fit for war.

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In a secret treaty, the Eight Articles of London of 21 June 1814, the South was allocated to the United Netherlands ruled by the Sovereign Prince William. The two countries were to be ruled as a “single state”. The King made a great effort to unite the two parts of his kingdom, with his policy of amalgamation – for a close and full union (union intime et complete). This would indeed lead to a strong buffer state between England and France as had been the intention. However, the King met strong opposition for his politics from the southern part of his young state. Since the new generation had not experienced the French Revolution and its repercussions, they were less afraid of taking drastic measures. In December 1827, press campaigns were set up against the regime and in the winter of 1828-1829 all kinds of Belgian petitions were organised. The monarch, however, remained unwavering and repressed the opposition. The protests took up full form from 1828 on, when they became well organised. Liberals and Catholics, traditional antagonists, now assembled against the King’s policies in a unionistic bond. A petition for the liberty of the press and education was started. 360,000 signatures were said to have been gathered. Newspapers in Liège and Ghent had been spreading their grievances and criticised the counteractions of the state for years. In fact, journalists merely questioning the King’s policies were prosecuted despite the official freedom of the press. Were the Belgian people finally finding common ground for unification and just waiting for a spark to happen? The King was unsuccessful in answering the protests in the ten Belgian provinces and acted quite stubbornly instead of letting the southern elites take part in the policies.

Uprising and independence The historical differences between the northern and southern parts of the Kingdom ultimately turned out too big. The King’s promised reforms were never implemented and a revolt broke out

“From a deterministic approach to history, one would think nation states are established by nations in their quest for freedom and democracy. In the Belgian case, it is a much more complex history of coincidences without any clear heroic storyline.” 98 | THE BRUSSELS TIMES MAGAZINE

on 25 August 1830. The King reacted by sending his two sons, both heading an army, to Brussels. They would settle in and around the Warande Park, in front of the Royal Palace built for the King in 1826. On 23 September, a bloody battle for four days followed and 300 Liègeois came to the aid of the rebels in Brussels. The Dutch army was stranded in Brussels and was finally driven back. This success gave rise and courage to militias of volunteers and patriots around the country. By October, the Belgian provinces were freed. On October 4, a revolutionary Provisional Government declared independence from the Kingdom of the Netherlands. In November, a constitutional monarchy was chosen by the National Congress as form of government. The crown was offered to Leopold I of Saksen-Coburg and Gotha who swore his constitutional oath on 21 July 1831 as King of the Belgians - not of Belgium - since he was chosen by the peoples’ representatives. In February 1831, the Congress drafted its own Belgian constitution, in French, with its official counterpart in the Dutch language waiting until 1967. This Belgian constitution was the most democratic constitution for the time and formed the middle ground between strong authority and democracy. The real challenges in nation building could first now be addressed. In fact, the path was now free for the awakening of a Flemish nationalist movement, with its Wallonian counterpart, as a reaction, later on. It led to community reforms, further setting apart the two halves of Belgium, to this very day. Economically, Belgium was well equipped for independence. Heavy industry played an important role because of European demand for its products. It was the most important steel producer, even topping France and Germany, during the first half of the 19th century. The Belgian railway network was already very dense in 1870. The political scientist K. W. Deutsche emphasised in his writings the importance of this national railroad network for nation building. The Belgian revolution created its own historiography. Belgium acted quickly to link up history to affirm and legitimise the young nation. For the first grades in elementary schools on, textbooks on Belgian history would quickly be written and put in use. The state was presented by schoolteachers as the result of a long historical process, unavoidably leading up to the birth of a united nation state. From a deterministic approach to history, one would think nation states are established by nations in their quest for freedom and democracy. In the Belgian case, it is a much more complex history of coincidences without any clear heroic storyline. It was a combination of happenstance, dynastical marriages, wars, administrative reforms and religion, by people still strongly bound to their cities and local rulers.

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The monument of Counts Edmont and Hoorne, sculptured in 1864 by Charles Auguste Fraikin. Originally erected at the Grand Place in Brussels.

Belgian heroes in the 16th century Shortly after its independence, Belgium became obsessed with putting up statues (statuomania (statuomania)) to satisfy the need to embellish the past and to celebrate it in public spaces like market squares and parks. The statues of Lamoraal of Gavere, Count of EgEgmont and Philips of Montmorency, Count of HooHoorne, were erected in the Grand Square of Brussels in 1864, in memory of their execution in 1568 on the very same spot. In 1879, the statues were moved to the Petit Sablon (Kleine Zavel), encapsulated in a small but appealing fenced park in 1890. Along its fence, the park exhibits 48 columns and small bronze statues from the 16th century emembellishing the traditional guilds and trades. It also contains 10 larger bluestone statues of 16th century historical figures of the southern Netherlands. In fact, the park is located in front of the former palpalace of the Count of Egmont. It was inaugurated on

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the eve of 21 July 1890 - now instated as a National Holiday - 60 years after Belgiumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s independence. Philips II had sent the feared Duke of Alva to the Neth Neth-erlands (the Seventeen Provinces) Provinces) to restore order. Although Egmont and Hoorne were devout Catholics and had repeatedly pledged obedience to the SpanSpanish King, they were singled out and executed publicly for not being able to put an end to the rebellion. Their execution sent shockwaves throughout the Netherlands, instead of a mere warning. It fuelled an outcry and led to the Act of AbjugaAbjugation in 1581, breaking the north away and leavleaving the Habsburg Netherlands in south as its remnant. It left the south in the hands of Spanish and later Austrian Habsburg and thus separatseparated the south from the north, leading up to the Belgian revolution more than 250 years later. So, maybe the Counts of Egmont and Hoorne were Belgian heroes after all.

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Alicja Gescinska is a Polish-Belgian philosopher and novelist. She is currently making Wanderlust, a philosophical television series for Canvas, for which she visits artists and intellectuals all around the world to talk about their lives and work.

ANOTHER ’68 WHERE DO WE STAND 50 YEARS ON? “Unfortunately, one thing history tells us – 1968 as much as 2018 and any other year – is that common sense realities are less exciting, and less likely to recruit an enthusiastic following than intoxicating fictions.”

justified, and 1968 is no exception in this regard. As a matter of fact, 1968 is perhaps as much a year of freedoms lost as of freedoms won.

Massive strikes and student revolts aimed to free society from the shackles of the established post-war petit-bourgeois order. The historic significance of these events cannot be denied. But a single-minded glorification of the past is seldom

In Flanders, one of the main focal points of this revolt was regional autonomy and the valuation of the Dutch language. In Leuven, the students successfully fought the French dominance at the

ll over Europe, events are being organized to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the eventful spring and summer months of 1968. Fifty years ago, a spirit of freedom – so our collective memory tells us – spread across the world in general and the European continent, in particular.

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In politics, sexuality, economy, music tastes; in fact in all important matters that concern people’s private lives, young people felt the need to revolt against the world their parents had created.

Mass protests in Paris, May 1968.

Catholic University. Also in Brussels, the once bilingual university was split into a separate Flemish Free University and the Université Libre de Bruxelles.

The reign of freedom Though certain achievements deserve praise, historic facts don’t warrant the description of 1968 as the year that freedom reigned, or as the year that everything seemed possible. Many arbitrary acts of violence were committed by those waving the banners of freedom, while simultaneously

writing the names of Mao and Marx on the walls, seemingly unaware of the irony. These acts of violence must also have their place in our collective memory. Nor should we forget that in many places, the fight for freedom was ended by brutal repression and bloodshed. If you think of the violence that ended the Prague Spring or that which ended the student protests in Mexico, you’ll quickly realize that 1968 was a year in which many things became impossible, not least, the liberation from communism in Eastern Europe.

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A moral crisis Consider what happened in Poland that year. In March 1968, students, intellectuals and those longing for real liberties took part in major protests against the communist government. The government didn’t merely respond by crushing the dissident movement; it also adopted anti-Semitic measures that have no parallel in post-war European history. These events are commonly referred to as the 1968 Polish political crisis, which is an unfortunate euphemism, since more than anything else, the 1968 crisis in Poland was a moral one.

Exile and exodus When Wladyslaw Gomulka was named first secretary of the communist party in Poland in 1956, he came with the promise of liberalization and economic reform. But from the late fifties onwards, his regime became increasingly oppressive and anti-Semitic. Jews were systematically being bullied, harassed, fired and threatened, in a campaign waged by General Mieczyslaw Moczar, then minister of internal affairs. This campaign culminated in 1968 in the forced exodus of thousands of Polish Jews. It is estimated that between 13,000 and 30,000 Jews and non-Jewish intellectuals and dissidents who sought reform were forced into exile. Among them were sociologist Zygmunt Bauman, and philosopher Leszek Kolakowski.

“Our collective memory is strikingly selective when it comes to 1968. It is quite amazing, if not completely shocking to know that you can organize a large-scale anti-Semitic campaign, expel thousands of Jews and intellectuals from of one Europe’s largest countries, and fifty years later the world won’t even bother to remember.” 104 | THE BRUSSELS TIMES MAGAZINE

Kolakowski initially left Poland for Paris. He was there when the student protests erupted, and he was quite astonished by the fact that so many students and Western intellectuals shamelessly raved about communism, while knowing so little about it. How could they praise an ideology and believe it to be liberating, when the slightest acquaintance with the practice would show how oppressive it was?

The real face of communism In the late forties and early fifties, as Poland struggled to recover from its terrible fate during the Second World War, Kolakowski had supported communism. But when he saw what it actually means, he increasingly opposed and criticized the regime and its ideology. He paid a huge price for his quest for real freedoms: he lost his home and his home country.

Belgian student gathering, May 1968. The slogan reads: The revolution is when the extraordinary becomes daily. But reality and the real face of communism were not what the soixante-huitards were interested in. Sartre, one of their leading intellectuals, was informed about how oppressive life behind the iron curtain was. He knew how artists perished in the Soviet-Union. But that didn’t stop him from praising the Soviet-Union and communism.

Selective memory Our collective memory is strikingly selective when it comes to 1968. It is quite amazing, if not completely shocking to know that you can organize a large-scale anti-Semitic campaign, expel thousands of Jews and intellectuals from of one Europe’s largest countries, and fifty years later the world won’t even bother to remember. One of the darkest pages in the book of post-war European history was written then. Yet so many seem to be blinded by the light of revolution that they fail to remember the darkness.

“Sartre, one of their leading intellectuals, was informed about how oppressive life behind the iron curtain was. He knew how artists perished in the SovietUnion. But that didn’t stop him from praising the Soviet-Union and communism.”

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Protesters run away from police outside the University of Warsaw, March 1968.

“It is important to remind ourselves that imagination is not a good in itself. A great deal of misery can result from imagination. Bad, even thoroughly evil people can be highly inventive and imaginative. Imagination is only good, when used for the good.” Evil imagination There is no reason to believe that the past contains the simple solutions to the complex problems we face today. Yet many believe we need to reconnect to the ideals of the soixante-huitards, in particular to their famous creed imagination au pouvoir. International conferences are being held about the importance of this creed today. The main

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topic of the yearly Feast of Philosophy in Leuven and of the Day of Philosophy both in Flanders and in Holland is exactly this: power to imagination. It is important to remind ourselves that imagination is not a good in itself. A great deal of misery can result from imagination. Bad, even thoroughly evil people can be highly inventive and imaginative. Imagination is only good, when used for the good.

A sense of reality If there is one thing politics needs nowadays, I would argue it is a proper sense of reality rather than more imagination. All over the world, there are people in power who are quite imaginative, and as a result, are doing things that defy all imagination. They imagine you solve a problem by simply building a wall around it. They imagine real facts can be replaced by alternative truths. They imagine elections can be manipulated without anyone noticing it. They imagine climate change to be the product of scientists suffering from too much imagination. In the face of this, common sense stands out as an indispensable virtue of a good politician and an engaged citizen. Common sense is the compass without which all imagination is aimless. Unfortunately, one thing history tells us – 1968 as much as 2018 and any other year – is that common sense realities are less exciting, and less likely to recruit an enthusiastic following than intoxicating fictions.

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HOW BELGIUM’S DECLINING ART & CULTURE SECTOR IS REINVENTING ITSELF By Alexandre D’hoore

“Attica” by Manon de Boer, one of the projects supported by the artist collective Auguste Orts. Credit: Manon de Boer and Jan Mot

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here is an expression among creatives that only two types of professionals are unprotected by the system in Belgium: Artists and Prostitutes.

There has been a gradual shift in how governments approach the cultural sector. Subsidies are getting smaller and more targeted towards art forms that are easily commercialisable. In a sense, culture is feeling the squeeze of austerity. Governments have unwittingly put the cultural sector under pressure by creating a swamp of bureaucracy, where

subsidies and support are concerned. They are also playing favourites in a gamble that has become known as the fetish of the masterpiece. While box office proceeds and awards are a good indicator of what we enjoy watching, they don’t fully elaborate the richness of artistic discourse that is required out of which the masterpiece must blossom.

Overcoming the austerity and wall of bureaucracy Artists fundamentally just want to create, and Belgium’s tendency towards burdensome bureaucracy is creating a seemingly unchartable mess for those who dare make a profession out of their desire to create. Enter Auguste Orts, in short, a production house, but upon closer inspection something far more robust. Built on the principles of collectivisation, they have developed a model for organising artists that has spurred and inspired many others around the continent. Auguste Orts is a production house, in the sense that they produce Artists’ Moving Image, a vague term used to describe audio visual art that is a bit more esoteric.

“Artists fundamentally just want to create, and Belgium’s tendency towards burdensome bureaucracy is creating a seemingly unchartable mess for those who dare make a profession out of their desire to create.” “Perhaps the term sounds a bit lofty, but it’s just supposed to convey that the artists create art that is audio-visual in nature”, says Marie Logie, the key figure in the organisation. Marie is not a professional artist herself, she is a producer. Her background isn’t even in film or A/V arts. Eleven years ago, she was approached by four well-known artists and asked to take part in establishing a platform. “It was a time in my life when I was okay with working temporary for free, I mean I was willing to take that risk. I was pregnant and working in Antwerp but living in Brussels and getting a bit tired of the commute.” The four established artists were finding it harder and harder to arrange funding, production and distribution of their work on their own.

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“While box office proceeds and awards are a good indicator of what we enjoy watching, they don’t fully elaborate the richness of artistic discourse that is required out of which the masterpiece must blossom.” 110 | THE BRUSSELS TIMES MAGAZINE

When subsidising film, governments demand a sort of guarantee in the form of production houses tied to the projects, and so artists were finding it harder to even keep up with the administration of applying for financing, as well as searching for third party support. On the other hand, they were eager to develop formal communities. The idea of an artist locked up in her ivory tower chiselling away at her masterpiece was not appealing.

“These organisations and structures operate at the core of our culture. They lay the seeds for everything else, and function as a sort of sensing mechanism for what is and will be.” Auguste Orts operates as follows: Marie is the head of the organisation, which has since received a small government subsidy to employ a few people. They work with their core group of artists, as well as guest artists from around Europe. When an artist wants to begin a project, Auguste Orts takes over the burden of funding applications. Once a project is funded, pooled resources are used to help produce it. The artists have complete artistic control over what is made. This is not how a traditional film production house works. Generally, producers would ask artists to make adjustments so as to better commercialise the final product.

Escautville is an artist collective platform based in Antwerp. The organisation supports, promotes and distributes audiovisual art projects in response to the increasing challenges and obstacles artists face in the audiovisual sector. Above: A day in the Life of the Holy Blood – Koen Theys (2015). Below: MSR – Wim Catrysse (2012)

The final product remains the property of the artists, this again is atypical. Lastly, as a result of knowledge and network sharing, Auguste Orts is able to effectively distribute the finished creations to a wide array of different venues. When I ask her for some names that people will recognise, Marie tells me without a trace of pomp or moment’s hesitation “the Tate Modern, the Venice Biennale, Documenta Kassel, etc. Yes the artists are displayed there, but we cherish as well small scale, more local venues such as Het Bos in Antwerp, STUK in Leuven or Courtisane in Ghent.” What is more remarkable is that the artists involved have different approaches, so while Auguste Orts has made feature-length productions with substantial budgets, they also regularly engage in projects that have literally no budget whatsoever. Because Auguste Orts is artist run, its main focus is the creation of art. They add an immeasurable amount to the collective culture of large abstract discourse that we are all a party to.

International expansion of a proven concept Auguste Orts has since attracted European Union funding. It began with a pilot knowledge-sharing program, where they attempted to link nascent productions with professionals in lots of different sectors. The goal was to get people to talk to

one another, to share ideas, to make connections, thereby making every aspect of the creation of art more accessible to everyone. The pilot was in Brussels and was so successful that it attracted EU funding. The subsequent Auguste Orts spin off – On and For Productions – spurred similar events in Madrid and London. They were scheduled during large film festivals and events so as to maximise their reach. It also highlights one of the fundamental discrepancies of cultural funding. The “fetish of the masterpiece” has inspired governments to fund art that they feel will bring “prestige” to the nation, that being the exact wording of a subsidy reduction recently imposed on Brussels’ famed Cinema

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“Some of the artists who’ve come to us are world renowned, we were honestly surprised that even they struggled to find funding.” Nova, which in a European context is the most prolific and daring cinema in Brussels. It truly begs the question “what does a regional bureaucrat know about cultural prestige?”. Artistry is the most fundamentally European profession there is. Here are a group of people, uninterested in borders, fiercely willing to display their own culture and militantly eager to explore the world by letting it into their lives. Organisations like Auguste Orts transcend divides, and in doing so raise the national “prestige”, but also go to lengths in fuelling European cultural integration almost inadvertently, as a by-product of artistic curiosity. “Our partnerships are not international for the sake of it”, Marie Logie tells me. “Our recent production of Barcelona-based artist Dora Garcia makes sense because Dora has lived in Brussels for nearly two decades.” Auguste Orts has worked with artists from Congo to Holland, and displayed work from Lima to New York. While knowledge sharing, increased efficiency and productivity, and being an example of the success of a collective organisation are impressive in their own right, what is perhaps more impressive is how easily reproducible this structure is. I sat down with Vincent Stroep and Ulli Lindamayr at Antwerp’s Escautville, who lovingly refer to Auguste Orts as their big sister.

Thriving Artists and the Benefits of Collectivization Ulli and Vincent began Escautville in much the same way Auguste Orts was started. They were approached by a handful of visual artists in Antwerp who were looking to collectivise, driven by external pressures and an almost mammalian desire to be amongst their own. These weren’t unknown artists either. Documentarians like Frank Theys, whose documentary on transhumanism has built a cult following and attracted praise from Martin Scorsese. “We’ve had to turn down working on some projects”, Vincent tells me “and some of the artists

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who’ve come to us are world renowned, we were honestly surprised that even they struggled to find funding.” Escautville’s mandate is a little different. Their artists are more visual in nature, the types of pieces you would see exhibited in a museum. “They’ve done studies that show that the average amount of time people watch those films is 10 to 30 seconds,” Vincent says laughingly. One of their productions, a piece by Wim Catrysse, was recently screened at the famed International Film Festival of Rotterdam. Wim, an artist who is famous for installation work, was able to show multiple screenings from start to finish in a packed theatre hall. This represents a subtle shift in how spectators consume culture. Where before we would engage this art passively, now it is staring us in the face. It is important to note that while these artists are a bit more off the beaten path, their art is deeply accessible. These aren’t artists who leave you wondering whether or not you “got it” after seeing their work. The synergies are due to the specialties of the organisers of Escautville. While Ulli is from the artistic visual world, Vincent is more linked to film. This synergy has bridged an artistic divide in both the artists and how they approach their art, and the distribution of this art. Artists like Ria Pacquée, whose comical short video productions are shot discreetly on handheld cameras, are finding their way into the hands of unlikely consumers by way of the film festival circuits, and likewise, filmmakers are finding their art popping up in museums. Escautville, now in their sixth year, have completed over 20 productions, with four currently ongoing. While the reach of their artists, whose shadows are longer than they are broad, is inherently less pervasive, Escautville as an organisation is branching out into the world more fervently than in years past. The last and upcoming year is marked by shared productions in Holland, Ireland, Japan and the US. So while the artists previously had international footprints, the sharing of knowledge has created structural relationships with artists and venues in other countries as a result. These organisations and structures operate at the core of our culture. They lay the seeds for everything else, and function as a sort of sensing mechanism for what is and will be. The artists that assembled around Auguste Orts and Escautville could have survived either way, but now they rejoice in the idea that they are fuelling new ecosystems and building platforms that will proliferate artistic creation and human interaction. The innovation with which these organisations approach the creation of art and the replicability of their mechanics will help ensure a continued artistic discourse for years to come.

LIFESTYLE 117-146 p

It is little known, but Brussels ranks as one of Europe’s best capitals for flea markets. Out of all the flea markets in the city, the one that probably stands out the most is the Place du Jeu de Balle market in the heart of Brussels’ old neighbourhood, the Marolles. It traces its history to the 17th century, when merchants were selling second hand clothes at this location. Today however, it is rather an antique and vintage lovers’ paradise. This is also the area where you will most likely hear the old Brussels dialect Marols, or Brusseleir, spoken.

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THE BELGIAN GOURMET CORNER Being a foodie is a 24/7 job. I mean ANY opportunity is good to discover something new and delicious, sometimes in places you wouldn’t expect. For this issue, I chose to surprise you with a restaurant you wouldn’t think of going to because it’s in a supermarket, though not just any supermarket. And to have a drink with friends, you don’t necessarily need to go to a bar - I mean a conventional four-walled watering hole - since there are great

pop-up bars in Brussels out on the street! The Belgian beverage this month is one of Belgium’s 200 gins - this award-winning one clearly stands out. And finally I’ll share with you my love for the most common of Belgian products: bread. Because it’s the annual Bread Festival again on 5 May at the Schuman Roundabout, right in front of The Brussels Times headquarters - come and see me there! I’ll have a colorful shirt, a hat and a microphone!

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And the good thing is that you can have any of these wines at Rob’s restaurant for a mere €10 corkage fee (if it’s not already in their long and affordable wine list). Yes, I’m not totally nuts: me and my date finished the supermarket visit (you can call it les préliminaires) at the restaurant.

THE RESTAURANT

ROB Have you ever visited a supermarket? I mean: gone to actually admire items on display, like you would do at a museum? Don’t laugh, because I’ve done worse: I’ve actually brought a date to Rob! You won’t find it romantic unless you are a gourmet, for whom taste buds are part of the charm of your (future) partner. For a foodie, Rob is a temple, period. The visit might take you some time, but at least you will travel a lot, even as far as Japan. I can’t summarise all the incredible products you can find in this luxury supermarket, but here, the gift shop is the museum.

I prefer to warn you that the beer selection is not that great, but you have a lot of choice for other beverages: two high-end brands of tea, and two excellent brands of coffee. Restaurant prices are at the European Quarter’s average, but here the quality is guaranteed. Moreover, the gourmets amongst you may notice jewels on the menu such as ris de veau (sweetbread), shrimp’s croquettes and tartare beef. Vegetarians are not forgotten, nor are children, who get their ice cream for free if they clean their plate. You can even book a room for a meeting. No parking problem either - bus 42 stops nearby, though hopefully the works on Boulevard de la Woluwe will be finished this October as foreseen to make Rob even more accessible, with tram 94 straight from Roodebeek metro station (10 minutes from Schuman).

It’s part of the Carrefour Group and some prosperous people actually do their weekly shopping here, like you would at a normal supermarket. Luxury has a price but at least you’re paying for top quality and products you sometimes can’t find anywhere else. I once wanted to fry a couple of young wild boar’s ribs for a fricassée and it was impossible to find them at any butcher in Brussels - except Rob’s. They simply cut the ribs one by one from a rack. Yes, you have professionals there who know their craft: fishmongers, butchers, cheesemongers, cooks, you name it. The bread section is mouth-watering. On top of that, Rob’s wine cellar is one of the biggest in Belgium. It’s under the supermarket, of course, and it’s truly impressive: more than 2,200 references. You can always buy online, but the real thing is to go there, ogle the bottles and get some advice from the sommelier. One of my best tests for wine is to ask for the Jura, a very tiny French sub-region reserved for true connoisseurs. Well, I wasn’t disappointed: Rob stocks some of the best Jura wines, a good sign of its knowledge. They also sell any spirit you can imagine.

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Rob - Boulevard de la Woluwe, 28 1150 Woluwe-Saint-Pierre - Tél: 02 771 20 60 (restaurant) - rob-brussels.be

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of open-air markets in Brussels. Unless you live in the town centre, you certainly have one near home. But this one is a bit special: it’s Brussels’ growing hipster market. Perhaps because this part of Schaerbeek is gentrified. Perhaps because of the proximity to Schuman just a few blocks away. Perhaps because of the great variety of high quality products (including organic, excluding fish). Perhaps because there is a nice children’s playground on this newly refurbished square. But definitely because of three pop-up bars that attract a huge crowd of locals and expats every Friday night.

THE BAR

THE PLACE DES CHASSEURS ARDENNAIS MARKET Something is happening in Brussels: we’re experiencing the return of the guinguettes, open-air refreshment stands that were “killed by television”, as a friend put it. Now that “television is dead”, people are again spending more time seeing friends at these open-air bars at various markets of the city, including in winter. That will only increase as the weather improves and the apéro season starts again. I’ve not seen it anywhere else, but it looks like any pretext is good enough to get together - in huge crowds - for a drink. Place Lux is famous among young Eurocrats for that reason. Well, on the other side of Schuman, there is an open-air market every Friday night, which is perfect for an apéro with friends or to get to know more people. Of course, there are lots

They all offer sparkling, white, rosé and red wines, plus beer and soft drinks, which you can enjoy while standing at high tables. One of them offers delicious grilled mussels as their flagship snack. The most crowded one is the stand from Alsace which has turned very professional in order to minimise queuing times. They don’t offer flammekuchen anymore for legal and practical reasons (though they do at their stands at the markets of Chant d’Oiseau and St Julien).

The third one offers exciting New World wines. You don’t come to these bars only for the great wines (although the latter stocks some premium bottles) or great food. You can also get your snacks from the market itself: everything from crèpes for the kids to African fry-ups, Greek mezze, roasted meat, olives or German prezels, you name it. You come here mostly to enjoy conviviality, the spirit of the guinguettes, until dusk and beyond, when it’s time to move into one of the numerous restaurants around. “Next will be a place to dance”, predicts my optimistic friend who lives nearby. Until then, you’ll have to content yourself with talking to politicians, who will be ever more visible at the market as the October elections approach, another source told me.

Marché de la Place des Chasseurs ardennais - 1030 Schaerbeek, every Friday 2-10pm.

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THE BEVERAGE

GINETICAL WOODED EDITION I recently learned that there are some 200 gins made in Belgium! Yes, you can call gin a hype, and not only in Belgium. So what’s the point of writing an article about ONE Belgian gin? Well, like the rest of my picks, it’s purely subjective. I believe this drink deserves your attention, first and foremost because it’s a very good gin – a source told me that Brits love it – and second, because it has some interesting particularities. This gin, designed by Ludwig Lampaert for his spirits company Ghost in a Bottle, is oaked. Its taste is exceptional and it can be drunk straight, like a rum or a whisky, without a mixer - although it’s also interesting with a mixer (see textbox on the right). May I also add that it just won an award? The World Drinks Awards, presented by TheDrinksReport. com – the world’s no.1 online resource for drinks professionals – select, reward and promote the world’s best drinks around the world. The results of the 2018 World Gin Awards were announced on 15 February in London. The judges shortlisted the top gins from each country, which then competed against one another in a second round for best in their category (there are nine categories for gins). Ginetical Wooded Edition won the World’s Best Matured Gin Award. Here is how the judges described it: “Dark, complex, subtle juniper-led nose, with hints of cherry. Makes way for an explosion of taste of berries and a smooth finish.” I would add a hint of cinnamon. Another particularity comes from one of the 12 spices it is flavoured with, a local bog-myrtle (myrica gale). The catkins of this shrub bring a resinous aroma to the gin. They were used in the Middle Ages in a mixture called gruit as a flavouring for beer, before the extensive use of hops from the 16th century onwards. Ginetical is produced in small batches in artisanal fashion at one of the oldest independent distilleries of Belgium, De Korhaan in Hechtel. Like the other products from Ghost in a Bottle (Ginetical Royal Edition, vermouth and rum) Ginetical Wooded Edition is sold by the best cavistes in Brussels – I tasted it at Francis Bernard’s wine shop in Woluwe-Saint-Lambert. By the way, I forgot to tell you that it comes not only in 70 cl bottles but also in 10cl bottles – a must for your hand luggage!

Ginetical & Tonic To make the perfect G&T, you need: - 5 cl of Ginetical Wooded Edition - one huge ice-cube - 15 cl of neutral tonic* - no garnish *The tonic should be neutral (i.e. not too sweet, not too acidic, not too bitter and not too flavoured), to respect the subtle woody taste of this unusual G&T. I would use: Yellow Fever Tree, Schweppes premium tonic water or Erasmus Bond Classic Tonic Water (yellow). Dry Martini - 1 cl of Ginetical Royal Edition - 4 cl of Vermouth Ghost in a Bottle* Stir the spirits and some ice cubes in a glass with a spoon for 15 seconds. Pour the liquid in an ice-cold Martini glass, while keeping the ice cubes in the first glass. Add 1-3 green olives on a toothpick. *This amber vermouth is another great product from Ghost in a Bottle, made from white Portuguese wine macerated with mint, chamomile, ginger, orange peel and 17 other botanicals. The result is a very fresh vermouth that results in a very smooth and subtle Dry Martini, my favourite cocktail.

Ginetical Wooded Edition ghostinabottle.be - Vins Francis Bernard Avenue Prekelinden 131, 1200 Woluwe-SaintLambert - Tel: 02 735 68 80

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THE FOOD PRODUCT

BREAD If you are a tourist, you will probably not take home any bread from Belgium. But if you are an expat, the search for good bread in Brussels will definitely be one of your first concerns after arrival - and sometimes years after. You must look for a genuine boulangerie, i.e. a place where a baker bakes his own bread. There are a few types of bread in Belgium: pain français (only the form is French, not the taste!); round or square white, semi-grey and grey loaf, according to the proportion of double-zero (white) flour; pistolet (small and round); sandwich (small and oblong). Everything else is a special bread and features various cereals or seeds inside. You can also find French baguettes in Brussels but they will never be as crunchy as the original item because several additives authorised in France are forbidden here. A little selection of great German breads can be found at Carrefour on Rue des Tongres near Merode and at a pop-up shop run by a smiling Ecuadorian lady at some markets (Place Lux on Wednesdays and Place des Chasseurs Ardennais on Fridays). Here is my (entirely subjective) list of top bakeries in Brussels: Le Saint-Aulaye (near Place Châtelain in Ixelles, at Fort-Jaco and rue Vanderkindere in Uccle), Boulangerie Renard (Place Fernand Cocq in Ixelles), La fleur du pain (Place Flagey in Ixelles), Maison Renardy (Chaussée de Wavre in Ixelles), Chez Charli (rue Sainte Catherine in the centre of town), Wittamer (Place du Sablon in the centre), Boulangerie française (in Drogenbos), C'est si bon (Place Saint Guidon in Anderlecht), Maison Eric Kayser (near the Bascule quarter in Ixelles), Boulangerie-pâtisserie Callier (at the Vivier d’Oie in Uccle), Boulangerie Gateau (near Merode in Etterbeek) and Au Pays de L’Epeautre (near Hermann Debroux in Auderghem). I’m open to your suggestions! Special tip: At the Bread Festival on Rond-Point Schuman on the 5th of May, you will have the opportunity to meet some of Brussels’ top bakers (including Yves Guns, who supplies starred restaurants). The sixth edition of the Fête du Pain this spring will feature bakers from many countries, including Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania, Romania, Iran, Morocco and Greece. Some of them will even bake on-site. Frenchman Philippe Hermenier, named Meilleur Ouvrier de France, will return again for a lively

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animation. Germany will be present with a bread stand and surprising bread “skewers”. Belgium will be there with Walloon and Flemish millers. There will also be a pizza oven. And kids will be able to learn to make their own bread. The event always attracts thousands of people because it is held the same day as the Fête de l’Europe, an Open Day for the European institutions - these will all be present at the Rond-Point Schuman. Finally, as ever, there will be stands selling anything you can associate with bread: tapas, spreads, sausages, chocolate, you name it. Marion Wolfers, co-founder of Schuman Square association which organizes the event says: “We chose bread as a theme for this event held at the heart of the capital of Europe because it carries the values of fraternity, sharing and diversity.”

Fête du Pain Rond-Point Schuman - Saturday 5th of May 11am-6pm

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30-3-2018 15:29:10

BRUSSELS FORGOTTEN MUSEUMS The Sewer Museum By Derek Blyth

The route you follow takes you under the Chaussée de Mons where a metal street sign names the road above your head. The sewer system is in some ways like an underground city with its own network of streets, alleys and squares.

ost people walk straight past the two white toll gates at the Porte d’Anderlecht. But push open the door of the south pavilion and you find yourself in one of the city’s most secret museums. The Sewer Museum is one of the only museums in the world that let you go down into a city’s sewer system and learn the hidden history of how the city gets rid of its waste. Opened in 1988, the museum occupies two identical neoclassical pavilions built in the 1830s to collect taxes on goods imported into the city. The tax system was abolished in 1860, but the empty pavilions were left standing.

“The Sewer Museum is one of the only museums in the world that let you go down into a city’s sewer system and learn the hidden history of how the city gets rid of its waste.” The visit begins in the south toll house, where you find a fascinating exhibition on the

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underground pipes that carry Brussels waste. It begins with the extraordinary story of the lost River Senne, which used to meander gently through the old town until it became so polluted that the city authorities put it underground.

The museum used to be owned by the city water authority, but it was taken over by the Brussels department of culture in 2010, adding another museum to the city’s long list of strange collections.

The turning point came in 1865 when 3,500 people died from a cholera epidemic linked to the polluted river. Now the Senne runs through a vaulted brick tunnel that forms part of a vast network of drains and pipes built to take waste water out of the city.

It might sound like a grim place to take your visitors, but the story is told in an interesting way using scale models, city maps and film footage, as well as old photographs of the lost River Senne that look as if they could have been taken in Bruges.

Brussels’ sewage network was built towards the end of the 19th century. The total length of all the tunnels in Brussels’ 19 communes stretch some 1,500 kilometres or about 5 times the distance between Brussels and Paris. Sometimes you see rusty pipes poking through the vaulted roof. Each of these pipes is connected to an individual house.

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“When you take all 19 communes, the total length of sewers in Brussels Region amounts to 1,500 kilometres. It’s a massive undertaking that carries waste water for more than a million people, each person on average producing 130 litres a day.”

You learn that the city’s sewer system was begun in the 19th century. By 1847, the city had constructed 45 kilometres of vaulted brick tunnels. The network grew to 110 kilometres in 1879 and now runs for 350 kilometres, or further than the distance from Brussels to Paris. But that’s just Brussels commune in the city centre. When you take all 19 communes, the total length of sewers in Brussels Region amounts to 1,500 kilometres. It’s a massive undertaking that carries waste water for more than a million people, each person on average producing 130 litres a day. The museum explains the invisible work of the égoutiers, or sewer workers, who spend their days in this hostile urban environment. Their job is made more difficult by illegal chemical discharges, damage caused by construction work, traffic vibrations and tree roots breaking through the brickwork. And then there’s the risk of infection, along with the danger of the tunnels flooding after heavy rainfall. As if that wasn’t enough, one quarter of the sewer system was recently described by the Brussels water authority Vivaqua as in “poor or very poor state.” The tunnels will have to be renewed over the coming years, but that will cost an estimated €1.5 billion. With the city already struggling to repair its crumbling road tunnel infrastructure, it hasn’t got a lot of money to deal with the sewage tunnels under the streets. According to a Vivaqua spokesman, the company currently only has funds to renovate 20 kilometres of tunnel every year. Without regular maintenance, the sewer system is an “underground time bomb,” according to Claude Van Rooten, president of the World Road Association. In 2016, he told De Standaard newspaper that leaking sewer pipes were responsible for the sink holes that had caused chaos in several Brussels locations, including Schuman roundabout. “Mayors prefer to build a new sport stadium rather than repair the sewers,” he observed. You can see the sewer system for yourself during a short guided tour that takes you down a flight of steps into a gloomy tunnel. The route you follow takes you under the Chaussée de Mons where a metal street sign names the road above your head. It seems the sewer system is like an underground city with its own network of streets, alleys and squares. You follow a 50-metre stretch of tunnel known as a collector. This is a large tunnel that channels a

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From 26 April to 6 October, the museum is showcasing a public toilet graffiti exhibition, titled “Protest in the Toilet”, to mark the 50th anniversary of the May 1968 revolts in France and Belgium.

“It might sound like a grim place to take your visitors, but the story is told in an interesting way using scale models, city maps and film footage, as well as old photographs of the lost River Senne that look as if they could have been taken in Bruges.” number of minor tunnels, like a boulevard of raw sewage. You notice a low rumble as water gushes under your feet, along with a vaguely unpleasant smell. Sometimes you notice a rusty pipe poking through the vaulted roof. “Each one is connected to an individual house,” explained the retired sewer worker leading our group. “Whenever someone takes a shower, or turns on the dishwasher, you can see the waste water pouring out the pipe.” “And what about rats?” someone asks nervously. “You sometimes see one, but not too often,” the guide says. There are three rats for every Brussels inhabitant, he explains, but they hide away in nests built in the cracks in the walls. “At

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least it’s not like New York, where there are alligators in the sewers.” You are more likely to see a condom floating in the water, or a fat deposit, we are told. “You wouldn’t believe what you find,” the guide says. “Bricks, coins, wedding rings. Even guns.” The museum recently launched an online appeal asking for local residents to send in photographs of toilet graffiti. They will be shown in an exhibition titled Protest in the Toilet to mark the 50th anniversary of the May 1968 revolts in France and Belgium. The photographs are on display from 26 April to 6 October in an exhibition that includes video footage and sound to recreate the atmosphere of the city’s toilets. “We want to reveal the secrets of these intimate public places,” explained museum curator Aude Hendrick. “We don’t want to censor anything.” It looks like this hidden museum is about to reveal some of the city’s most intimate secrets.

The Sewer Museum Porte d’Anderlecht Central Brussels +32 (0)2 279 43 83 sewermuseum.brussels

Liz Newmark is a Brussels-based journalist. She is the former Editor of European Environment & Packaging Law and currently works for International News Agency and a number of different Belgian publications.

DISCOVERING THE ARCHITECTURE OF BRUSSELS

Molenbeek-Saint-Jean

inutes from the city centre, Molenbeek (its name comes from ‘mol’ – mill on a ‘beek’ stream) may be Belgium’s poorest commune, but it is rich in diversity and in architecture. Media reports link the commune to the run-down Chaussée de Gand area near the homes of some of the Paris and Brussels terrorists. But only minutes away stand gorgeous Art Deco homes and cafés, fascinating cités-jardins [the close-knit communities flanked by green areas initiated by 20th century British architect Sir Ebenezer Howard], romantic industrial buildings, cottage-style villas and even a castle. Rural until the early 1900s, Molenbeek only gained independence from Brussels ville in 1795. From around 1850, the commune was dubbed ‘Little Manchester’ with street names to match like ‘Birmingham’ and ‘Manchester’. A wealth of industries, from metal to mustard, settled near the Charleroi canal, like the striking grey concrete, Art Deco-detailed

The Bulex building, Rue Birmingham. Molenbeek was once a hub of industrial activity dubbed ’Little Manchester’. Credit: Service de tourism, Molenbeek.

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Molenbeek’s cemetery is a catalogue of architectural styles. Credit: Service de tourism, Molenbeek.

Gosset (rue Gabrielle Petit) and AJJA/Odon Warland cigarette companies (rue du Comte de Flandre 13-15). Odon Warland’s ‘Boule d’Or’ cigarettes were the official ‘Expo/Exposition ‘58’ brand, while

Molenbeek’s former metalworks has been converted into a fantastic industrial museum, La Fonderie. Credit: Service de tourism, Molenbeek.

an arresting dragon-slaying saint painting on Rue Picard bears witness to Gosset’s successful Saint-Michel make. Molenbeek was once a tobacco capital – its workers made 1,500 cigarettes in ten hours. But with modern technology, this only takes a minute – and slowly all the factories closed. Other big industrial names include still-functioning, coffee-producing Santos Palace (Rue de Manchester 32-34) with its characteristic sombrero label. As the population increased rapidly (to 95,000 today) and new quarters built up, notably near the canal, so did the need to bury their inhabitants. In 1864, a “town of death” in Molenbeek’s cemetery (Chaussée de Gand 539) saw the day. This itself is a wonderful catalogue of Neogothic to Art Deco architecture. Molenbeek is divided into seven distinct areas. Old Molenbeek is set around its own “Grand Place” (Communale) with its stately green copper-dome topped Neoclassical town hall (1889, Jean-Baptiste Janssens) and nearby Parvis de Sint-Jean-Baptiste with its iconic reinforced concrete church. Completely different are the more open maritime quarter, skyscraper city-like Boulevard Mettewie or wide, tree-lined avenues of 1950s residences near Edmond Machtens sports stadium. In its heyday, called the Daring, it housed a wonderful open-air swimming pool and solarium. Contrasts continue in western Molenbeek – where towering 1960s apartments with picturesque names

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like Azalea or Iris stand surreally against the gorgeous, six-hectare Scheutbos nature reserve with its 99 butterfly species. Indeed, people do not realise how green the commune is. Parks Marie-José, with its famous

Gandhi statue, des Muses and Hauwaert were formerly “domains”. And bordering Dilbeek, pretty Moortebeek, with its cottage-style villas, cobbled streets and arrestingly angular, triangular-rooved Resurrection Church (1966), is almost a garden city.

The impressive interior of Molenbeek’s late 19th century Neoclassical town hall. Credit: Service de tourism, Molenbeek.

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“Molenbeek is very varied and eclectic,” Ann Gilles-Goris, responsible for tourism at the 5.9 km2 commune bordering Anderlecht, Koekelberg and Jette, told The Brussels Times, pointing out all its architectural styles, from fairy-tale Château de Karreveld to imposing new steel-and-glass town hall extension. My favourite recent buildings are the salmon-pink, flat-rooved Pierre Blondel houses (Rue Verrept-Dekeyser) – a real taste of Morocco. Molenbeek is not the queen of Art Nouveau but it contains several Art Nouveau-type houses boasting beautiful ceramics from Berchem’s famous [Guillaume] Janssens factory. Notable examples include the flowing-haired women topping Avenue Jean Dubrucq 23, 25 and 71 (the charming blue stone Villa Cléo) or striking murals” at Rue de la Meuse 46. The commune also contains an Art Nouveau-style “Maison de Peuple” (De Vaartkapoen, rue de l’Ecole 76).

Molenbeek enjoys beautiful, often participative, street art and murals. This one cleverly mirrors nearby Place Communale and its copper dome-topped town hall. Credit: Liz Newmark.

Rue Michel Zwaab 10 has wonderful curves, an Art Deco style pillar and ship-like decorations. Credit: Service de tourism, Molenbeek.

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The 1920s are marked by stunning Paquebot Art Deco houses, like yellow-tiled, black balconied Square des Liberations 9, the apartment blocks bordering Rue Duydelle or Rue Michel Zwaab 10 with its curved white balcony and porthole

Rue Michel Zwaab 10 delights for its geometry, symmetry and ship-like effects. Credit: Service de tourism, Molenbeek.

Molenbeek has a wealth of Art Deco houses particularly ’Paquebot’ style - all curves and yellow brick, like these Rue Duydelle corner flats. Credit: Service de tourism, Molenbeek

windows. More geometric and decorative Art Deco is at Rue des Osiers 32 (1928), with its beautiful stained-glass windows. Cafés also sport this style – notably Les Trappistes and the larger Le Saint Charles (408 and 394 Chaussée de Gand). Most striking of all is the crimson-painted Aux 100,000 Chemises (Rue Comte de Flandre 38), the old-style clothes shop. Molenbeek stands out for social housing, from blocks to garden cities, particularly by famous resident Joseph Diongre. It also oozes style Spirou or ludic modernism – all bright, fresh colours, boomerang and star shapes, particularly (including a striking school, Rue du Gulden Bodem), near Olympic swimming pool Namèche (Rue Van Kalck 93) – this a fascinating 1972 Brutalist concrete affair.

Enter the 1960s and 1970s and the spectacular, 23-storey, concrete, curved Corbusier-style Résidence Arc-en-Ciel (1968, Boulevard Edmond Machtens 153) with its block concrete fountain sculpture (1975), or smaller, rectangular Résidence Orchidée opposite (Boulevard Louis Mettewie 85), are unmissable. This period also provided charming communal buildings like Crèche Reine Fabiola with its striking wall mural (Rue Jean Dubrucq 90). For Gilles-Goris, Molenbeek has excelled in converting industrial wasteland to parks (notably Parc de la Fonderie behind a one-time metalworks now fascinating Fonderie industrial heritage museum, Rue Ransfort 27) or factories to modern complexes. The red-brick Brasseries Belles Vue now contains the bike- and backpacker-friendly Meininger hotel and MIMA (Millenium

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The gorgeous Vaartkapoen sculpture which many Molenbeek locals believe should be made into figurines for Brussels tourists. Credit: Service de tourism, Molenbeek.

Iconoclast Museum of Art); Raffineries Graeffe sugar refinery houses the Brussels branch of Charleroi-Danses; and, Vervloet lockmakers inhabits the impressively renovated former printworks, Rue de la Borne. In addition, several creative start-up companies are based in old industrial buildings near the canal including LaVallée, Rue Adolphe Lavallée 39 and iMAL (the interactive Media Art Laboratory, Quai des Charbonnages 30). Almost Dickensian Place de la Minoterie, with its giant former flour mills, is a mini industrial city in itself. Moreover, Molenbeekois themselves get involved, Gilles-Goris said, highlighting the participative ceramic murals at Rue de l’Eléphant 4 and Rue Evariste Pierron – complete with sparkling mosaic lighthouse. The charming multicoloured windmills waving all along the canal, marking Molenbeek’s territory, are another community project, she added. The dynamic commune has several architectural projects for 2018, Gilles-Goris continued, including Maison de la Nature for the Scheutbos and

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Cruyff Court [synthetic football pitch from the (Johan) Cruyff foundation] in Parc des Muses.” Sport is big in Molenbeek, she added, producing hockey and judo champions. Other famous residents include jazz star Toots Thielemans and social-realist painter Eugène Laermans. Culturally, the Brussels beer festival moves to Molenbeek this year, while the Maison de la Culture and MoMuse museum, in their cavernous 19th century buildings, offer year-round activities. “There are many initiatives in all areas,” Gilles-Goris emphasised, applauding the vitality and will of people to work with the youth and immigrant population. “Molenbeek is like its iconic Saint-Jean-Baptiste church,” she explained. “The outside may look somber, but venture inside and it shines.” And while the attacks stopped tourists coming to Brussels for a while, they increased Molenbeek’s attraction. “We have more tourists now, and that’s a positive thing,” she said, hoping one day the commune might even create figurines of Tom Frantzen’s 1991 comic Vaartkapoen [Molenbeek resident] sculpture (Place Sainctelette) à la Brussels Mannekin Pis.

(Just one of many)

Molenbeek Top Fives

The fairy-tale like Chateau de Karreveld in its beautiful grounds once housed a roaring Vélodrome. Credit: Service de tourism, Molenbeek.

1. CHÂTEAU DU KARREVELD, Avenue Jean de la Hoese 3 The Karreveld site with its lake and parkland is stunning. Credit: Service de tourism, Molenbeek.

It is difficult to imagine that this bucolic site with its redbrick and black-tiled rooved “castle”, cobbled courtyards, and English and French-style gardens once sported a roaring Vélodrome [a hippodrome was also once planned for Place Duchesse]. From 1908-1916, bicycles raced around today’s beautiful lake and parkland. The original ferme-château buildings and courtyard were also used as a dairy. In 1908, French/Molenbeek resident Alfred Machin, from Pathé-Frères, used the Karreveld as Belgium’s first cinema, complete with “zoo garden” to provide animals for his films. Molenbeek was once a cinematic hub, boasting nine cinemas in the 1950s. But they could not compete with television and now only dilapidated façades like the Art Deco ‘Forum’ (Chaussée de Gand 42-46), today a gaudy furniture shop, remain. The former domain and property of Count Villegas was fully renovated in the 1950s, in time for Expo 58. Then the castle doubled as a hotel for visitors and Belgium’s football team. Classified in 1953, the castle was refurbished recently “à l’identique”, Goris-Gilles said proudly. Used for marriages and council meetings, it also hosts cultural events, notably the Bruxellons theatre festival.

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The romantic Whitbread building with its turreted tower is a memory of Molenbeek’s brewing days. Credit: Liz Newmark.

2. BREWERIES VANDENHEUVEL, CHAUSSÉE DE NINOVE / RUE ALPHONSE VANDENPEEREBOOM AND WHITBREAD, RUE DE ROTTERDAM

Molenbeek’s own ’bridge of sighs’, now classified, linked the two brasserie Vandenheuvel complexes. Credit: Liz Newmark.

The striking Whitbread ceramic panel. Credit: Liz Newmark.

Just opposite ultra-modern Gare de l’Ouest, the grandiose but fading (letters are missing from its sign) Vandenheuvel complex is a shock. This industrial brewery that moved to Molenbeek in 1920 was once the most important in the country and produced Expo 58’s official ‘Ekla’ pils beer. At its height, beer brewing spanned the Chaussée de Ninove and Rue des Quatre-Vents, Rue Edmond Bonehill, Rue Alphonse Vandenpeereboom and Rue Pierre Van Humbeek. The Chaussée de Ninove buildings were demolished but you can still see the classified, “bridge-of-sighs”-like walkway that linked the Rue Vandenpeereboom and Chaussée de Ninove sites. Nearby, park Vandenheuvel demonstrates Molenbeek’s skill in converting industrial remains into green space. In the maritime quarter, the imposing Whitbread buildings (1908) are particularly romantic and beautifully preserved. The sombre, dark-brick architecture (of Paul Bonduelle and Charles Gilson) is typical of the time. A striking Whitbread ceramic panel graces the castle-like tower that held the water reservoir in brewing days. A whitechalky Whitbread sign enlivens another wall. Beer brewing stopped in 1990. The British stout and pale ale was never brewed in Brussels either – the site was just used as a warehouse, with beer transported from London in barrels. Fully renovated in 1996, the complex now contains a Lidl and Zebrano restaurant. While Molenbeek’s glory days of beer are over, artisanal beer brasseries like Le Phare du Kanaal (Quai des Charbonnages 40) are springing up instead.

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The interior of Molenbeek’s Saint-Jean-Baptiste, with its spectacular curved arches and brightly coloured stained glass, simply shines. Credit: Lieve Soete.

3. SAINT-JEAN-BAPTISTE CHURCH, PARVIS DE L’EGLISE SAINT-JEANBAPTISTE

Molenbeek’s iconic Saint-Jean-Baptiste is one of Brussels’ three reinforced concrete churches. Credit: Service de tourism, Molenbeek.

Stunning Modernist/Art Deco Saint-Jean-Baptiste church was designed in 1930-1932 by Joseph Diongre, whose highlights include the Flagey radio building. It is one of Brussels’ three reinforced concrete churches (with Forest’s Saint-Augustin and Schaerbeek’s Sainte-Suzanne). The impressive 56-metre tower tops the white stone exterior with parallel-lined motifs. The geometry and symmetry achieved by the gorgeous lattice windows, cross on the tower and simplistic clock are superb. Diongre uses similar figures – like stair patterns – all over the church. The grand concrete staircase leads up to three imposing black copper doors. And don’t miss the charming, Symbolist-looking stone mural (Albert Aebly) of Christ standing in the river Jordan with saint Jean-Baptiste and an angel. Boasting beautiful Belgian marble, the interior features six massive oval arches set aside from the walls, inspired by similarly constructed Paris Orly airport. And it shimmers – from light bursting from Brussels craftsman Fernand Crickx’s gorgeous stained-glass windows. The church is also innovative for its underfloor heating and, rare for the 1930s, electric lighting.

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Brussels is famous for its cité jardins and the Cité Diongre with its deep blue and white houses is one of its best. Credit: Service de tourism, Molenbeek.

Molenbeek’s famous architect Joseph Diongre was an expert in designing lowcost social housing like these picturesque blocks of flats with triangular balconies, Avenue Jean Dubrucq. Credit: Liz Newmark.

4. SOCIAL HOUSING: Cités Diongre et de Saulnier, around Rue Joseph Diongre and Rue Armand de Saulnier, and Cité Van Hemelrijck, Rue de l’Indépendance 131 / Rue de Groeninghe 25 The stand-out striking deep-blue ’swimming pool’ courtyard of Adolphe Puissant’s huge apartment blocks. Credit: Liz Newmark.

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Brussels is famous for its cité jardins – and Molenbeek’s Cité Diongre is one of its finest. In 1922, the commune commissioned renowned architect Diongre to design around 100 homes near the future Boulevard Mettewie. The Cité is in country-cottage style, featuring painted wood shutters and balconies, terracotta-tiled and gabled rooves and arched windows and porches. There are two main types: dark blue and stone; or, cream and brick. Best of all, each house has its own pictogram – including flowers, sporting symbols or Zodiac signs – above the door. And the grassy-squared complex originally had a communal laundry. Nearby, triangular Cité De Saulnier (1923), currently being renovated, was built more economically. The

The Cité Diongre is in country-cottage style with red-tile gabled roves, arched doorways and small gardens. Credit: Service de tourism, Molenbeek. striking brick and pale concrete buildings mainly contain flats. Diongre also built picturesque social housing at Avenue Jean Dubrucq 201-209 with delightful triangular stone balconies. Demonstrating how low-cost materials can be beautiful, these homes also sport his signature pictograms from animals to aeroplanes.

and-stone apartment blocks, surrounding courtyards containing what looks like the bottom of deep-blue swimming pools, are arguably even more eye-catching.

Just opposite, Adolphe Puissant’s huge 1930s brick-

In 1932, Diongre also created ultra-modern Cité Van Hemelrijck featuring triangular fronted façades, Corbusiesque pillars and criss-cross patterned concrete open balcony/walkways. Its stark grey concrete and red brick create strikingly decorative effects.

Each of the Cité Diongre houses sports beautiful pictograms above the door, from sporting symbols to signs of the Zodiac. Credit: Liz Newmark.

The Cité Diongre is a haven of calm and green space just off the busy Boulevard Mettewie. Credit: Liz Newmark.

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5. STYLE SPIROU/1958: la maison Durieu, Rue de la Fraîcheur 26, and others

The classified Maison Durieu with its turquoise mosaic column and delicate white iron-barred balcony is a 1950s delight. Credit: Service de tourism, Molenbeek.

The classified Durieu house is a 1950s Spirou style gem, built 1954 by Jacques Dupuis and Simone GuillesenHoa for engineer Durieu. In 2007, it was beautifully renovated by Durieu’s daughter Pascale. To increase space, Dupuis made the staircases part of the first and second floor living areas. The grey concrete house with sky-blue details stands out for its first-floor iron balcony with triangular, haphazard bars and upturned blue painted roof, wall-towall windows and bright white-painted corrugated garage doors. I was most taken with the blue mosaic pillar on the second and delicate white iron columns on the third floor balconies. Other bel-étage (garage on the ground-floor, living area above) houses nearby include Rue Elegie 16 and Rue Alfred Dupois 54, with their higgledy-piggledy brownand-grey stonework and iron balconies. Or check out sea-blue mosaic walls, boomerang door handles and wonderful figurative decorations at the Avenue de Roovere flats. Moortebeek also oozes 1950s optimism and ‘Expo 1958’ features – look, for example, at gleaming yellow, whitetiled Rue Oiselet 39.

Maison Durieu - with its haphazard arrangement of bars, wall-to-wall windows and upturned blue roof - is quite simply amazing. Credit: Service de tourism, Molenbeek.

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Style Spirou is everywhere in Molenbeek particularly near Olympic swimming pool Louis Nameche. Rue Alfred Dubois 54, a perfect bel-étage house with higgledypiggledy brick slabs, is one highlight. Credit: Service de tourism, Molenbeek.

Charming Moortebeek is another world with its cobbled streets, cottage-style villas and bright coloured bel-etage houses like Rue de l’Oiselet 16. Credit: Service de tourism, Molenbeek.

With its wide balconies, wall-to-wall windows and overhanging flat roof - Rue Elégie 18 is style Spirou supreme. Credit: Service de tourism, Molenbeek.

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SPONSORED Bia Mara is now launching a new TAPAS MENU! Perfect place for an after-work drink. Inspired by the idea of reinventing classical Fish & Chips, Simon Whiteside took a risk to change a perception of traditional preparation, fish and spices choice, and made a revolution in vision of this meal. Instead of using just usual cod and haddock, supplies of which in the world are already exhausted, they added such species as hake, salmon, pollock, seabass, haddock and many others. The only thing they couldn’t give up is to serve it in the paper, just the way it is supposed to be. Still nowadays the main values remain sustainability, guests’ satisfaction and incredible taste. Every month Simon creates a new specialty with a hue of some country’s culture inspiration. He already created more than 60 recipes of seasoning and sauces.

New Tapas menu includes such items as baby octopus with sriracha mayo, calamari hot rings, silverfish with garlic truffle, chorizo stuffed squid … Bia Mara, Brussels Place de Londres, 1 Ixelles Monday to Friday: 12h - 14:30h / 17:30h - 22h Saturday: 17:30h to 22h, Close on Sunday www.biamara.com/ www.facebook.com/BiaMaraBrussels/

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HORTENSE & HUMUS This elegant cocktail bar and restaurant occupies a former tea room near Place Flagey. It is decorated with marble tables, wooden shelves and a flamboyant mock rococo ceiling. Chef Nicolas Decloedt creates innovative food using vegetables supplied by local wild farmers, while barman Mathieu Chaumont comes up with cocktails and craft beers to match.

Rue de Vergnies 2, Ixelles +32 (0)474 65 37 06, humusrestaurant.be Hortense & Humus

PARC TOUR ET TAXIS You get a fantastic, unreal view of the modern Brussels skyline from the 19th-century Pont du Jubilé. The bridge runs above the newly-planted park at Tour et Taxis, providing a panoramic view of a strange, semi-wild landscape, along with an abandoned rail yard, vast customs warehouses and several modern buildings. Not at all what you expect in Brussels.

Pont du Jubilé, Sainctelette Metro: Pannenhuis

LE LOCAL Two young women opened this innovative restaurant on a quiet Ixelles street in 2018. They aim to provide healthy, tasty cooking while following sustainable, nowaste principles. The kitchen offers inventive dishes featuring unexpected flavours, along with good wines and unusual beers from two of the city’s innovative microbreweries.

Rue de la Longue Haie 51, Ixelles +32 (0)2 647 68 03, lelocalbxl.be

KUMIKO This cavernous bar on two levels is located in an old industrial building near the canal. It is furnished in a rugged rustic style with massive wood tables, low lamps and ancient metal stools. Not the most comfortable place in town, but it attracts trendy locals with its tasty Japanese food, craft beers from Brussels Beer Project and regular concerts.

Kumiko

MONUMENT TO THE FAIRGROUND WORKERS

Rue d’Alost 7-11, Dansaert Quarter +0476 84 12 86, kumiko.be Monument To The Fairground Workers

A beautiful, sad monument stands on a little square near the Gare du Midi. It represents a Pierrot holding a gold mask in one hand and a sword in the other. The monument was put up in 1924 in memory of 30 fairground workers who died in World War One. A further 30 names were added after the Second World War. The monument stands on the boulevard where the Midi Funfair is held every year.

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BRUT Four local creatives opened this fabulous plant store in the Marolles in 2015. It is dedicated to rare cacti, ancient ferns and other green curiosities to perk up an urban apartment. You can also pick up vintage furniture, terrariums and handmade macramé hangers.

Rue Haute 202, Marolles +32 (0)2 275 39 58, brutbrussels.com

Brut

MOK Jens Crabbe’s new coffee shop near the Brussels canal has become a hotspot with a young local crowd. The interior has a tiled floor, pale wood benches and a lunch counter hidden in the back room. This is a place to visit if you are looking for an exceptionally smooth flat white made on a shiny La Marzocco espresso machine.

Rue Dansaert 196, Dansaert Quarter +32 (0)495 31 67 18, mokcoffee.be

JUTTU The name looks Finnish, but Juttu is a pure Belgian concept. Created by outdoor company AS Adventure, this inspiring concept store opened in early March on the upper floor of the former Marks and Spencer shop. Head up the escalator to the first floor and you find yourself in a cool Nordic style space with an inspiring mix of clothes, watches, plants and books. The focus is on 100 small emerging brands with a unique identity, like Anerkjendt of Denmark, Cluse of Amsterdam and Anrwrp from Belgium. And there’s a smart Scandi-style bio café run by Chyl.

Avenue de la Toison d’Or 26, Ixelles +32 (0)2 771 95 34, juttu.be

OAKOAK The French street artist OAKOAK was commissioned in 2017 to produce 12 tiny works in the Saint-Catherine district. They are carefully merged into the urban fabric so most people don’t even notice them. The works include a manhole turned into a fish skeleton outside Rue de Flandre 54, the Dalton brothers behind bars at Boulevard d’Ypres 15 and a piano keyboard on the doorstep of Rue du Marché aux Porcs 23. Malting Pot

MALTING POT You can tell Brussels is getting serious about beer from the growing number of new craft breweries opening all over town. But where do you buy those quirky experimental beers that are competing with big brands? Some can be found in supermarkets, but you really need to go to a specialised shop to get the interesting stuff. Malting Pot is one of the best places to head for advice on what is new. This small shop near Place Flagey stocks about 200 beers by small breweries, including local pioneers Brasserie de la Senne and Brussels Beer Project, along with foreign brews imported from France, the United States and even Norway.

Rue Scarron 50, Ixelles www.maltingpot.be

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