Brussels, the divided capital

Fanos Kakuriotis, professor at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, comments on the political crisis in Belgium and the future of Brussels: "Brussels will be the point of contention if the Flemish and the Walloons decide to part. One idea was to give the city a special, independent status in the framework of the EU. ... But this was rejected by the Walloons and the Flemish alike. Maintaining the status quo in Belgium is a question of prestige for the EU, since both Belgium and the EU are experimental 'nations', representing 'unions' still under construction. ... But the Europeans firmly believe that Brussels should go on existing as it is now - a city of antipodes, multilingual, with well-dressed citizens and ragged beggars, ... with a perfect transport system ... and without the access corridor demanded by the Flemish."

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