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R 121356Z APR 07 ZDK
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BRUSSELS 001233 
 
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SIPDIS 
 
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TREASURY FOR OASIA/ICN - ATUKORALA 
USDOC FOR 4212/OECA/JLEVINE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EFIN EINT EINV SENV BE
SUBJECT:  BELGIAN STEWPOT: April 11, 2007 
 
 
1-2. FedEx Best Employer in Belgium 
3-4. Underground Economy Flourishing 
¶5.   Wallonia Bites Climate Change Bullet 
¶6. English Ahead of National Languages 
¶7. A Belgian View of the Grand Canyon 
¶8.   No More Lost Tourists? 
9-10.Last Belgian Horsemeat Packers in US Close 
 
------------------------------- 
FedEx Best Employer in Belgium 
------------------------------- 
¶1. (U) American package delivery firm Federal 
Express was named ?Best Employer? in Belgium for 
2007 in March. FedEx's over 800 employees in 
Belgium lauded the company?s attention to 
developing the talent of its workers.  Employees 
also expressed appreciation for the company?s 
ethnic diversity ? over 30 different 
nationalities work in Belgium for FedEx.  The 
human resources manager for FedEx says the firm 
does regular studies of employee satisfaction, 
and is constantly improving its management based 
on the feedback.  In 2005 another U.S. firm in 
Belgium, J&J, received accolades when its 
Managing Director Ajit Shetty, was named 
Flander's Manager of the year. 
 
¶2. (U) The annual Best Employer survey, conducted 
by Belgium?s Vlerick/Leuven Management School, is 
based on employee survey responses, and is 
divided into those employers with over 500 
employees and those with fewer than 500 employees 
working in Belgium.  Among big firms, other U.S. 
companies in the top ten ranking were Dow Corning 
(5), Cisco Systems (6), Accenture (7) and 
McDonald?s (9).  Among small and medium firms, 
Microsoft, Amgen (pharmaceuticals), and Abbott 
(generic pharmaceuticals) were chosen among the 
top ten.  Another "best employer" survey done by 
Randstad, a leading Belgian temp agency, ranked 
Belgium's J&J subsidiary as number one in three 
of the past seven years. 
 
------------------------------- 
Underground Economy Flourishing 
------------------------------- 
¶3. (U) A McKinsey study on the underground 
economies of EU countries says Belgium could have 
as much as 22 percent of economic activity ?off 
the books.?  Recent OECD research, however, 
declares it may be as little as 3 percent.  Using 
either method of calculation, Belgium ranks high 
on the list: third on the basis of Eurostat data, 
fifth according to the OECD, somewhere among 
Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal.  The McKinsey 
report evaluates the revenue lost to the 
government from economic activity in the informal 
sector at 30 billion euros.  (The GOB fiscal 
fraud campaign of 2006, by comparison, netted the 
government 817 million euros.)  McKinsey says 
?about a fifth of Belgians work, occasionally, 
partially, or fully in the informal sector.?  An 
expert at Belgium?s Social Security office denied 
the high rate of informal sector activity was due 
to high taxes, arguing that Nordic countries have 
even higher tax rates but lower rates of informal 
sector activity.  The expert attributes it to a 
mentality of citizens defending themselves from a 
"gluttonous" state that exceeds the level of 
intervention they consider legitimate.  Changing 
this behavior, he says, will require a long-term 
effort.  The Belgian federal government estimates 
only a 3-5 percent informal sector economy. 
 
 
¶4. (U) Methodologies used in making estimates of 
the underground economy vary markedly.  The 
Belgian National Bank, following Eurostat norms, 
compares declared national production to actual 
household consumption to calculate the 
difference.  Alternatively, the macroeconomic 
circulation of money can be used to contrast the 
hours of work and production declared to the 
value of national consumption, the gap between 
them being made up by the "off-the-books" 
economy.  The informal sector includes non- 
declared but legal work of citizens (off the 
 
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books services and goods sold), the gray economy 
(corporate off-shore, unreported and fraudulent 
transactions), and the illegal economy (drugs, 
prostitution, etc.). 
 
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Wallonia Bites Climate Change Bullet 
------------------------------------- 
¶5. (U) In March the Walloon regional government 
decided on 82 new actions to help lower regional 
CO2 emissions and achieve Belgium?s 7.7 percent 
reduction from the 1990 baseline demanded by the 
Kyoto Protocol.  Whereas previous measures were 
aimed chiefly at private sector industries, as 
easy to find point-source emitters, the new 
measures target mostly the public sector.  They 
include using biodiesel in the TEC public 
transport bus system, extinguishing part of the 
highway lighting between 00:30 and 05:30 at 
night, and replacing traffic signal lamps with 
energy-saving halogen bulbs.  All public 
buildings will be audited for their energy 
efficiency, and corrective steps will be taken 
depending on the findings.  For long-term impact, 
the region will fund a research center to develop 
clean motor technology in Francochamps 
(ironically, also the site of Belgium?s ?Indy 
500? racecourse, not a fuel-efficient sport) and 
will support a study on CO2 storage in the former 
coalmines of Hainaut province. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
English Ranked Ahead of Belgian's Own Languages 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
¶6. A recent poll by Francophone Brussels daily Le 
Soir and Dutch-language daily De Standaard 
revealed surprising Belgian attitudes about 
languages.  The poll asked, ?Is there another 
language that is more important than the other 
national language??  Most respondents said ?yes? 
? 77% of Flemish speakers and 87% of French 
speakers in both Wallonia and Brussels responded 
affirmatively, both saying that English was more 
important than the Dutch or French spoken by 
their co-citizens.  German was a distant runner- 
up, followed by Spanish and Chinese.  The survey 
also asked respondents to rate their skills in 
the other official language.  Dutch-speakers in 
Flanders largely said they can get by in French 
(77 percent), but in Wallonia only 39 percent of 
respondents claimed they could manage in Dutch. 
The Brussels region was a middle ground, as 61 
percent said they felt their skills in their non- 
primary language were either ?sufficient? or 
?perfect.?   Interestingly, 81 percent of 
Francophone Belgians and 65 percent of Dutch- 
speakers said they have regular contact with 
members of the other linguistic community. 
Respondents in Brussels had the most contact with 
?the other half,? at 89 percent. 
 
---------------------------------- 
A Belgian View of the Grand Canyon 
---------------------------------- 
¶7. (U) The latest attraction at the Grand Canyon 
in Arizona was "made in Belgium," but is not 
chocolate.  The new Skywalk Pier is a glass- 
floored walkway of nearly 80 feet suspended 1200 
meters (3,934 feet, three-quarters of a mile) 
above the floor of the canyon.  It was 
constructed with glass produced by Saint Gobain 
in Belgium, and Belgian engineer Frank Serruys 
coordinated the construction.  Its fans call it 
the next best thing to skydiving.  Persons with 
vertigo are urged to take a different path... 
 
----------------------- 
No More Lost Tourists? 
----------------------- 
¶8. (U) Belgian-Dutch firm TeleAtlas is well 
positioned to profit from the coming boom in 
cellphones that integrate GPS functions.  Almost 
2 million such phones are already in use 
worldwide, and another 25 million are expected to 
be in circulation by 2010.  TeleAtlas is charting 
the world?s cities in order to sell GPS services 
to businesses and tourists.  With a fleet of 
 
BRUSSELS 00001233  003 OF 003 
 
 
sophisticated camper-vans coursing cities and 
highways, TeleAtlas is charting leading cities 
and tourist sites, and will soon offer 3-D images 
and locations to travelers.  The company 
currently employs 2300 persons, and has already 
charted Brussels, Berlin, Paris, Barcelona, 
Athens and other well-frequented European venues. 
Since it was listed on the Euronext Amsterdam 
exchange in 2006, TeleAtlas has raised 50 million 
euros for corporate acquisitions to expand its 
database.  TeleAtlas plans to spend 10 million 
euros in China to gain a database of 337 major 
cities.  The company already has sales exceeding 
250 million euros per year, and recorded 80 
percent growth last year.  Its goal is 20,000 
points of interest in 64 countries, covering 21.3 
million kilometers of highway.  Lost tourists may 
become a thing of the past! 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
Last Belgian Horsemeat Packers In U.S. Close 
-------------------------------------------- 
9.(U) Belgian meatpackers Cavel in DeKalb, 
Illinois, closed down on April 6, after a U.S. 
court decided that the firm could no longer pay 
U.S. Department of Agriculture directly for 
inspection of their facilities and products.  A 
year ago a U.S. court decided that no tax money 
could be used for inspection of horsemeat packing 
facilities; the new decision makes it impossible 
for the facility to remain in production and 
export its products.  Cavel was the third and 
last of Belgian facilities in the United States 
that processed horsemeat for the European and 
Japanese market; fifteen such slaughterhouses 
existed ten years ago.  The three Belgian 
facilities generated 60 million dollars in sales 
annually, and processed 2,000 animals per week. 
 
¶10. (U) The closures come after a three year 
court battle by the Belgian companies against a 
well-funded animal rights campaign demanding 
humane treatment for America's 8 million horses. 
The Belgian investors claimed they faced an 
emotional and sentimental battle impossible to 
win, in light of America's attachment to the 
animal.  Defenders of the packing plants noted 
they handled only wounded, old, and unable to 
work animals, bought at between $600 to $700 
each.  Ironically, inhumane treatment to horses 
may rise due to the closures, say Belgian 
investors, because now owners of such animals 
will have to pay up to $1000 each to 
veterinarians to euthanize them.  They expect a 
rise in horses being abandoned or left to starve. 
 
IMBRIE