Expensive Belgians

Now we know why Belgian chocolate is so damned expensive:

Belgian workers are the most expensive in the Union at €35.6 per hour in costs for employers, including wages and social security, the EU commission says. Denmark, France and the Netherlands are also above €30. Bulgaria is the cheapest on €2.5, while the EU average hovers at around €22.


China is even cheaper than Bulgaria. No wonder then that the first Belgian choco factory in China is already in operation. Soon we will probably see a Chinese speaking Lady Godiva.

Sweden first to recognise that Belgium is a failed state

The Swedish government has obviously realised that Belgium is a failed state. Consequently the government on December 22 announced that it will close the Embassy of Sweden in Brussels during 2011.

Indeed, why should Sweden have an embassy in a country that a few days earlier was described in this way by one of its leading politicians:

BRUSSELS (AFP) – Flemish nationalist leader Bart De Wever called Belgium a failed state with a French-speaking region addicted to subsidies, sparking a war of words Monday in stalled government talks.
The kingdom's linguistic and financial fault line, splitting wealthier Dutch-speaking Flanders and francophone Wallonia, appeared far from closing as Belgium marked Monday six months without a government since June 13 elections, a stalemate that has unnerved the markets.

New Flemish Alliance leader De Wever, who wants greater autonomy for Flanders and power over the public purse, accused socialist-led French-speakers of blocking "sensible" reforms in an interview with a German magazine.
"This is why I say that Belgium no longer works. It is a nation that has failed," the nationalist leader told Der Spiegel in an interview published on Monday.
"Ultimately the Belgian state has no future," he said.

PS
It would not be surprising if a number of other countries join Sweden on this matter in the near future.

Belgium - a failed nation

Over six months have passed since the general election, but Belgium is still without a functioning government. Flemish nationalist, Bert De Wever, leader of the country´s largest party wants to split the nation into two:

Belgium has sunk into political chaos. Following the parliamentary elections six months ago, all attempts to build a new government have failed. The country is divided into two camps that oppose each other, apparently irreconcilably: the socialists, who won the most votes in Wallonia, the French-speaking southern region of the country, and the nationalist conservatives in Flanders, the wealthier Dutch-speaking northern region.

The New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) obtained the most parliamentary seats in June's elections. Its leader Bart De Wever wants to split Belgium into two. In an interview with SPIEGEL that was published in German on Monday, De Wever described how Begium is the "sick man" of Europe and has "no future in the long run."

 

SPIEGEL: Mr. De Wever, how much longer do you think Belgium will last?
De Wever: I'm not a revolutionary, and I'm not working toward the immediate end of Belgium. And I don't have to do that, either, because Belgium will eventually evaporate of its own accord. What we Flemish want is to be able to control our own judiciary, as well as our fiscal and social policy. We feel that foreign policy is in better hands with the European Union. But the nation of Belgium has no future in the long run. It is too small for greater political ambitions, and it's too heterogeneous for smaller things like taxes and social issues.

Read more here.

Euro crisis hits the "heart of Europe"?

There are signs that Belgium could become the next country to suffer in the eurozone:

Jetzt wackelt auch noch das kleine Belgien

Hohes Pro-Kopf-Einkommen, solides Wachstum: Auf den ersten Blick geht es Belgien gut. Doch nun explodieren die Schulden – und die politischen Probleme sind riesig.

Es ist der dritthöchste Berg Europas – und steht ausgerechnet in Belgien. Das Land hat in der Finanzkrise viel Geld in sein Bankensystem gesteckt und dabei den dritthöchsten Schuldenberg in Europa aufgebaut. Und der macht die internationalen Investoren zunehmend nervös. So sehr, dass in der vergangenen Woche bereits das Gerücht die Runde machte, dass Belgien als nächstes Land um Hilfe aus dem EU-Rettungsschirm bitten könnte.

Here is some additional information on Belgium´s problems.