Address by Jan Peumans, Speaker of the in celebration of 11 July 2016 Day of the Flemish Community

Mon 11 July 2016 – 11 am – Brussels City Hall

Dames en Heren, Geachte genodigden,

Namens het Bureau van het Vlaams Parlement heet ik u op deze Vlaamse feestdag van harte welkom in het stadhuis van Brussel.

Mesdames et Messieurs, Chers invités,

C’est avec grand plaisir que je vous souhaite la bienvenue à la Fête de la Communauté flamande.

Meine Damen und Herren,

Ich heisse auch unsere deutschsprachigen Freunde herzlich willkomen. Wir freuen uns dass Sie unseren Nationalfeiertag mit uns feiern.

Dear ladies and gentlemen of the diplomatic corps,

It is an honour for us to welcome you as the representatives of your country or your community to celebrate with us the Day of the Flemish Community.

Northern neighbours

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Today we have reason to be proud. Last year I started my speech with a chapter titled 'Pride and a Sense of Identity'.

I want to remind the Flemish of that pride and sense of identity, by looking beyond the Flemish borders, to the North.

Towards our northern neighbours. To the . If there is one nation that can teach us a thing or two about pride and a sense of identity, it's the Dutch.

In they're sometimes called ‘arrogant’, just as they will portray us, the Flemish, as ‘good-humoured’ and ‘enjoying the good life’. However, I noticed nothing of the cliché that the Dutch would be arrogant during Prime Minister Mark Rutte's visit to the Flemish Parliament last autumn. The relationships with the Dutch ambassador, Mrs Maryem Van den Heuvel and her predecessor, Mr Henne Schuwer, have always been very warm.

It's no coincidence that I mention them. I would like to take the opportunity today to speak about the relationships between Flanders and the Netherlands. I myself, having been the mayor of a border municipality for twelve years, attach great importance to cross-border cooperation.

From my current position, I would like to strongly argue in favour of a more intensive collaboration between Flanders and our closely similar northern neighbour.

Warande

I cannot think of a more symbolic location than this Brussels City Hall to speak about this subject. Only a few hundred metres away, in the Warande Park, the Netherlands and separated in 1830.

Nevertheless, the Flemish part of Belgium in particular has a long shared history with the Netherlands.

In 1581 the States-General of the Netherlands attempted to unite all Dutch-speaking areas, both the southern Flanders and the northern Holland, with the 'Act of Abjuration' in order to separate from Spain.

This republic of confederate states did not last long. The Spaniards reconquered the Southern, or Flemish, part of the Low Countries.

That new situation had dramatic consequences. It caused an exodus from to Amsterdam, which then led to estrangement between the regions. For almost four centuries Flanders and the Netherlands developed in completely different directions.

With their adventurous seafarer mentality and Calvinistic entrepreneurial spirit, our Dutch neighbours became a world economic power in their Golden Age.

Flanders however, was stuck under the yoke of foreign rulers. Even after the Belgian independence in 1830, the Flemish were treated as second-rate citizens in their own country during one and a half century.

The result goes without saying. When the Flemish awareness after the Second World War led to an accelerated process of political emancipation in the 60s and 70s, we looked towards the Netherlands.

In many respects, the Netherlands served as an example. While in Leuven and other Flemish university cities the zeitgeist of 68 mostly led to community emancipation, in Flanders we watched the pluralisation of Amsterdam in awe, which rather, in the slipstream of Paris, marked a democratisation of the institutions.

The Netherlands was a real leader with international companies such as Shell and Philips, which developed into major global players.

Cultural example

Another much more banal historical fact proves the Netherlands' leading role: the first regular TV transmission in colour on Flemish television, in January 1971, was… De Fabeltjeskrant.

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At that time, a lot of Flemish viewers were watching Dutch television: Avro’s Toppop, Koot en Bie, Mies Bouwman.

Culture with a small c or culture with a capital C such as Claus, the Flemish sought their entertainment and inspiration north of the Moerdijk.

Culture came from Amsterdam.

"You can buy books there that are hard to find here. You can look at Van Gogh, that's definitely something you should do sometime", that's how Kris de Bruyne expressed his love for the Dutch capital in his immortal tribute.

Emancipation

The adoration had extensive consequences: the whole of Flanders made great efforts to speak ABN, Standard Educated Dutch.

It is no coincidence that during that period, more specifically in 1971, our Cultural Council of the Dutch Cultural Community was founded, the forerunner of our Flemish Parliament.

I repeat: the Cultural Council of the DUTCH Cultural Community and not the DUTCH- SPEAKING Cultural Community.

In that Cultural Council, the current Flemish Parliament, a different debating culture than in the Belgian Parliament quickly formed, with a much more business-like and efficient approach to societal issues.

The assembly I have the privilege of being speaker of, which used to be called Cultural Council, is now so much more. Our Flemish Parliament is an established assembly, which just as the Government of Flanders has become an important decision maker of an equally decisive population.

Joint missions

However, as a result of the Belgian state structure, daily reality forces Flanders to turn its attention to the north. The Sixth State Reform three years ago has given us additional powers, which can be used as leverage for closer connections with the Netherlands.

I need only refer to the different shared trade missions by Prime Minister Rutte with our Prime Ministers Kris Peeters and Geert Bourgeois to Houston and Atlanta.

Those missions with the Netherlands as a privileged partner, form part of the enlargement of the Flemish autonomy.

That autonomy is more than justified. I need only to refer to one figure: in 2015 Flanders was responsible for 83.1 % of the total Belgian export.

That export increased to more than 300 billion last year, an increase of 2.16 percent compared to 2014.

The Netherlands is an incredibly important partner in this, at 3rd place to be exact. In absolute terms we only export more to Germany and France. Per capita, the Netherlands is our main trading partner.

3 Inhibiting factor

Some minds in federal Belgium are not yet ready for that cooperation, and one might worry that they never will be.

That became clear once again several years ago when the spirit and the letter of the Sixth State Reform were violated regarding foreign relations.

The Sixth State Reform provided Flanders with the legal instruments to develop its own diplomatic corps.

This is necessary for Flanders, as in principle we can launch cross-border cooperation partnerships autonomously regarding trade, investments, economy, employment, nature and environment, science and innovation, ports, inland waterway transport, car traffic and yes indeed, regarding rail – and the latter is particularly important in the absence of federal dynamics in for example the case of the Iron Rhine.

In the last few years suddenly 'advisors for the economic diplomacy' emerged in the Belgian embassies, special honorary consuls to assist the federal ambassadors.

Fortunately, the Constitutional Court completed the final touches in a verdict on 28 May 2015. The federal government may 'appoint civil servants for foreign affairs', however their activities may not counter the division of competences within Belgium.

First contact point

So, Ladies and Gentlemen,

If the Netherlands engages in trade relations with its closest southern neighbour, Flanders is the first contact point.

I must humbly admit that in the past we ourselves made the mistake of not putting enough energy into good relationships with our Northern neighbour. Sadly the Belgian, but also the Flemish elite, has invested too much into good relations with our southern neighbour France and not enough with our Northern neighbour, the Netherlands.

Employment rate

I would like to highlight several other arguments to convince the Netherlands of the Flemish dynamics.

The vision for the future of Flanders, as formulated in the Transversal policy memorandum 2050, is overflowing with ambition, as it should be in a region which belongs to the top of Europe regarding employment rate.

At the beginning of last month I saw the graph of Eurostat in which the European countries were ranked according to the number of minors growing up in a family where no one is employed. Flanders and the Netherlands both had the exact same figure: 6.6 %. Only five European countries performed better: front runner Luxembourg, Slovenia, Finland, Austria and Sweden.

That number not only shows the similarity between Flanders and the Netherlands, it also emphasizes the amount of perspective both our regions offer thanks to their dynamics and their employment rate. One more reason for cooperation.

4 Cold feet

I'll give you one example. Following many other European countries, Belgium, meaning both Flanders and Wallonia, implemented a kilometre tax for lorries this spring.

The commotion attached to this proved in particular the important role our country plays as the crossing point for goods transported from the Netherlands to Southern Europe.

In the field of transport and logistics, the Netherlands and Flanders play a crucial and central role. Cooperation seems only logical. In that sense it was disappointing to note that recently a possible cooperation between bpost and post.nl fell through. The reason: contra-productive cold feet in certain federal circles.

Port policy

For centuries water has formed a bond between Flanders and the Netherlands.

Therefore it wasn't surprising that during his visit to our Flemish Parliament in October 2015 the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte argued for a port cluster at the North Sea.

Our geostrategic position at the mouth of the large rivers and the North Sea practically forces us to maximum cooperation. Ideally, Rotterdam and Antwerp, the numbers 1 and 2 of Europe, will proactively consolidate their position through cooperation with joint transfer points.

If we, as Flanders and the Netherlands, want to stay in the lead of the prosperous regions, such an alliance is essential.

Global promotion

I am fully aware of the fact that such alliances are not always obvious. After all, it took quite some work to realize the water treaties between Belgium and the Netherlands in 2005. For a long time, the Hedwigepolder seemed like it would be an obstacle.

Finally a verdict by the Supreme Administrative Court of the Netherlands in November 2014 gave the green light for the flooding of that area. In doing so, the four water treaties from 2005 will be fully realized.

If such difficult obstacles can be overcome, this opens up new prospects for a common port policy.

Regions

Thus far I have mainly focused on economic cooperation. That's no coincidence, as robust export and import form one of the pillars in the coalition agreement of the current Government of Flanders.

This agreement literally says: Flanders pursues an active neighbouring countries policy. The cooperation with the Netherlands and North Rhine-Westphalia is a priority.

Yes, you heard correctly: North Rhine-Westphalia. With a population of 18 million inhabitants it is the most heavily populated region of the German Länder, comparable with the entire Netherlands.

Moreover, the Ruhr area is the beating heart of the strong German economy. The Ruhr area is in our backyard, in North Rhine-Westphalia.

5 From that perspective the relaunch of the Iron Rhine could, via a more environmentally friendly route than the original, be an enormous boost.

Language Union

And I have more items on my wish list, where Flanders and the Netherlands could join forces.

I will quote again from the Flemish coalition agreement: The Government of Flanders continues to play a leading role in the use of Dutch within the European institutions.

Indeed, Dutch is the mother tongue of around 23 million people. In the ranking of world languages Dutch may occupy 37th place, but within European we are number 8, after English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Polish and Romanian.

It is no coincidence that Dutch is featured prominently in this year's Frankfurter Buchmesse, the largest book fair in Europe.

I am convinced that the Flemish and Dutch promoters of our literature will convince the world of the quality of our authors.

Year after year, mixed panels have a hard time selecting a winner out of the many literary gems for the Dutch Literature Prize, de Gouden Boekenuil, the Libris or the AKO Literature Prizes. Each year there is much speculation whether the winner will be Flemish or Dutch.

This competition with one another can only be encouraged, as it brings our writers to new levels. It is because of them that we will be in the spotlight at Frankfurter Buchmesse.

Our linguistic area has also received this honour as we have one common book market. The Dutch publishers used to buy up the Flemish publishers, now it's been reversed: Flemish publishers are purchasing the Dutch.

The same has happened these last few years in newspaper publishing. De Volkskrant, Het Parool, het Algemeen Dagblad, Het Limburgs Dagblad and De Limburger have all become part of Flemish groups.

The Dutch mustn't find this demeaning; it is merely an economic snapshot. Just like the fact that a Dutch brewery has taken over the typically Flemish beer brand with the draught horse.

We should regard this exchange of brands as a positive combining of strengths. We should strive for the same when promoting our language.

To propagate our common language in the world, a decisive Language Union is essential. We do not have to hide the fact that this institution is currently not meeting expectations.

Therefore I call for a new boost within the Language Union; the contacts at the Buchmesse provide an excellent platform for improvement.

Education

Flanders also has a lot to offer to the Dutch youth. Especially universities and colleges have proven to be appealing. According to the latest figures, the former academic year

6 no less than 7,746 Dutch studied at Flemish universities, twice as many compared to ten years ago.

This success can be explained due to the reduction in scholarships at our northern neighbours. But there is more: in all age categories combined, 28,000 Dutch adolescents receive education in Flanders.

That's an incredibly high number, proving that the Flemish schools provide high quality.

Yet the Flemish score in the most recent ranking of European universities by the journal Times Higher Education is rather meagre. This ranking, admittedly British-based, only includes three Flemish universities in its top 100, while the Netherlands has six university institutions in the top 25.

Therefore it should be encouraged to conclude even more cooperation agreements between universities: they are already in place between Antwerp and Utrecht, Ghent and Amsterdam, Groningen and Leuven, Brussels and Rotterdam, Hasselt and … the examples are plentiful. Knowledge leads to more knowledge, with exponential results.

International expertise

An excellent education is crucial if Flanders and the Netherlands wish to continue to play the crucial role they have earned in the past.

We both have the tradition of hosting international institutions to uphold. The Hague prides itself for its International Criminal Court, the highest legal body in the world. Our capital Brussels is home to NATO, and is the heart of Europe.

Many of our countrymen helped to realize historic decisions in European or global leading positions.

Conclusion

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Netherlands has approximately 17 million inhabitants, Flanders more than 6 million. That means the Dutch are almost with thrice as many. The Netherlands remains a larger entity, a difference that can be felt in many areas.

However, I am convinced that Flanders as a partner for the Netherlands can be of substantial added value, just as the Netherlands will give us many more extra impulses.

Today I have spoken of sufficient sectors, in which sometimes the Netherlands outdo Flanders, while in others Flanders has an advantage over the Netherlands. That's what neighbours do: this healthy rivalry leads to fruitful cross-fertilization.

With a renewed interest for one another and with new cooperation partnerships, I am convinced that Flanders and the Netherlands will help one another in their pursuit of prosperity and well-being.

Thanks to the Sixth State Reform and our increased independence, The Hague will be able to deal with Flanders directly for many issues. The Netherlands will no longer have to go through Belgium.

We cannot repeat this enough to the Dutch government and the Dutch Parliament.

7 Based on our age-old linguistic and cultural affinities, we can strengthen our prominent position in the world. I am firmly convinced of this.

I thank you for your attention.

11 July 2016 Jan Peumans Speaker Flemish Parliament

Only the spoken word counts.

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