Monday 20 August 2007

Whither Belgium?

Latins and Teutons: never the twain? Well, neither Wallonia nor Flanders is actually going to blink first and forfeit EU membership for ever by seceding from an existing member-state. And French recognition of any Wallonian UDI might seem ridiculous since, if anything, Wallonia is the old, old France – monarchist and Catholic. But the same is true of Quebec, and no one doubts that France would recognise any UDI there.

As for Flanders, purely Dutch support might not seem much of a threat. However, Germany merrily brought havoc to Yugoslavia by recognising the self-proclaimed independence of Slavs with histories of Habsburg rule. How much more likely would she be to back her fellow-Teutons on her own border? And what of the East Cantons? Once the opportunity had been taken to claim back even the smallest territory lost after the First World War...

1 comment:

  1. Should separation ever be a real issue, it is the people of Belgium that will decide in this question and no other country can and will interfere in any conceivable way. At the moment, separation of Flanders is highly unlikely as there is currently no majority for this among Flemish people.

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