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Change of leadership brings new mood
 The radiant smile of Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz seems to reflect a new mood across the country of which, all being well, she should one day be queen. The ecstatic crowds which have greeted this 26-year-old speech therapist, fiancee of the heir to the throne, Prince Philippe, on her recent tours of Belgium are testimony not only to her manifest warmth and beauty. She is also the first future Belgian queen born within the country's borders. ...more
THE ECONOMY:
Job creation is priority
For years, Belgium's economic priorities were dominated by the need to cut its debt and budget deficit to qualify for monetary union. Now there is a new goal - getting more people into work. Rudy Demotte, the minister for the economy and scientific research, recently outlined the rationale in a speech to Belgian employers. ...more
REGIONAL POLITICS:
Tensions are still close to the surface
When Elio Di Rupo, new minister-president of French-speaking Wallonia, met Patrick Dewael, his counterpart from Dutch-speaking Flanders, in September and addressed him partly in Dutch, it was noticed. ...more
AGRICULTURE:
Striving to regain a label of food quality
Belgian authorities knew there was a problem early this year when Flemish farmers reported mysterious deaths among chickens. But they were woefully ill-prepared for the European Union's biggest food crisis in more than three years. ...more
GUY VERHOFSTADT:
Standing for a fresh vision on politics
The arrival of Guy Verhofstadt at 16 Rue de la Loi, the office of the Belgian prime minister, seems to be destiny fulfilled.At 28, he was the youngest ever president of a Belgian political party. At 32, he was a deputy prime minister and budget minister. ...more
THE BEER INDUSTRY:
Recipes prove to be more than just froth
First it was Mexican beer with a lime in the bottle, then it was Czech Budweiser. Now, it seems, it is the turn of Belgium's specialist brews to be the trendiest drink at the bar.From London to Manhattan, drinkers are testing out - and liking - white beers, brown beers, mona-brewed trappist beers, sour gueuzes, wheat-brewed lambics and cherry-flavoured kriek. ...more
CULTURE:
Capital task for Brussels 2000
For its organisers, Brussels 2000 is nothing less than a dauntless bid to reposition Brussels as the capital of Belgium.To outsiders, this might look bizarre, but inside Belgium the official capital has for years suffered neglect, sitting uncomfortably between Dutch-speaking Flanders and French-speaking Wallonia and being home to the European Union's army of bureaucrats. ...more
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