“I'm a true capitalist. I think competition is always good”

Winter 2015/2016 • n°12

expat time

Essential lifestyle and business insights for foreign nationals in Belgium

IntervIew

“I’m a true capitalist. I think competition is always good”ShéhérazadE SEmSar-dE BoISSéSon managing director, Politico Europe

In thIs IssueUrban planning 2.0

meet Belgium’s classic car fanatics

The China effect

get in touch

Adv_Goss_Expat Time_19,8x27,5.indd 1 20/11/14 15:22

expat time • winter • 2015/2016 • 3

the old and the new

Winter certainly has its charms, like the pleasures of traditional celebrations that you’ll find all round the country. Nostalgia is also behind the trend for all things retro, including design, objects

and cars. Classic motors recall bygone years, and vintage rallies are a popular pastime in Belgium. In this issue we look at organisations and events around the country that tap into this interest.

Nevertheless, modern life marches on, and around the world cities are using technology to improve their residents’ lives. Expat Time explores what Brussels has got planned for future urban living. Our reporter discovers an array of interesting projects, from drones for energy efficiency in Schaerbeek to radio systems for increased security. In finance, an ING economist examines the impact of China on global trade and the markets, while we have our usual round-up of cultural events in Brussels and beyond.

A big-name new arrival on Brussels’ media scene is Politico, and in our cover interview, managing director Shéhérazade Semsar-de Boisséson tells us about why the time was right for the US organisation to set up here, as well as giving us her thoughts on the importance of taking risks in business.

All the team at Expat Time wish you an excellent holiday season and we’ll be back in 2016.

Dave DeruytterHead of expatriates and non-residents ING [email protected]/expatING Expat is also on Facebook: facebook.com/ingexpats

JOY KNOWS NO BORDERS.BMW DIPLOMATIC SALES.

BMW Brussels - Branch of BMW BeluxChaussée de Louvain 864 - 1140 Brussels - Tel. 02 730 49 11 - [email protected] - www.bmwbrussels.beJean-Michel Martin EastRue François Desmedt 96 - 1150 Brussels - Tel. 02 772 08 20 - [email protected] - www.jmmartin.bmw.beJean-Michel Martin WestBoulevard Industriel 125 - 1070 Brussels - Tel. 02 521 17 17 - [email protected] - www.jmmartin.bmw.beGinion WaterlooChaussée de Bruxelles 54 - 1410 Waterloo - Tel. 02 352 03 30 - [email protected] - www.ginion.bmw.beGinion OverijseBrusselsesteenweg 403 - 3090 Overijse - Tel. 02 687 91 40 - [email protected] - www.ginion.bmw.beDavo Tongeren bvbaMaastrichtersteenweg 529 - Exit 32 - E313 - 3700 Tongeren - Tel. 012 23 71 55 - [email protected] - www.davo.bmw.bePhilippe Emond s.a.Route de Bastogne 394 - 6700 Arlon - Tel. 063 23 05 60 - [email protected] - www.emond.bmw.beLouyet MonsRue des Sandrinettes 48 - 7033 Mons-Cuesmes - Tel. 065 40 02 00 - [email protected] - www.louyet.bmw.be

3.8-7.9 L/100 KM • 99-185 G/KM CO2Environmental information (RD 19/03/04): www.bmw.be

JOY KNOWS NO BORDERS.

As a member of the Corps Diplomatique, a European institution or an international organization, you know that things can be quite different from one country to another. One thing we want to keep unchanged, is your joy of driving a BMW. Our dedicated team perfectly understands the constraints of your mission and is used to fi nding the best solutions in the shortest lapse of time while providing you with a full service. This includes delivery of your personalized car anywhere in the world with respect to local specifi cations. Furthermore, we offer you particularly attractive sales conditions. Because we just love to push back frontiers.

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BMW18571_Expat Time S3_275x198_EN.indd 1 16/09/15 17:33


In thIs Issue

Editor • Sarah CrewDeputy editor • Sally TipperArt director • Patricia BrosselProject coordinator • Thomas BuytaertContributors • Derek Blyth • Bartosz Brzezinski • Leo Cendrowicz • Georgio Valentino Cover • Shéhérazade Semsar-de Boisséson, by Bart DewaeleSales executive • Helena VreedenburghAccount executive • Evelyne Fregonese

Expat Time is a publication ofING BELGIUM SA/NV, Marnixlaan 24,1000 Brussel, RPR BrusselVAT BE 403.200.393 andAckroyd Publications SA/NVEditorial • Content Connections(department of Ackroyd) and ING BELGIUMPublisher • Hans De Loore, Gossetlaan 301702 Groot-Bijgaarden

6 Get Connected: Meet four expats living in Belgium

8 shéhérazade semsar-de Boisséson of Politico europe on entrepreneurship and international affairs

14 the impact of China on the world’s economy

16 Our pick of upcoming culture in Brussels

18 thinking smarter: solutions for improved city living

24 Cultural highlights around Belgium and beyond

26 where to get your vintage car fix

30 In the neighbourhood: Brussels’ Marolles district

32 sally tipper looks back at the news and Derek Blyth muses on life in Belgium

34 spotlight: Pop Art in Belgium with InG

Photo credits

IntervIew 8Love what you doShéhérazade Semsar-de Boisséson

on Politico’s arrival in Brussels

InnOvAtIOn 18Slicker citiesHow Brussels is preparing for the

future of urban living

LIfestyLe 26Rally hoRevving up: Belgium shows its

love for classic cars

P5 Top, Will Hazell

P8-12 Bart Dewaele

P15 Keren Su/Corbis

P16 VisitBrussels/Eric Danhier

P17 Brafa, Emmanuel Crooy; Le Garcon et

le monde, Le Parc Distribution; Diana at

the bath, Rembrandt, Stichting

Rembrandt op Reis

P18 TongRo/TongRo Images/Corbis

P24 Will Hazell

P25 Istanbul-Antwerp, Sabit Kalfagil; Binche

WBT/A Brancart; Matisse, private

collection Succession H Matisse

photo: Archives Henri Matisse

P26 Ye Pingfan/xh/Xinhua Press/Corbis

P30 Sergi Reboredo/dpa/Corbis

P31 Elevator, François Lenoir/Reuters/Corbis

Flea market, Marco Cristofori/

robertharding/Corbis; Porte de Hal

Jopparn/Wikimedia Commons

P32 Daniel Craig, dammphoto/Demotix

Corbis; moon, Jim Wood/Demotix/Corbis

football, Manuel Blondeau/Corbis

P34 Pol Mara, Dent’Elles, photo Vesna Faassen

6 • expat time • winter • 2015/2016

Apor is Hungarian and single. He rents an apartment in Woluwe-Saint-Pierre. Belgium is his first experience of living abroad

Profiles •

Get connectedFour expats tell us about their lives

Apor Kurucz“I feel like I need to find the balance, not be isolated from society yet still close to nature”“I work in IT engineer customer support for the communications company Cisco TAC. I left Buda-pest for Belgium in 2008 when I was offered a position for my previous job. I really like it here and I don’t want to leave now. Outside work, I enjoy socialising, lots of things that are IT related, cook-ing, hiking, theatre and movies. I see myself moving to the countryside at some point, especially once I start a family. I like living close to nature, which is why I moved to Woluwe-Saint-Pierre. At the moment, however, I feel like I need to find the balance, not be isolated from society yet still close to nature in a way.”

Jacob Dencik“we’re witnessing a dramatic shift in how we can improve our cities”“I lived just outside Copenhagen until moving to the UK in 1995. In 2005 I moved to the Netherlands where I lived for the next two years, and have been in Brussels since 2007. I work for IBM, and a lot of my work has been fo-cused on helping cities around the world become ‘smarter’, helping them identify ways of using digital technologies to achieve their economic, social and environmental objectives. We are witnessing a dramatic shift in how we can improve our cities, from infrastructure and utilities to how we deliver education, health and social services to meet the needs of citizens and businesses. It’s exciting to be part of this and help shape a new way forward. Outside work, we enjoy many of the things that the country has to offer. Brus-sels is a truly cosmopolitan city, while at the same time being manageable and family-friendly. We are also very fond of the country’s gastronomy, which is as good as or better than anywhere else I’ve lived. When time permits, I like to go hiking in the Ardennes with friends or go for a run in the park.”

Jacob is Danish and lives with his British wife, Rachel, and their five-year-old son in Laeken. They are expecting a baby in the new year


Manuel Pueyo“Brussels is attracting a lot of highly talented

people from abroad”“After graduating from law school, 10 years ago, I came to Belgium to work

as a civil servant for the EU. That was my plan A! I’m now a freelance consultant with expertise in entrepreneurship and digital marketing. I’m currently advising an international company on effective learning strategies and have been commis-sioned to help the Galerie Ravenstein thrive as a place where people gather to meet, discuss and exchange. I blog for Hidden District and Bruxelles Blog about emerging cultural projects, new businesses in the city and hidden places where I can stage events. Brussels is attracting a lot of highly talented people from abroad. I spend almost 90% of my time networking: meeting people, listening to what they do and planning activities with them. My real luxury is finding time to go to the cinema, having dinner with my girlfriend and relaxing at home.”

Manuel is Spanish and has lived in the US, France, Poland and Canada. He lives with his Lithuanian partner in the Marolles, and they consider themselves adopted Brusseleers

Ann Start“helping leaders and managers to help others to help themselves is what excites me”“I’m a learning and development consultant, with a masters in non-profit sector management. I work mostly in the international NGO sector with development

and humanitarian organisations. Our company, Start Development, is engaged in both the private and the non-profit sector and my role is

solely in the non-profit sector. I also deliver workshops for small charities on subjects such as performance management, work-

ing with volunteers and managing change. Helping leaders and managers to help others to help themselves is what excites me about this work. I’m also very involved with the international English-speaking church community of St Paul’s Tervuren. We are involved in activities such as St Paul’s British primary school, a charity Christmas ball, and support for refugees, trafficked women and the elderly

through the work of Oasis and overseas organisations such as Retrak, which works with street children in Africa and South America. I am motivated by my Christian faith to be an active participant in a number of these areas.”

Ann and her hus-band are British and live in Overijse. This is their fourth stint in Bel-gium, having lived or worked in Saudi Arabia, Austria, Switzerland, France, Australia, Ethio-pia, Kenya, Uganda and Malawi. They have four children who live in Norway and the UK


Shéhérazade Semsar-de Boisséson of Politico Europe on the Brussels media landscape

New kids on the block

✶ By Georgio Valentino Photos by Bart Dewaele


Tehran-born French national Shéhérazade Semsar-de Boisséson is managing director of Politico Europe, the Brussels wing of the

ambitious US multi-platform news service. It was launched in April 2015 following the acquisition of EU policy weekly European Voice, which Semsar-de Boisséson had owned and published. She graduated from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service in 1990 with a BS and MS in international finance. Semsar-de Boisséson spoke to ING’s head of expatriates, Dave Deruytter, at Politico’s offices in Schuman about the challenges of bringing new angles to reporting on Europe.

was it a big step to go from tehran and Paris to study in washington?

Yes. It was actually my first time in the United States. My family came to France as political refugees in 1979, after the Iranian Revolution. I became a French citizen when I was 18 and I went to Georgetown when I was 17. So initially I was there as a political refugee. It was a big step and a wonderful experience. The entrepreneurial spirit is very strong in the US, and that whole culture inspired me.

Coming from different countries and different continents, I’d always had a passion for international affairs. Another passion inherited from my personal background was journalism. My family worked in Iranian media before the revolution. I was brought up in that environment. Journalism

and international affairs have always fascinated me.

what does it take to be a successful entrepreneur?

One thing is hard work. Many people tend to forget how hard entrepreneurs have to work to be successful. Risk-taking is also a key part. You have to like taking risks. It is vital to take risks and not fear failure. Unfortunately, I think we’re starting to lose that spirit in a lot of European countries. In primary schools, the emphasis on success and fear of failure has made young people risk-averse. We have to make sure that younger generations understand that risk-taking is the most important ingredient to becoming successful. Banks can help too. They are a big part of the system, but lately young entrepreneurs have had to rely on government and institutional money to help them start companies. There has to be more partnership and trust between banks and entrepreneurs. That’s how I was first able to get funding. I began in Paris where I co-founded Development Institute International (Dii) in 1993. The idea was to create events to host

New kids on the block “You must take

risks in life”


Interview •

conversations between businesses and regulators. This was before the internet age, when information was less available. We wanted to create settings where professionals and policymakers could talk about new laws and regulations. Dii is still putting on many policy-oriented events in Paris.

why invest in media in Brussels?

In the past 20 years there’s been a shift of power from other European capitals to Brussels. The fact that all crisis meetings are held in Brussels confirms why Politico, a trendy American media organisation, and Axel Springer, the largest European publishing company, invested in a large newsroom in Brussels. This city has clearly become a decision-making centre. It’s ‘on the map’ in a way that it wasn’t 20 years ago. What happens here is important and needs extensive media coverage. We are the only international political media fully dedicated to covering European politics and policy. Our mission is to cover what’s happening in this town and make Europe more accountable. There are stories behind

“The emphasis on success and fear of failure has made young people risk averse”


all the decisions, and many interactions amongst the countries within the European Union.

As our executive editor, Matthew Kaminski, says, we’re not pro-Europe and we’re not Eurosceptic. We don’t take sides like many of the other media in Brussels. We believe there’s a fascinating story to be told on European politics and policy and we’re writing for those powerful people. That’s our primary audience. We are also read by citizens who are passionate about politics. If you’re not interested in politics and policy, you probably won’t come to us. That’s fine. We’re not trying to be a mass media. That’s not our mission. We want to be, in Brussels as in Washington, the most influential media for those who are creating policy, those who love politics. That’s where the name Politico comes from. A politico is someone who is either a politician, someone who influences policy or someone who follows politics closely.

how has Politico been received by Brussels’ politicos?

We’ve had a great welcome by the members of the European Parliament, the Commission and the Council. I think they’re happy to see a media dedicated to covering the European story from a new perspective. Until now there have been three kinds of Brussels media: national outlets covering stories from their countries’ viewpoint; large, international media covering them from a very global angle; and small publications like European Voice. There was a media gap. Policymakers, people travelling between Berlin, Brussels and Washington to craft policies from privacy laws to aviation regulations,

those people needed their own media. That’s the group we’re serving with fun, good, reliable, fresh information. Our competitors reacted with a little bit of fear to see us come in with the name and resources of Politico. But our arrival actually reinforced the importance of Brussels and brought more investment across the board. We’re elevating the level of coverage and excellence in journalism. I’m a true capitalist. I think competition is always good.

what are the major challenges facing europe?

Let’s start with the refugee crisis, which isn’t really a refugee crisis. It’s a political and diplomatic crisis caused by Europe and the West failing in the Middle East. This is a very personal view but what we’re seeing now is the result of years of mismanaging the roots of the problem. And unless it is solved at the roots, it will not be one or two million but 10 million refugees coming into Europe The same thing could be said of Europe’s other challenges like the Brexit question, the Greek crisis and the terrorist threat. Following the Paris attacks and the Brussels lockdown, how viable now is free movement in the Schengen area? It also raises the question of centralised police and intelligence services. More than the economic crisis, which does exist obviously, there’s an institutional crisis of political decision-making capacity in Europe. Consensus among a group of 28 countries is not easy. All of which makes it fascinating for us to cover.

how can leaders restore stability in the world?

This is another personal view. I think we have a distorted value system.

“There has to be more partnership and trust between banks and entrepreneurs”


Interview •

happy to work at night but I try not to work between 18.00 and 21.00. I spend those hours with my family and after that I get back to work, which happens to fit perfectly with US time. I don’t mind working on holidays. If you enjoy your work, it’s not a problem to do it during holidays. This doesn’t mean we don’t need time off to think or to relax. But if you don’t want to do anything work-related during holidays, it means you don’t like your job.

I’m concerned with how children are being brought up here in Europe, with work set against pleasure. I’ve never seen work as a constraint, it’s a part of life. You should enjoy it. That said, I do have a hobby. I love archaeology. I’m happy to be in Belgium, because there were some prominent Belgian archaeologists who contributed to major discoveries in the Middle East from the 1920s onwards.

www.politico.eu

During the Cold War things were much clearer. There were two value systems confronting one another. Today things are more complicated. The G20 is a good example. There are countries in the G20 that are dictatorships and they are allies of Western democracies. Global institutions are trying to accommodate divergent views and interests. China, Russia, the Arab world and the West all have very different value systems. We have to find a way for them to interact together, to find standards and norms that are accepted worldwide. That’s the major challenge.

how do you like living in Belgium?

I’ve been here for two years, ever since the acquisition of European Voice from The Economist. It’s the kind of place that grows on you. I think the longer you’re here, the more you like it. It’s obviously smaller than Paris, where I used to live. There are great restaurants, which is

important. The best part is that other capitals are so close. Paris is an hour away, London two hours, Berlin an hour by air. If you travel a lot, this is the perfect location. One challenge is the complexity of the city’s administration. When you’re running a company with a lot of expats – we have about 30 in total – all the different communes with their different forms can get complicated. To be an expat, you have to learn to be patient and get your paperwork done. The good news is the Belgians are very helpful so that makes it easier. I was impressed that we were able to get work permits for our American colleagues.

how do you manage your work-life balance?

To be very honest I don’t do much besides work and family. It’s difficult to do a lot of other things. I have three wonderful children and a wonderful husband. It’s important to take time every evening to spend with family. I’m

“In the past 20 years there’s been a shift of power from other European capitals to Brussels”


finance •

Joseph Stiglitz – winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 2001 – used to say that when the United States sneezes, the rest

of the world comes down with the flu. Now it seems the US economy is being challenged by its Chinese counterpart in terms of spreading economic flu. In recent months, disruptions to China’s financial markets and fear of below-7% GDP growth have been shaking the world economy, which seems to confirm the growing importance of the Chinese economy.

Analysing the global economy and sidestepping China would be a mistake, notably because it represents a fast-growing economy, the second largest real GDP, and the leader of global trade. The development of its economy is not new, but it really took off in the early 2000s. In the last 10 years, the economic weight of China has more than doubled, and in 2014 its nominal

GDP represented about 13% of the world GDP. In 2004, global GDP growth was 4.1%, of which only 0.4 percent-age points was attributable to China. Last year, global GDP growth was 2.5% and this time the Chinese economy contributed 0.6 percentage points. In less than two decades, its role in the global economy has become increas-ingly influential.

It’s clear that China has become a key economic power, and it’s also a major trading partner for a majority of coun-tries. Many countries have benefited from the strong economic development since the early 2000s. On average, about 50% of GDP growth in China in the past 10 years can be attributed to fixed-capital investment growth – in physical assets such as roads, buildings, technology and machines. Commod-ity exporters were therefore the first to benefit. Commodity demand growth in China represented between 50 and 100% of global consumption increases

the China factorING economist Geoffrey Minne looks at how China has become a key economic power and why the effects of its recent slowdown could be widely felt

“The spreading of the economic flu could be accelerated as it reaches economies that depend on international trade”


across most major commodity markets. The demand for oil, iron ore, aluminium and copper generated additional rev-enues in commodity-producing econo-mies. For example, in 2014, exports to China represented about a third of exports in Australia, a large iron ore and coal producer, and about a quarter in Chile, a large copper producer.

The dependence on Chinese trade was seen as positive when the economy was accelerating, though not so much when it started to decelerate. For a few years, there has been an accumulation of clear signals of a slowdown in China: electricity production, manufacturing production, freight transport… Accord-ing to official data, real GDP growth went from 10.2% in the first quarter of 2011 to 6.9% in the third quarter of 2015. Many economists cast doubt about the compilation of official data and tend to indicate an even more severe deceleration. Chinese companies are adapting their production to the

evolution of demand and are reduc-ing excess capacity. This negatively influences fixed-capital investment and imports, sending commodity prices into a downward spiral and commodity exporters into recession.

The spreading of the economic flu could also be accelerated as it could reach economies that heavily depend on international trade. In some open economies like Belgium or the Neth-erlands, exports represent more than 80% of GDP, compared to only 13% in the United States. In this context, the spread has a domino effect: the Chinese slowdown is followed by the recession of commodity exporters and negatively impacts international trade. For the mo-ment, however, this knock-on effect has remained limited and most of the open economies have remained relatively resil-ient to the global slowdown. This might be explained by the fact that Europe also benefits from lower oil prices, a side effect of the Chinese slowdown.

Talk of a worldwide contagion due to the Chinese slowdown is still somewhat premature, even if some commod-ity exporting countries have suffered from severe recession. China is still a fast-growing economy, and the IMF forecasts that its economy will be 44% bigger in 2020 than today. Chinese authorities have been trying to react, notably through economic stimuli: cutting interest rates to boost private investment, designing a five-year devel-opment plan to implement pro-liberal reforms, relaxing the exchange rate policy to transform the renminbi into an internationally recognised currency… The country is experiencing an impor-tant and deep set of economic reforms and this process is seen by many as a compulsory step towards a healthier and longer-term growth model. That means the importance of manufactur-ing will gradually diminish, while the more consumption-driven services sec-tor grows bigger. But such a transition does not happen overnight.

Agenda •

what’s on in Brussels

wInter wOnDersBrussels’ holiday market has become one of Belgium’s top seasonal attractions. It stretches from the Grand’ Place past the Bourse and Opera, across Boulevard Anspach and Place Saint-Catherine, all the way to the towering 55m Ferris wheel at the far end of the Marché aux Poissons. In between you’ll find some 200 vendor chalets overflowing with souvenirs, art, food and drink, plus carousels and an ice-skating rink. The Grand’ Place hosts a giant Christmas tree and nightly light show. At the heart of the market is a Tunisian village, erected in honour of that country’s recent turn toward democracy. And the annual New Year’s Eve fireworks display takes place next door on Place de Brouckère.

Until 3 Januarywww.winterwonders.be


Be fILM festIvAL

Now in its 11th edition, this festival brings together the finest Belgian filmmak-ers from both sides of the linguistic divide for five days of cinematic show-and-tell. In all, 11 new films will be screened, many in the pres-ence of cast and crew. The festival’s opening ceremony features the avant-premiere of Guillaume Senez’s Keeper. The Brussels-based director is a veteran of the short-film circuit, and Keeper is his first full-length feature. The party’s not over when the house lights come back on either. BEFF throws an official after-party at Bozar on New Year’s Eve. The shindig has DJ and VJs as well as an open bar.26-30 DecemberCinematek and Bozar www.befilmfestival.be

BrAfA

Brafa was conceived in 1955 as a humble antique fair. Since then, the event has widened its scope to include contemporary art and has established itself as one of Europe’s leading events. More than 100 exhibitors (roughly half from Belgium) show off their wares over 15,000 square metres of repurposed dockside warehouse. Wheth-er you’re looking for modern painting and sculpture, tribal art, antique furniture and cu-rios, tapestries, comic books or collectibles of any stripe, you’ll find it here. In addition, this year’s guest of honour, Ghent Floralies, previews its springtime floral-design festival.23-31 January Tour & Taxis www.brafa.be

AnIMA

Brussels’ international animated film festival returns to Flagey for a fortnight of family-friendly entertainment. This 35th edition promises everything audiences expect: workshops, exhibitions, signings, discussions and cartoons, lots of cartoons. Anima screens animated films from around the world, of course, but two countries in particular get the spotlight this year: Japan and the UK. Another special programme, Futuranima (10-13 February), focuses on the latest trends in animation. Professionals from Belgium and beyond talk about the latest digital technology and how it applies to the good old-fashioned art of storytelling.5-14 February Flagey www.animafestival.be

reMBrAnDt In BLACK AnD whIte

Rembrandt van Rijn is the iconic figure of the Golden Age of Dutch painting. In-deed, known for his pioneer-ing technique and his human-ism, the 17th-century artist is arguably the most famous Dutch artist of all time. It’s no surprise, then, that his work figures prominently in the cul-tural programme celebrating the Netherlands’ six-month presidency of the Council of the European Union. This exhibition highlights Rem-brandt’s numerous etchings, in which the artist continued his exploration of landscapes, village life and biblical lore. Visitors can download an app that provides background and detail in real time.26 February-29 May Bozar www.bozar.be



Innovation •

Cities get smartGrowing urbanisation calls for innovative developments in Brussels, in everything from transport to energy to waste collection

✶ By Bartosz Brzezinski


The drone lifts off the ground, hovers for an instant, then zooms off be-tween the spires that frame the town hall and over the

rooftops of the redbrick apartments that dot the Brussels commune of Schaerbeek. It flies over the neo-Gothic Saint-Servais church and Lehon square, before swooping down to the homes on Avenue Louis Bertrand. Equipped with thermal imaging cameras, the drone takes photos of all the buildings below to record heat emissions. The readings will be combined with data from the city’s property register to pro-vide the 130,000 Schaerbeek residents with personalised information on their homes, including energy loss and the cost of insulating the roofs and walls.

The project – though not yet imple-mented – figures high on the local authorities’ agenda as the 19th- and early 20th-century buildings are in dire need of renovation. Already the second-largest district in the Brussels region, Schaerbeek’s population has increased by nearly a fifth in the past 15 years, but the municipality remains one of the poorest in the country with an unem-ployment rate of around 25% and one in every 10 residents living below the poverty line.

“We have to be innovative,” says mayor Bernard Clerfayt. “Our residents don’t have the money to maintain and renovate their homes. One way to help them is to show them exactly what needs to be done to reduce the costs of heating.”

The drone project, which made head-lines in 2014 when it competed in the Bloomberg Mayors Challenge for the grand prize of €5 million, has been postponed due to lack of funding, but it’s just one of many programmes in the works in Schaerbeek, as the municipal-ity intends to become more efficient about its resources and infrastructure.

“We work on a very limited budget and we need to be creative with how we spend it,” says Clerfayt. “One thing is certain. We can no longer maintain the old style of running a municipality be-cause it costs a lot. The current system dates back to the nineteenth century, so it’s time to rethink every step of the process.”

Among other improvements, Schaer-beek is working on becoming a paper-less administration that uses digital signatures and electronic registration instead of the traditional paper trail. The town hall also aims to be acces-sible around the clock, which is why it will soon launch a new website. “You shouldn’t have to take days off just to register your child at school or pay for a parking permit,” Clerfayt says. “It should be as easy as buying a plane ticket. Three clicks and you’re done.”

The city already has intelligent cameras that track criminal activity and is invest-ing in a digital map to improve urban planning. Once finished, the map will contain information about rubbish collection and the number of trees and green areas, as well as vacant offices.

“There are a lot of underused build-ings in our municipality,” Clerfayt says. “Imagine you’re looking for a meeting space for your organisation. At the moment, you need to make several phone calls to figure out what rooms are available and where, as well as how much they cost and what services they offer. In future, you’ll be able to find all this information and reserve a meeting place online.”

The improvements reflect the general trend worldwide as cities respond to demographic changes. In 2008, the number of people living in urban areas surpassed the number of rural dwellers for the first time in history. The congestion, increased parking pressure and rising greenhouse gas

“You shouldn’t have to take days off just to register your child at school or pay for a parking permit”


Innovation •

how would you like to see Brussels becoming smarter?

Ann Start I’m interested in reliable, efficient public transport; improved

use of rainwater for domestic consumption; better recycling options; lighting systems that rapidly respond to what is needed; remote controlling of energy systems; and improved infographics on major roads relating to current conditions. I’m also interested in the exchange of ideas, for example car manufacturers investing in reduced emissions sharing with other industries; use of robotics to help older people stay in their own homes for longer; and office hot-desking. I use Skype for meetings; working with organisations of limited financial resources means maximising simple, inexpensive technology. At home, we have solar panels for hot water, I’m a keen composter and use a 15,000-litre rainwater collection system. I love our semi-rural life as we have all the pleasure of the countryside yet fast access to the city, the airport, Midi station and the motorways. However, my dream eventually is for a tiny apartment in the heart of London and our family bolthole in the Alps.

Apor Kurucz I think Brussels has a lot of potential. Although I rarely use public

transport because I work outside Brussels, I care about energy saving and efficiency. My car has the best CO

2 emission in its class

and consumes little fuel. At home I’ve replaced the majority of the lights with LED bulbs. If I forget to turn off a PC, it’s set to efficient mode

and automatically turns itself off. In regards to smart cities, we are going in the direction where everything is connected. The internet has provided us with an ocean of information, and our cities should benefit from this. Cisco’s internet of everything for cities is an amazing initiative. For example, in Hamburg they formed a partnership in which everything was connected: traffic lights, parking, lighting etc. Imagine traffic being rerouted to avoid congestion! I would like to see this spread to more cities.

Manuel Pueyo The aim of city planners is to provide an open platform for

companies, citizens, social organisations and start-ups to offer goods and build web applications. They need to collaborate to

design public services that better meet people’s needs. One tip would be to start small and ensure everyone can participate. We also

need to encourage a cultural change for citizens to think more digitally. Organisations like Agoria, the federation of Belgian technology companies, are doing a good job in this field. I have contributed to some projects such as the planned parking complex under Place du Jeu de Balle. With other Marolles residents we held a digital protest, during which we monitored the number of existing free parking spots around the area. Four years ago I launched a project called Open Kitchen, which organises dinner events in individuals’ houses, an example of how larger and more trusted online networks bring new advantages. One great initiative supporting social innovations is Make Sense, which maps and helps social entrepreneurship in the city.

Jacob Dencik While the city is making progress in some areas, it could

benefit from a more integrated approach. Ultimately, this is about moving away from the fragmented approach to city development, towards a more coordinated approach that engages with people. The city should look at how it can empower citizens, communities and businesses to play an active role in shaping the city and making it more sustainable. I’m an avid user of public transport, and we try to do our bit to reduce our environmental footprint at home. I like city living; it exposes you to lots of people, ideas and events that are very enriching. With a rising world population, I also think it leaves a considerably smaller environmental footprint per capita compared to rural living. Just think of the car dependency and added infrastructure required to connect people living in remote areas. Having said that, we sometimes discuss the idea of living in a converted barn in the English countryside, which has its appeal, particularly when I’m stuck on a tram in rush-hour traffic.

emissions are just a few of the associ-ated problems.

The challenge for cities is to become smarter and use information and com-munication technologies to improve the quality and performance of their services, to reduce the costs and con-sumption of resources, and to engage more effectively with their residents.

Think of major metropolitan areas like Copenhagen or Stuttgart, which have developed citywide frameworks for smart projects. One of the cornerstones of the Danish capital’s programme is its smart electricity and energy system that relies on renewable sources, such as wind power and waste incinera-tion, for a large chunk of its energy supply. The grid combines electricity meters with variable tariffs and a data hub that enable consumers to use the power when it’s least expensive.

Stuttgart, on the other hand, is work-ing on a multimodal transport system with which people can seamlessly divide their travel between shared cars, bikes and conventional public trans-port.

Back in Brussels, the municipalities of Molenbeek and Sint-Agatha-Berchem have focused on sustainable and intel-ligent energy. Three nursing homes in the two communes will soon enjoy an energy management system that was initially developed for a polar station in Antarctica. Considered zero-emission, the system draws its energy from local renewable resources, including wind and solar power, and redistributes it via a smart grid similar to the one in Copenhagen.

While some communes focus on energy, others are investing in wireless technol-ogy. For five years, the police in Ixelles have been using a radio-positioning


Brussels is already an innovative region. His software company has partnered with Schaerbeek and other municipali-ties on a number of projects and is re-sponsible for managing data collected by the drones.

“The capital has a long way to go, but it’s off to a good start,” he says. “Take Bric, for example. It’s a fantastic platform. Funded by the federal and regional governments, it has developed perhaps the most detailed 3D map of any city in Europe. It’s also created an app called Fix My Street, through which residents can report cracks in streets and pavements simply by taking a photo on their phones. If the pro-gramme is well-maintained, it could be applied to other areas, such as waste collection.”

Private companies have also taken mat-ters into their own hands. Among the more innovative is BePark (pictured), which has introduced the concept of shared parking. “Twenty percent of all traffic in this city is due to people looking for parking,” says marketing and product manager Dorian de Bro-queville. “Our idea is simple. We work with office buildings, hotels and other real estate owners that have parking lots, which are frequently underused. Using our website or an app, custom-ers can locate car parks that are closest to them and claim a spot.”

When the driver pulls up to the gate, they call a number, type in the personal access code and voila. “When they check in, our database automatically updates to show the number of avail-able spots,” de Broqueville says. The company was started in 2011, with financial assistance from the regional government and Bric, and has about 20,000 customers. “In 2015, we finally broke even and became self-suffi-cient,” he says. “The focus now is on

service that makes it possible to locate patrol cars so they can be quickly dis-patched to any location. Since 2014, this has been extended to portable radios allowing for real-time location of foot patrols. Several communes also offer free Wi-Fi in public libraries and squares.

On the regional level, the government has appointed Bianca Debaets to over-see the digitalisation of Brussels. With the Brussels Regional Informatics Centre (Bric), a public interest think-tank, she will oversee a five-year plan that focuses on the key challenges of connectivity, sustainability, data openness and safety. Among the more ambitious projects, Debaets wants to equip all 388 primary and secondary schools with broadband connectivity by 2019. Currently, only 23 have it. “Living in the city isn’t always easy, so we have to make things easier for our citizens. I want Brussels to be in the top five of smart cities,” she told Expat Time.

Several other projects have been under way for some time. Villo!, the bike rental programme launched in 2009, has more than 30,000 subscribers. Jef van Damme, a member of the Brussels parliament, is also quick to point out that the public transport system is being revamped with additional metro lines and cleaner busses.

“Then you have the new pedestrian zone, which is the longest in Europe,” says the Molenbeek politician who works on public space and sustain-ability. “It’s not going to make a huge difference for the region in terms of traffic reduction, or lower the pollution in any significant way, but it is symboli-cally important because it shows the rest of Brussels that ambitious projects can and should be happening.”

According to Raoul Penneman, busi-ness development manager at 1Spatial,

“Twenty percent of all traffic in this city is due to people looking for parking”


Innovation •

finding the right partners and expand-ing abroad.”

“It’s all great, but compared to the rest of Europe, Belgium is still five to ten years behind,” says Ingrid Reynaert, business group leader of smart cities at Agoria, the technology industry fed-eration. “We see small-scale projects here and there but nothing on a larger scale, not in mobility, not in energy. For a number of years, there hasn’t been enough investment in digital infrastruc-ture, which has become very outdated. And Brussels lacks any real long-term vision. Yes, the regional administra-tion is drawing up plans and hosting conferences, but these efforts remain very fragmented.

“Now is not the time to sit down and relax,” she says. “The administration has to put all the ambitious words

into action.” And to do so, it needs to prioritise. “Let’s start with mobility. We need to develop an open platform, where a resident can decide how to get from point A to point B using dif-ferent transport options.”

The next step is smart energy. “Let’s take Schaerbeek as a pilot project for improving energy management,” she says. “You can start with identifying and insulating buildings. It’s a quick win but it won’t be enough in the long term. There needs to be a region-wide framework for developing a sustain-able smart grid.”

And that perhaps is the biggest chal-lenge. “It’s important to remember that Brussels, unlike other major met-ropolitan areas, is a cluster of nineteen different municipalities,” Reynaert says. “Just look at public transport. Any street renovations have to be ne-gotiated between the communes and the mayors don’t even have jurisdic-tion over where the buses will stop or where to install bike racks. You cannot discuss mobility if you have no say on what’s going on in your neighbour-hood.”

Like Schaerbeek, each of the mu-nicipalities has its own smart city programme. “But if you develop separate policies, separate mobility platforms and separate smart grids, you will never be successful,”Reynaert says. “A sustainable long-term vision requires close collaboration between all nineteen communities.”

This means keeping an eye on the big-ger picture. “There needs to be a lot less unnecessary discussion over every little detail,” says MP Van Damme. “We need to give more power to the regional government and get rid of the local hurdles. It’s going take years, but we’re moving in the right direction.”

“now is not the time to sit down and relax. The administration has to put the ambitious words into action”

Schaerbeek mayor Bernard Clerfayt


seven pointersabout smart city living

5A project in Schaerbeek using drones carrying heat cameras to improve the energy efficiency

of old buildings looks promising. Other energy projects in the region will use the management system designed for the polar station in Antarctica.

6There is a system for the commercialisation of underused car parks at hotels and companies in

Brussels. This system could be expanded to allow underused buildings to be used for meetings or parties.

7Communication with the population in Brussels should be further improved,

meaning people can deal with simple administrative procedures online without having to take time off work.

1Brussels is a cluster of 19 municipalities, each of which has its own say. Unlike other major

metropolitan areas, the Brussels Capital Region has to take those individual wishes into account, slowing down the decision-making process.

2Given the priority of reducing the high level of unemployment and poverty in the Brussels

Capital Region, funding for smart city projects is not always easily found.

3For a number of years there has not been enough investment in the digital infrastructure

in Brussels. This is urgently needed for faster and more efficient communication with citizens and between the various administrations.

4Intelligent energy distribution from solar or wind power and waste

incineration like in Copenhagen should serve as a guide for Brussels in how to become more energy-efficient.

Funding for smart city projects is not always easily found


Agenda •

what’s on outside Brussels

vAuLt festIvAL It doesn’t get much more underground than this. London’s Vault Festival is a six-week arts extravaganza hosted in a complex of vaults underneath Waterloo railway station, featuring some of today’s most exciting and unconventional British and European theatre makers. It’s much more than contemporary theatre, though. The Vault Festival celebrates alternative art in all its forms, from experimental performance to genre-defying music to transdisciplinary visual arts. It also strikes an adventurous balance between established names and up-and-comers. In just a few years the event has acquired a solid reputation for excellence. Expect dozens of lovingly curated, cutting-edge performances. Above all, expect the unexpected.

27 January-6 March The Vaults, London www.vaultfestival.com

IstAnBuL- AntwerP

The current edition of arts biennale Europalia showcases Turkish culture not just in Brussels but across Belgium. With this exhibition, Antwerp’s waterfront Museum aan de Stroom draws an obvious thematic connection between the Turkish metropolis on the Bosphorus and the Belgian city on the Scheldt. Both are major commercial ports whose fortunes have waxed and waned over the centuries on the strength of their trade. In the process they have also served as gateways to the world. MAS and its partners at contemporary Turkish architect firm Tabanlioglu have created an immersive, multimedia environment that fuses elements from both cities into one satisfying whole.Until 24 January MAS, Antwerp www.mas.be

hIstOrIuM

The multimedia Historium transports you to medieval Bruges all year round but winter is an especially good time to visit, when the building’s lobby and heated terrace are decked out in boughs of holly. The Historium’s historians recreate the atmosphere of a 15th-century Flemish Christmas with authentic decorations and mulled wine. The party continues just outside on the Grote Markt, where you’ll find one of Bruges’s famous Christmas markets. The other is a short walk away on Simon Stevinplein, in the heart of the city’s shopping district. Bruges also hosts the 16th annual Snow & Ice SculptureUntil 3 January Bruges www.historium.be

BInChe CArnIvAL

The Belgians know how to celebrate Carnival. The Walloon town of Binche, in particular, is famous for its festivities. Formally recognised by Unesco as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, the annual event spices up the standard-issue Catholic tradition of Lent with colourful local folklore dating back to the Middle Ages. The event begins on Sunday with a parade and continues for three days. The stars of the show are the Gilles, an army of wax-masked, stick-wielding clowns whose arrival on Shrove Tuesday marks the culmination of the party. 7-9 February Binchewww.carnavaldebinche.be

MAtIsse et LA GrAvure

The seminal French modernist Henri Matisse was a man of many talents. Most famous as a painter, he was also an accomplished sculptor, printmaker and architect who pioneered the kind of disciplinary cross-pollination that would become standard practice in contemporary art. The Matisse museum in the man’s own home town sheds light on one of his lesser known talents: etching. From the turn of the century until his death in 1954, Matisse experimented with lithographs, woodcuts and aquatint among many other etching techniques. As these works have often been preparatory studies for later canvas masterpieces, they have rarely been exhibited until now.Until 6 MarchMusée Matisse, Le Cateau-Cambrésis Francewww.museematisse.lenord.fr


Lifestyle •



✶ By Leo Cendrowicz

Drive onRecord-breaking auctions, rallies and restoration: enter the world of classic cars

For classic car devotees, Belgium is the perfect place: the locals have an affinity for oldtimers, with a passionate sub-culture for collecting,

rally driving and tinkering. From Ferraris and Fords to Aston Martins and Alfa Romeos, there are vintage vehicles galore in Belgium. Definitions vary, but a 25-year-old car is usually described as an oldtimer, while a newtimer is usually at least 20 years old. And whether you want to buy, rent or simply admire, they can all be found somewhere.

The local classic car community has a wide network, covering every aspect from rallies to auction houses. The Clas-sic Car Drivers Association (CCDA) offers enthusiasts a calendar of rallies and festivals, as well as clubs, auctions, tips and experts to help out.

Karina Ramaekers from the CCDA identi-fies three types of classic car enthusiasts: those who want to buy them pristine and drive them; those who like to work on their cars, often buying them when they’re wrecks and then rebuilding; and those who buy as an investment. “We now have more and more young people buying,” she says. “With the cheaper insurance, they buy it for the wallet.”

Belgium’s love affair with the car harks back to the early days of the internal combustion engine more than a century ago, when experimenting mechanics and engineers vied to build prototype machines in their garages. Some devel-oped into successful carmakers: before the war, Minerva and FN were both prestigious brands. And many major foreign carmakers set up production in Belgium, including Renault in Vilvoorde,

“It’s like a painting: you need to know what you’re buying”


Ford in Genk, Opel/General Motors in Antwerp, and Volkswagen/Audi in Brus-sels. “Our love of old cars has its roots in construction,” says Rameakers, who is herself restoring a rusty Ford 20 M TS OSI Coupé, bought 10 years ago.

Thierry van Kan, president of Febiac, the car and motorbike federation, says Belgians are naturally keen on cars and driving. “We have always liked cars,” he says, pointing to the age-old national habit of being hands-on and fixing things. “There is a classic saying that the Belgian has a brick in his belly, but I have heard it said that it’s rather that the Belgian has a brick in his boot.”

Classic cars in Belgium can use a special number plate – it starts with an 0, for ‘oldtimers’ rather than the usual 1 – and there are about 60,000 of these, which are defined as over 25 years old. There are also many car and motoring clubs, with 450 around the country. And such cars can be valuable. In 2014, a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO sold for an auc-tion record $38 million at Bonham’s in California, breaking the previous record held by a 1954 Mercedes-Benz W196R,

sold for $30 million the previous year. “Their value has grown quickly in recent years. The market is there, the demand is there,” van Kan says.

Even if you don’t plan to fork out for any cars, you can still admire them at the many classic car events. Prince Laurent was the guest of honour at the opening of InterClassics Brussels, the classic-car exhibition held in November at Brussels Expo, where some 30 Bugattis were on display. The Flanders Collection Car at Flanders Expo in Ghent in February will be another showcase.

Each spring, the ING Ardenne Roads car rally provides additional colour to the winding lanes around Spa, the town that epitomises car racing in Belgium. Under the slogan, ‘Relive the gentlemen drivers tradition in a legendary place’, the rally prides itself on combining sport with conviviality, courtesy and elegance. It welcomes around 15 pre-war sporting models and all cars are restricted to pre-1970. The next edition takes place on 23 and 24 April 2016.

Van Kan, who is also president of the

Lifestyle •

“Their value has grown quickly in recent years. The demand is there”

InterClassics, Brussels

Concours d’Elegance at the Zoute Grand Prix classic car rally in Knokke held every October, says they have an obvious investment value, but warns that there are risks too. “It’s like a painting: you need to know what you’re buying,” he says. “If you have the information, if you know about the painter, you can make the right investment.” Van Kan’s sole vin-tage car is an old-style VW Beetle, one of the last from the Mexico production line, which cost €5,000 when it was made in 2002 and is now worth €30,000.

From a legal and technical standpoint, there are waivers on certain emission and conformity standards. “When cars are more than thirty years old, they’re not a major problem, simply because there are so few of them,” van Kan says. “From a pragmatic point of view, who is really polluting? We have just 60,000 cars out of six million, running about an average of just 2,500km a year. It’s not significant.”

Having an older vehicle comes with a slew of issues, including problems with rust, failing suspension components, poor engine compression, and ripped interiors. It might mean spending inor-dinate amounts of time in salvage yards and online searching for genuine parts, and filling your garage with rare spares, just in case. But isn’t that what restoring a car is all about?

And then there are performance issues: would you race a 50-year-old road bicycle or work on a 1985 computer?

Even today’s most pedestrian vehicles are far more capable than almost all vintage rides. A 1972 Ferrari 365 does zero to 100km/h in about seven seconds and has a top speed of 220, but is still beaten by a sporty Ford Focus. That’s before you even get into today’s standard comforts like adjustable seats, air-conditioning, electric windows and power steering.

Peeter Henning, CEO of the Belgian federation of classic cars, warns that specialist garages can cost up to €75 an hour to fix classic cars. “We have courses for young people in technical aspects so they can fix vehicles. We need to make sure these skills are kept,” he says. After enough of a car has been replaced, it’s no longer considered an old vehicle

but a replica. A legitimate vintage car will need a chassis number and an engine number – which is also important when assessing whether a given car is genuine. Henning is also director of communications at Fiva, the Brussels-based international federation for classic cars, which sometimes investigates if a particular car is real or fake. “It may take months to come up with the assess-ment,” he says.

Henning’s personal collection includes a 1955 Opel Kapitän, a 1963 Ford Anglia (as featured in the Harry Potter movies), a 1966 Ford Taunus, a 1973 VW Beetle and a 1974 Mercedes. But housing this enviable group is a challenge in itself. “The most difficult thing for a collection is where to keep them.”


“our love of old cars has its roots in construction”

Zoute Grand Prix


Lifestyle •

In the neighbourhoodMake a day of exploring the historic Marolles district of Brussels

the MArOLLesThroughout the last century, urban planners treated Brussels like a slate to be wiped clean at will. Entire neighbourhoods were demolished to make way for new developments like Central station and the European quarter. And while the medieval grandeur of the Grand’ Place has been preserved, few spots retain the popular charm of yesteryear’s working-class neighbourhoods. Except the Marolles. Here, on the southern fringe of the capital’s innermost postcode 1000, just underneath the Palais de Justice, you’ll catch a rare glimpse of the people’s Brussels – and might even get an earful of the disappearing local dialect.

sABLOn

Tourist guides tend to eschew the ancient streets and claustrophobic dive bars of the Marolles in favour of their more glamourous neighbours around the Sablon. With the city centre to the west, museum row to the north and the European quarter to the east, this affluent district is the local centre of gravity for expats, especially those keen to browse the Sablon’s famous weekend antiques market.

eLevAtOr

Another Marolles must-see is the elevator that links this low-lying neighbourhood with the commanding heights of Place Poelaert and the Palais de Justice. Below lies the popular Rue de l’Epée with its bars and clubs. Above is one of the capital’s finest pano-ramic views, encompassing the spires of the Grand Place, the stainless steel orbs of the Atomium and the Basilica of the Sacred Heart.

fLeA MArKet

What shoppers don’t know is that many of the Sablon’s treasures were sourced from the Marolles’ sprawling, chaotic flea market just a few blocks away. The morning market in the Place du Jeu de Balle is and has always been the heart of the Marolles. Open every day of the year from 6.00 to at least 14.00, this sprawling bric-a-brac bazaar hosts hundreds of ven-dors and thousands of visitors at any given time and keeps dozens of cafes and restau-rants in business. It once made The Guardian’s list of top 10 European flea markets.

POrte De hAL

At the edge of the Marolles, marking its boundary with the commune of Saint-Gilles, you’ll find the capital’s erstwhile city gate – and one of its earliest historical museums – the Porte de Hal. With its permanent collec-tion of medieval arms and armour as well as its current temporary exhibition of World War One-era toy soldiers, not to mention the view from its ramparts, the museum is well worth the price of admission (€5 for adults and €1.50 for children).

fOOD & DrInK

When you need a break from poking through piles of vintage books, records, clothes and accessories, we recom-mend having a bite at the old-school bistro Le Chineur or a beer at Le Chaff (pictured). The latter does brisk business during market hours and, un-like many of the square’s other joints, keeps swinging late into the night. Le Chaff also hosts weekly concerts by touring alternative rock groups. When weather permits, these musi-cians play in the open air. For more exotic flavours, Lebanese restaurant Al Jannah, just a short walk down Rue Blaes, is a local favourite.


And finally ...

Football landmarks, anti-terror cats and the end of the world as we know it – or not. Sally Tipper looks back at some of the lighter events making headlines in the last 100 days

A pair of preachers in America claimed the end of the world was nigh as a ‘blood moon’ appeared in the skies for the fourth time in 18 months. The

blood moon – a lunar eclipse that coincides with a supermoon – was said by them to herald the beginning of the apoc-alypse. If you’ve survived to read this column, we can assume they got it wrong.

The head of Indonesia’s anti-drugs agency proposes building a prison island guarded by crocodiles

Manila is voted the worst city on Earth to drive in

Sony officially stops selling Betamax tapes

A biker in China is detained after clocking 237km/h in Beijing

With Brussels on lock-down

during the search for a suspect in the Paris terrorist attacks, po-lice asked residents not to post details of their raids on Twitter. Minutes later, in one of those beautiful “only in Belgium” moments, the hashtag #BrusselsLockdown was instead a flood of silly cat pictures, confounding the bad guys and gaining our little country headlines round the world for all the right reasons.

Belgium’s football fans celebrated as the country found itself top of Fifa’s world rankings. Using the handy formula P = M x I x T x C, the sport’s govern-

ing body declared Belgium the best in the world, and who are we to argue? It was an achievement made all the

sweeter for some by the Nether-lands’ failure to qualify for

Euro 2016, while the Red Devils romped

through their qualifying group to book a place in France next summer.

nov2015

oct2015

sept 2015

Comment •


You probably missed it, as the media kept it very quiet, but there

was a new Bond movie released this month. Daniel Craig reprised his role as the chiselled super-spy in Spectre, with a baby-faced Q in hipster specs and cardigan, and one of Bond’s love interests played by a woman a whole four years older than Craig himself.

Oh no, I thought, when I saw it. Someone from the commune had attached an official red notice to a lamppost in the street where I live. That’s not going to be good news, I told myself.

I’ve lived in Brussels long enough to know the meaning of those little red notices. They’re put up to inform the neighbours that someone is planning some major construction work, like adding an extra floor, or building a night club in the basement. You never know, so it’s always best to check.

That’s how I found out about the love hotel.

The red notice described the work that was going to be carried out. The aim, it said, was to convert an existing hotel into six apartments. But there was no hotel as far as I could see. It was just a house like any other in our street.

Then I looked more closely. The bell was marked ‘Concierge’. And the curtains were drawn across all the windows.

A quick dive into Google brought up the hotel’s website with information in three languages. “Welcomes couples,” it said. “With room service and discretion assured,” it added. The website included photographs of the 10 themed rooms available for €85 an hour. Couples could spend an afternoon in the Caribbean, with a beach painting as a backdrop, or they could sneak in a secret rendezvous in the exotic Bangkok room.

Curious to know more, I went back to Google to see what I could find out. The Daily Telegraph, a conservative British newspaper, had published an article about the hotel in 2011. “EU officials use ‘love hotels’ in their lunch break,” the headline read. The hotel manager had told the newspaper that “Eurocrats are eighty percent of our business” and that “the long lunch break was the preferred time of day to commit adultery”.

But, the Telegraph warned, these lunchtime affairs were a security risk. “Officials were told to beware of the charms of Mata Hari-type interns allegedly trading sex for EU secrets.”

Crikey, I thought. Heaven help us if the Russians got their hands on the revised draft of the EU Artisanal Gelato Day decision.

It was a definite risk, the Telegraph argued. The Brussels bureaucracy was particularly worried about middle-aged men falling for the “pretty trainee with the long legs and the blonde hair”.

I was quite stunned by the thought of enemy spies operating in my quiet neighbourhood. But something about this story was puzzling me. How had the hotel (“discretion assured”) found out that 80% of its customers were Eurocrats? It seems unlikely that couples would enter the hotel with their EU security passes prominently displayed. Or that they would charge the room to the European Commission.

Maybe it was simply that they were all middle-aged men accompanied by pretty young blondes. I doubt if we will ever know the true story, because a skip has now arrived in the street to remove the evidence.

✶ By Derek Blyth


the discreet charm of the love hotel


Spotlight • spotlight •

Pop art turns 50Museums around the world are staging Pop art retrospectives in recognition of the move-ment forged over half a century ago by Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Tom Wesselman, David Hockney and the like. If Belgian artists were slower to ride the Anglo-American wave that drew inspiration from popular and commercial culture, they were no less enthu-siastic. The ING-sponsored exhibition Pop Art in Belgium celebrates the 50th anniversary of the movement’s first major exhibition in Belgium. It shows more than 140 important works by Belgian and international artists. They include American George Segal whose 1963 solo exhibition in Paris triggered a seven-year period of fervent interest by artists like Belgians Marcel Broodthaers and Panamarenko. The exhibition’s focus is on explaining why the movement arrived in Belgium and how its artists absorbed it into their own work.

Pop Art in Belgium! 1963-1970Until 14 February, ING Cultural Centre

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