BRUSSELS BELGIUM EUROPE
JUNE 15-28 2012 ISSUE 20 €4.95
LONDON CALLING Countdown to the Olympics
BUSINESS
PROFILE
Belgium’s best summer Is entrepreneurship Olympic chief music festivals the only solution to Jacques Rogge youth unemployment?
TR AVEL
A day trip to Lille
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DEPOT BRUXELLES X
CULTURE
J UNE 15 - 28 2012
Celebrating 50 years
Where the art is
Belgian painter Luc Tuymans wowed London in 2004, and he’s back there this summer
2004
Antwerp-born artist Luc Tuymans (pictured here in 2009 with Queen Paola) was already a recognised name in the crowded and fast-changing art world when The Bulletin published Delphine Cool’s interview with him in the June 17, 2004 issue, ahead of a large solo exhibition at London’s Tate Modern. Tuymans was a genuine original, who came to prominence in the late 1980s when conceptual and installation art were all the rage and mere painting was considered passé. In Cool’s words, his pictures are “about reality, and often about harsh and shocking things”.
2012
From the first solo show by a Belgian at Tate Modern to today, Tuymans has become a figure of international importance. Now in his mid50s, he is still turning out new and stunning work with the same youthful energy, as his exhibition at Bozar in Brussels last year convincingly demonstrated following major shows in four American cities. His work is on show in London again this year in A Room For London, a boat perched atop the Queen Elizabeth Hall. By Cleveland Moffett
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Contents p24 Picnic the Streets
p36 A Visitor’s Guide to London
p52 Belgian music festivals
p32 Tram Experience
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Politics & Business
Lifestyle & Community
Culture & Events
9 News In Brief
29 Lifestyle In Brief
14 Jacques Rogge We profile the head of the IOC on the eve of his final Olympics in charge
34 Love at First Bite Couleur Café host Fabrice Masuka shares his foodie favourites
52 Music Festivals Make the most of a summer of music with our round-up of Belgium’s best festivals
17 Global Changemakers Young entrepreneurs are finding their own ways to tackle youth unemployment 20 Picnic the Streets Peaceful protestors armed with sandwiches and deckchairs take to the streets to campaign for a car-free Brussels 23 Know-how What you should know about drug legislation in Belgium 24 The Brand Liège-based media company EVS – a major player at this summer’s big sporting events 27 Your Money Bonds, bubbles and the debt crisis
Cover story
36 A Visitor’s Guide to London What to see and do in London while the Olympics are in full swing 41 Behind the Scenes The Royal Observatory of Belgium 42 Up my Street Chaussée de Roodebeek in Woluwe-Saint-Lambert 44 Travel Across the border in Lille 46 Digital Our technology picks
58 The Durutti Column The story behind the British band’s latest album, recorded in Brussels 30 years ago 60 14 Days The Bulletin’s cultural highlights for the fortnight ahead – in Brussels and beyond 69 Film Cinema reviews and recommendations 71 Property 76 Classifieds 80 Jobs 82 Capital Life Travel writer Douglas E Morris opens his diary for The Bulletin
47 Community
Editeur Responsable /Verantwoordelijke uitgever: John Stuyck, A. Gossetlaan 30, 1702 Groot-Bijgaarden. Opinions expressed in The Bulletin are those of the authors alone. For reasons of space, street names in Brussels are given only in their French version.
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Politics & Business
Tunnel closure
ROADWORKS THREATEN TRAFFIC CHAOS The tunnels passing under Cinquantenaire Park and Rue de la Loi closed last weekend for three months so work can be carried out on a new rail tunnel, with warnings of severe disruption to city-bound traffic. The Belliard tunnel carrying traffic out of the city will remain open as usual. The Brussels mobility ministry advises finding alternatives, including travelling on foot or bicycle for shorter distances, and public transport for longer journeys. Metro line 1 from Stockel will follow its usual summer timetable for one month only, from July 13 to August 13, and will otherwise operate a full timetable. A diversion plan has also been put in place for drivers, joining Square Montgomery to Rue de la Loi via the roads adjoining the park. www.bruxellesmobilite.irisnet.be
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THE BULLETIN
BRUSSELS In Brief CRIME
Sharia4Belgium spokesman Fouad Belkacem
UNREST
Niqab leads to clashes in Molenbeek
The radical Islamist organisation Sharia4Belgium could be facing a legal ban following unrest in Molenbeek in Brussels. Protesters clashed with police after a woman dressed in a niqab – the Muslim head-dress which covers the face completely – was stopped and questioned by police. Belgian law forbids the wearing of anything that makes the face unrecognisable. The woman refused to remove the niqab and was taken to the police station, where she allegedly attacked a female officer, breaking her nose. The arrest led to protests and clashes in the street, stoked, according to Molenbeek mayor Philippe Moureaux, by Sharia4Belgium. Protesters were detained, and the municipality introduced a curfew outlawing groups of more than five people. The spokesman for Sharia4Belgium, Fouad Belkacem, was arrested and charged with hate speech, and could face the withdrawal of his Belgian citizenship. Meanwhile, civil rights groups reacted with fury to proposals by Flemish right-wingers to pay €250 to anyone who reports a veiled woman to police. The offer was made by a private group run by Filip Dewinter, a leading figure in the right-wing Vlaams Belang party.
The lighter side
No jobs
Suspects guilty in exorcism trial Six people accused of torturing Latifa Hachmi, who died during a supposed exorcism in Schaerbeek in 2004, have been found guilty by a court in Brussels. The 23-year-old victim , the court heard, was beaten severely with sticks and almost drowned in a hot water bath in an ordeal lasting 56 days. She was subjected to the exorcism because she was unable to have children as a result, her husband said, of being possessed by a devil. The court found four of the suspects were directly responsible for her death. As The Bulletin went to press, the judge and jury were still considering sentencing. The six face prison terms of between 10 and 30 years.
EMPLOYMENT
Thousands of youth ‘will never work’
TRANSPORT
Thousands of young unemployed people in Brussels have no hope of ever finding work, according to an adviser to the Brussels chamber of commerce and industry, Franz De Keyser. The reason: too many people chasing too few low-skill jobs. He was reacting to a report by the International Labour Organisation on youth unemployment, and figures showing that Brussels has one of the highest rates in the world – around 35 percent. “Young people arrive in the capital with the unrealistic idea that they will find jobs requiring no qualifications. They’re mistaken,” he said.
Public transport authority Stib/MIVB has said there have been 20 accidents in the first five months of the year involving a tram and a pedestrian, four of them fatal. In 2011 there were 58 accidents in all, with only one fatality. The authority is now considering measures to improve safety, including extending the training period for tram drivers and replacing tram headlights with more visible LED lamps.
Four fatal tram accidents so far this year
Clocks go back one second The five atomic clocks at the Royal Astronomical Institute in Brussels will be turned back at 2.00 on July 1 – by exactly one second. Universal Time Coordinated is out of sync with the earth’s rotation, forcing the occasional correction
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EUROPE In Brief Headliners Rates held
Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy
EUROZONE CRISIS
Pain in Spain The focus of the eurozone crisis has shifted from Greece to Spain, with the Spanish government admitting that it will request help from the eurozone to shore up its troubled banking sector. Spain is the fourth largest economy in the eurozone – far bigger than Greece, Ireland and Portugal, the previous countries to have needed EU bailouts. However, this rescue is different because the money can be used only to recapitalise banks rather than to pay off general debts. The bailout will not oblige Spain to implement austerity measures, as was the case for the three previous countries. Mariano Rajoy, the Spanish prime minister who had denied for months that such outside help was necessary, said the decision was a “victory” for the euro and would ensure its survival. He said the move would avoid the need for a full-blown bailout of Spain in the future. The request for help came during a conference call involving the eurozone’s 17 finance ministers on June 9. In a statement the ministers said they estimated Spain would need about €100 billion. The exact amount will be decided when the results of an audit of Spain’s banking sector is known, likely to be before the end of this month. Spain’s banks are in trouble because they issued so many cheap loans to fund the country’s property boom over the past decade. Now, with that boom over and property prices falling, the government has struggled to find the money to keep the banks solvent.
The European Central Bank has kept its main interest rate on hold at 1 percent for June, a historic low. However, ECB president Mario Draghi said that the decision within the governing council was not unanimous and hinted there could be a cut next month because many eurozone countries are reentering recession.
Security deal The EU has struck a deal with the US to recognise each other’s security checks on air cargo. Until now both sides have carried out their own probes when freight flew across the Atlantic but that was considered a waste of time and money.
Energy stalemate Talks between EU member states and the European Parliament over proposals to cut energy use in the EU by 20 percent by 2020 are in deadlock. Denmark, which holds the rotating EU presidency, had hoped for a breakthrough in June but that looks unlikely, and the plan is expected to be shelved until next year.
On Europe
First among equals The unmarried French president and his partner are setting an example. By Shada Islam
L
et’s applaud ‘Mr Normal’ François Hollande, France’s new president, for shifting Europe’s focus from austerity to growth. Let’s also give him a pat on the back for revolutionising outdated global traditions on love and marriage. Hollande and his companion of five years, Valérie Trierweiler, a twice-divorced 47-year-old mother of three teenagers, apparently intend to stay unmarried despite his new job. As half of the first cohabiting couple to move into the Elysée presidential palace, Trierweiler is now officially France’s ‘first partner’ rather than ‘first lady’ – and has been accepted as such by none other than the Obamas, who gave the new French presidential couple their blessing last month. There’s more to come. Trierweiler, a long-time political journalist, has announced that she will continue to work It’s the first time at Paris Match, though she will cover cultural a president’s affairs, not politics. It will be the first time a partner has held president’s partner has held down a regular down a regular job and salary. I like it – very much. First of all, it’s a reflection of our times. A host of studies job and salary. show that unmarried couples living together I like it – are the fastest-growing family unit in many very much parts of the western world. More than five million unmarried couples cohabit in the US, nearly eight times the number in 1970. Across Europe, many millions live similarly, choosing to raise children, buy homes and build lives without religious or civil approval of their partnerships. Second, thank heavens that instead of just staring adoringly at Hollande, looking glamorous and walking the red carpet, the French ‘first partner’ also intends to keep working. True, Cherie Blair did so as well – but the world needs more role models of women who do not give up an independent professional existence while married to presidents and prime ministers. The term ‘first partner’ also makes it easier for the husbands of female leaders to take their place in the sun. After all, who wants to be called ‘first man’ or ‘first husband’? True, the new president’s unmarried status could cause a few protocol issues during foreign travel to a handful of places with strict rules about unwed couples, like Saudi Arabia or the Vatican. But frankly, I wouldn’t worry too much. Saudi Arabia, where men are allowed several wives, should be told to get moving on giving its women a few basic Shada Islam is a rights. And the Vatican? Well, in view of all Brussels-based the recent scandals, the Pope’s opinion of le journalist and couple Hollande and Trierweiler won’t count works for Friends for much in the court of global public opinion. of Europe
I love my job Seven out of 10 Belgians recognise that affairs do happen in the workplace - and they see nothing wrong with that, according to a survey by Randstad Workmonitor
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Lifestyle & Community
Serve the City
GIVE A HELPING HAND Run by Brussels-based charity Serve the City, Big Volunteer Week will take place for the eighth year running from June 30 to July 7. Set up by American expat and pastor Carlton Deal in 2005, the first BVW saw 70 people volunteer at various non-profit organisations across Brussels. Today, Serve the City is active in 70 cities worldwide and this BVW promises to be bigger than ever. More than 500 people of all ages and from all walks of life are expected to give their time to help those who need it most. You can spend a day, an evening, or the whole week serving the homeless, asylumseekers, the disabled, the elderly and children in need. This week-long give-fest ends with a big street party in the Marolles for volunteers and members of the community. To sign up or for more information, visit the website. www.servethecity.be