Isabelle Durant: "The Evaporation of Belgium's credibility in Europe is not good news"
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The Vice-President of the European Parliament, Isabelle Durant (Ecolo) believes that "this crisis seriously undermines the image of Belgium in the EU." The MEP fears that the Belgian Presidency of the European Council is taking the same path as the Czech Presidency during which the government of Mirek Topolanek fell because of a motion of censure. Mrs.
Durant said that Europe "was counting on Belgium to make the best use of the Lisbon Treaty for the EU." And it's true that with Herman Van Rompuy as the permanent president of the Council, the country could expect a close collaboration. A government in current affairs could preside the Council as planned, but for a country which has always been a compromise maker, this would represent a huge loss of credibility.
In the House, the Vlaamse Leeuw resonates
MPs from the extreme right party Vlaams Belang sang the Flemish anthem and unfolded a banner calling for the independence of Flanders without being stopped by security. Meanwhile, the Speaker of the House, Patrick Dewael has canceled the plenary meeting today in order to avoid a major crisis.