Belgium country profile

For such a small country, Belgium has

been a major European battleground
over the centuries.
Occupied by Germany during World Wars
I and II, it has experienced an economic
boom in the last 50 years to become a
model Western European liberal
democracy.
However, there has also been a growing divide between the mainly Dutch-speaking
north and the mainly French-speaking south, with some even speculating that the
country could break up.
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Brussels is the headquarters oI the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty
Organisation (Nato). Thus, it is the polyglot home oI an army oI international
diplomats and civil servants.
The country stretches Irom the dunes oI the northern coastline through the Flemish
lowlands and on to the Iorests oI the rolling Ardennes hills in the south.
Belgium reconciles regional and cultural identities in a single Iederal structure.
The structure includes three communities - Flemish, French and German-speaking -
and three regions: Flanders in the north where the oIIicial language is Dutch; Wallonia


in the south where French is the oIIicial tongue and Brussels, the capital, where French
and Dutch share oIIicial language status. Wallonia has a 70,000-strong German-
speaking minority.
Tensions between the two main language
communities sometimes run high, and the
issue has brought down several
governments, creating Irequent political
instability. Opinion polls suggest most
Belgians want to maintain the Iederation,
but separatist parties oIten score well in
Flanders.
Belgium also has a small colonial legacy in
AIrica: in Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic oI Congo - once Zaire.
It attracted international attention Iollowing the US-led war on Iraq in 2003 because oI
a controversial law allowing Belgian courts to try Ioreigners Ior war and human rights
crimes, regardless oI where the crimes were committed. The law led to suits against
numerous high-proIile international Iigures beIore undergoing radical revision.
Belgium is noted Ior its strong culinary traditions and is particularly Iamous Ior its Iine
chocolate and array oI beers.
FACTS
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Full name: Kingdom oI Belgium
!opulation: 0.7 million (UN, 200)
Capital: Brussels
Area: 30,528 sq km (,787 sq miles)
ajor languages: Dutch, French, German
ajor religion: Christianity
ife expectancy: 78 years (men), 84 years (women) (UN)
onetary unit: euro 00 cents
ain exports: achinery and electrical equipment, chemicals, vehicles, metals,

The Atomium - a Brussels landmark built Ior the
58 World Fair
diamonds
per capita: US $45,30 (World Bank, 200)
nternet domain: .be
nternational dialling code: 32
EADERS
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ing: Albert II
utgoing prime minister: Yves eterme
r eterme handed in his resignation in April 200 aIter the government collapsed
when a key coalition partner pulled out in a row over Irancophone rights in Dutch-
speaking areas near Brussels, thus paving the way Ior an early election.
He stayed on in a caretaker capacity until
early parliamentary elections on 3 June.
The separatist New Flemish Alliance
emerged as the largest single grouping
Irom the vote, although the French and
Flemish Socialists together had more seats
overall.
The Iractured political landscape leIt
negotiations to Iorm a new government
virtually deadlocked, and the country still did not have a government some 5 months
aIter the election.
In September 20, r eterme said he would step down to run Ior a senior post at the
OECD, sparking a Iresh crisis in the long-running deadlock over Iorming a new
coalition.
During the three years since the previous general election, in July 2007, r eterme
held the prime ministerial oIIice twice and oIIered his resignation three times.
Though his Flemish Christian Democrats emerged as the clear winners in the 2007
election, a long period oI deadlock Iollowed as he struggled to Iorm a coalition
government, which then lurched Irom one crisis to another Ior most oI 2008.

r eterme's premiership has been dogged by
intercommunal tensions
r eterme made little headway on the vital issue oI devolving more powers to
Belgium's regions, and his premiership saw Irequent Ilare-ups oI tensions between the
French- and Dutch-speaking communities.
The Iirst time that r eterme tendered his resignation, King Albert II reIused to
accept it. When he oIIered to resign Ior the second time, in December 2008, his
departure was occasioned not by inter-communal tensions but by a banking bailout
scandal at the height oI the global Iinancial crisis.
r eterme was then succeeded by his Flemish Christian Democrat colleague Herman
Van Rompuy, who a year later became President oI the European Council, leaving the
Belgian premiership vacant once more.
On re-assuming oIIice in November 200, r eterme identiIied economic recovery
and the threat oI rising unemployment as his government's priorities. However, it was
the divisive linguistic issue that brought about the Iall oI the government.
EDA
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Belgian broadcasting mirrors the unique political and linguistic nature oI the country.
The cultural communities, rather than the Iederal authorities, are responsible Ior
regulating radio and TV.
So, unlike most other European countries, Belgium does not have a single public
broadcasting organisation, but two separate bodies, with their own regulations, running
their own radio, TV and external broadcasting.
Some 5 oI Belgians are hooked-up to cable TV; one oI the highest take-up rates in
the world. Cable oIIers dozens oI domestic and Ioreign channels, including Dutch and
French stations. Belgium aims to complete the conversion to digital TV by 20.
The Belgian press is selI-regulated by the Federation oI Editors - to which all editors
oI major newspapers belong. A small number oI media groups owns the main
newspaper titles.
There were 8. million internet users by June 200 (InternetWorldStats).
The press
Het Nieuwsblad - Dutch-language daily
Het aatste Nieuws - Dutch-language daily
e Soir - French-language daily
De Standaard - Dutch-language daily
De Tijd - business daily
De orgen - Dutch-language daily
a ibre Belgique - French-language
Grenz-Echo - German-language
Television
RTBF - French-language public broadcaster
VRT - Dutch-language public broadcaster
VT - Dutch-language commercial broadcaster
VT4 - Dutch-language commercial broadcaster
RT - French-language commercial broadcaster
Radio
RTBF - French-language public broadcaster; stations include a Premiere, Classic 2,
and external service RTBF International
VRT - Dutch-language public broadcaster; stations include Radio , Studio Brussel
and external service Radio Vlaanderen International (RVI)
Belgischer RundIunk (BRF) - German-language broadcaster
ews agency/internet
Belga Press Agency
Flandersnews.be - English-language news site oI Dutch-language public broadcaster

France country profile

A key player on the world stage and a
country at the political heart of Europe,
France paid a high price in both
economic and human terms during the
two world wars.
The years which Iollowed saw protracted
conIlicts culminating in independence Ior
Algeria and most other French colonies in
AIrica as well as decolonisation in south-east Asia.
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France was one oI the Iounding Iathers oI European integration as the continent sought
to rebuild aIter the devastation oI World War II.
In the 0s Franco-German cooperation was central to European economic
integration. The bond between the two countries was again to the Iore in the new
millennium when their leaders voiced strong opposition as the US-led campaign in
Iraq began.
But France sent shockwaves through European Union capitals when its voters rejected
the proposed EU constitution in a reIerendum in ay 2005.
France's colonial past is a major contributing Iactor in the presence oI a richly diverse
multicultural population. It is home to more than Iive million people oI Arab and
AIrican descent.


A French icon Ior the 2st century: the illau

It has a number oI territories overseas
which, together with mainland France and Corsica, go to make up the 26 regions
which the country comprises. It is Iurther divided into 00 departements, Iour oI which
- French Guiana, Guadeloupe, artinique and Reunion - are geographically distant
Irom Europe.
Government in France is known Ior its high degree oI centralisation but in arch 2003
parliament approved amendments to the constitution allowing Ior the devolution oI
quite wide-ranging powers to the regions and departements.
In the light oI low election turnout, the move was widely seen as a bid to re-engage in
the political process French people disillusioned by the ubiquitous inIluence oI what is
oIten perceived as the Paris elite.
France has produced some oI the continent's most inIluential writers and thinkers Irom
Descartes and Pascal in the 7th century, through Rousseau and Voltaire in the 8th,
Baudelaire and Flaubert in the th to Sartre and Camus in the 20th.
In the last two centuries it has given the art world the works oI Renoir, onet,
Cezanne, Gauguin, atisse and Braque, to name but a Iew.
It is also Iamous Ior its strong culinary tradition. France produces more than 250
cheeses and some oI the world's best-loved wines.
FACTS
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Full name: French Republic
!opulation: 62.6 million (UN, 200)
Capital: Paris
Area: 543,65 sq km (20,026 sq miles)
ajor language: French
ajor religion: Christianity
ife expectancy: 7 years (men), 85 years (women) (UN)
onetary unit: euro 00 cents
ain exports: achinery and transport equipment, agricultural products, including
wine
bridge in assiI Central
per capita: US $42,680 (World Bank, 200)
nternet domain: .Ir
nternational dialling code: 33
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!resident: Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy, Irom the ruling, conservative UP, won a decisive victory in the
second round oI the presidential election in ay 2007.
He cast himselI as a moderniser and
claimed to represent a clean break with
the country's traditional ruling elite. His
Iirst cabinet had a deIinite new look, with
more Iemale ministers than previous
French governments.
He had Iought his election campaign on a
promise to introduce pro-market reIorms
to tackle sluggish economic growth and
high unemployment. He vowed to cut
taxes, rein in powerIul trades unions and
reduce public spending.
The implementation oI r Sarkozy's
policies was bound to hit public sector
workers hard, and since he assumed the presidency there have been regular public
sector strikes in protest at planned cuts to pay and pension beneIits.
On Ioreign policy, r Sarkozy has singled out France's role in Europe as a priority. He
campaigned vigorously Ior ratiIication oI the isbon Treaty, which was intended to
replace the draIt EU constitution rejected by French voters in 2005.
He has also taken a lead in calling Ior Iundamental reIorm oI the world's Iinancial
system in response to the global credit crunch.
He is seen as being more pro-American than previous French presidents. He cultivated


Nicolas Sarkozy has acquired a reputation Ior
plain speaking

ProIile: Nicolas Sarkozy
Sarkozy's media management
Testing days Ior Sarkozy
close ties with US President George W. Bush and has made no secret oI his admiration
Ior Bush's successor, Barack Obama.
Tough domestic challenges - by the spring oI 200, unemployment was running at
more than 0 - led to widespread disillusionment with r Sarkozy's leadership, and
in arch oI that year his party suIIered a bruising deIeat in regional elections.
His popularity was Iurther damaged by allegations that his election campaign had been
partly Iunded by illegal donations Irom France's richest woman, the 'Oreal heiress
iliane Bettencourt.
In early 20, r Sarkozy played a prominent role in the international intervention in
the ibyan conIlict.
Nicolas Sarkozy, who was 52 when he was elected, is the son oI a Hungarian
immigrant and a French mother oI Greek Jewish origin. He grew up in Paris. Thrice
married, currently to singer Carla Bruni, he has three children.
His predecessor, Jacques Chirac, had held oIIice since 5.
French presidents are elected to Iive-year terms aIter a constitutional change in 2002
reduced the term Irom seven years. A candidate can win in one round iI he or she
secures an absolute majority. Otherwise, the top two candidates go through to a second
round.
The president, who exercises executive power, appoints a Council oI inisters headed
by the prime minister.
!rime minister: Francois Fillon
Francois Fillon worked closely with
Nicolas Sarkozy during the presidential
election campaign.
Upon taking oIIice, he promised to carry
out the president's reIorm programme and
to secure an "eminent" place Ior France in
the 2st century.
As a minister under President Chirac he
overhauled the pension system.
He is seen as a moderate within the UP and is accustomed to negotiating with
France's powerIul trades unions.
EDA
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Francois Fillon, a conIidante oI the president
eaders

edia
France enjoys a Iree press and has more than 00 daily newspapers. ost oI them are
in private hands and are not linked to political parties.
Public broadcaster Radio France targets
the domestic audience, French overseas
territories and Ioreign audiences. Radio
France Internationale is one oI the world's
leading international stations. Its Arabic-
language onte Carlo International
service is available on mediumwave (A)
and F across the iddle East.
The international French-language
channel TV5 onde, Iinanced by
Belgium, Canada and Switzerland, is
available globally. Global news channel
France 24 TV broadcasts in French,
English and Arabic. It has said it aims to
present "a diIIerent point oI view Irom the
Anglo-Saxon world".
France's Ilagship TV, TF, is privately-owned. The growth oI satellite and cable has
led to a proliIeration oI channels. ajor satellite pay-TV operator CanalSatellite is
controlled by media giant Vivendi Universal.
Digital terrestrial TV, with more than a
dozen Iree-to-air channels, is being rolled
out.
France's long-established commercial
radios, particularly RT and Europe ,
command large audiences. They have been
joined by a multiplicity oI F stations,
oIten part oI successIul networks such as
those oI hit music station NRJ and oldies
station Nostalgie.
By arch 20, there were around 45.3 million internet users (Internetworldstats).
Facebook and Skyrock are leading social networks.
The press
e onde - respected national daily, considered to be France's newspaper oI record

!R'ACY FR THE !WERFU

The French media have traditionally regarded the
private lives oI public Iigures as oII-limits
The Strauss-Kahn case has prompted a re-
examination oI the relationship between
journalists and politicians
Gossip v privacy

Radio France, the country's public broadcaster
iberation - national daily, Iounded in 73 by philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, centre-
leIt leaning
e Figaro - national daily, centre-right leaning
Ouest France - Rennes-based; France's best-selling daily
'Express - news weekly
e Point - news weekly
Television
France 2 - national, main public TV network
France 3 - national, public
France 5 - national, public, educational
TF - national, commercial
6 - national, commercial
a Chaine InIo - rolling news
France 24 - global news channel, owned by public broadcaster and TF; services in
French, English, Arabic
TV5 onde - international French-language TV, with programmes Irom French,
Belgian, Swiss and Canadian public broadcasters
Canal Plus - national, subscription channel
Radio
Radio France - operates national and regional outlets, including speech-based France
Inter and all-news France InIo
Radio France Internationale (RFI) - international broadcaster, via shortwave and F
relays worldwide
Europe - major commercial station, news and entertainment
RT - major commercial station, speech and music
NRJ - commercial, leading hit music network
ews agency
Agence France Presse (AFP) - Paris-based, Iounded in 835

Ibyu: Surkozy und GuduIII beIore LIey IeII ouL

NIcoIus Surkozy, LIe rencI presIdenL, meL worId Ieuders In PurIs uL exucLIy LIe sume
pIuce Ie Iud weIcomed CoIoneI GudduII more LIun LIree yeurs ugo.

Mr Sarkozy once enjoyed a cordial relationship with Col Gaddafi Photo: AFP/GETTY
By Adum Losher
:44PM GMT Mar 20
What a difference the passing of time can make.
Just over three years ago, in December 2007, President Nicolas Sarkozy was welcoming Gadaffi to
Paris and insisting to a French newspaper: "Gaddafi is not perceived as a dictator in the Arab world.
"He is the longest serving head of state in the region, Mr Sarkozy explained as he rolled out the red
carpet.
"And in the Arab world, that counts,
As Gadaffi was allowed to pitch his Bedouin tent in the elegant gardens of an official guest residence
near the Elysee Palace, Mr Sarkozy denounced "those who excessively and irresponsibly criticised
the Libyan leader's visit.
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"f we don't welcome those who take the road to respectability, then what do we say to those who
take the opposite road?
True, the French president conceded "he has his personality, his temperament.
Sarkozy's closest aide, the Elysee Palace secretary-general Claude Gueant, said the six-day visit
had produced sales of fighter jets and Airbuses worth 0 billion euros, "which means 30,000 jobs in
France.
The figure was later revised to 3 billion euros and officials admitted that it was mainly
"memorandums of intent to negotiate that had been signed.
Perhaps fortunately for the French planes flying over Libya this weekend, a fresh delivery of fighter
jets was not delivered, or even ordered.
n August 2007 Mr Sarkozy had to deny there was any link between France brokering the release of
five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor from Libya, and the Gadaffi regime's subsequent
decision to buy 200 million of anti-tank missiles and radio systems from a largely French owned
company.
A French-Libyan agreement over a civil nuclear energy programme also had "absolutely nothing to
do with the prisoner affair.
"The contract was not linked to the release of the nurses, insisted the French President. "What do
they criticise me for? Getting contracts? Creating jobs for French workers?''
A nuclear reaction in Libya would help deal with "terrorism and fanaticism because it would help
economic development, he said, pouring scorn on critics who said it would simply let the Libyan
dictator gain nuclear weapons.
He is hardly the only world leader with embarrassing pictures linking him to Gaddafi.
Tony Blair was pictured embracing the dictator in his tent in the so-called "deal in the desert which
brought the regime in from the cold.