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DE RUEHBS #1787/01 3301800
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R 251800Z NOV 08
FM AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8256
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BRUSSELS 001787 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/WE, EUR/ERA AND DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM BE
SUBJECT: FLEMISH INTERIOR MINISTER'S REFUSAL TO CONFIRM 
FRANCOPHONE MAYORS THREATENS INSTITUTIONAL TALKS 
 
REF: BRUSSELS 1772 
 
¶1.  Summary:  The Flemish Interior Minister's second refusal 
to confirm in office three francophone mayors who had 
violated Belgian language laws has put the just-relaunched 
institutional talks on structure of the Belgian state into 
question.  Dismayed francophone politicians have asked the 
Flemish government as a whole to confirm the decision and may 
walk out of the talks if they are not satisfied with the 
response.  The Interior Minister's decision was likely taken 
as a means of shoring up his Flemish Liberal (Open VLD) 
party's image among Flemish voters as regional elections 
approach in June 2009.  The Council of Europe will consider 
whether to introduce monitoring of Belgian compliance with 
the European Charter of Local Self-Government at a session 
December 1-3.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  Marino Keulen (Open VLD), the Interior Minister for the 
Flemish Regional Government, announced on November 24 his 
decision not to confirm into office the three francophone 
mayors elected in the Flemish communes of Kraainem, Linkebeek 
and Wezembeek-Oppem on the perimeter of Brussels.  The three 
mayors were elected by their communal councils in 2006 and 
the Flemish government has now refused twice to confirm them 
in office, the last time being in November 2007.  The Flemish 
government contends that the mayors violated Flemish 
administrative rules when they sent notices of elections 
written in French to French-speaking voters.  Those voters 
make up the majority of the residents of the towns involved, 
which are located in Flemish Brabant.  Despite their lack of 
confirmation, the mayors have been acting ex officio in their 
capacities.  Still, the Flemish government's refusal has been 
a continuing irritation in the process of reforming Belgium's 
institutions and in Flemish-francophone relations.  Keulen's 
action threatens to derail the institutional talks which have 
just gotten underway with the naming of negotiators for the 
Flemish and francophone communities. 
 
¶3.  The mayors can appeal Keulen's decision to the Council of 
State's Flemish Chamber.  But that Chamber is the same body 
that last year found that the administrative rules in 
question were "compatible" with the Federal laws on use of 
languages in administration.  The mayors can also petition 
for confirmation to the Flemish government a third time, but 
they are unlikely to obtain any change of opinion.  To stop 
this "carousel", as it has been dubbed in the press, Keulen 
could name his own caretaker mayors to the seats, who could 
be approved without a say by the francophone-dominated 
communal council. 
 
¶4.  The fate of the francophone mayors is scheduled to be 
discussed in the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities 
of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg the week of December 
¶1.  Council of Europe experts visited the three 
municipalities in May 2008 and sided with the mayors.  They 
made a recommendation which calls for monitoring of the 
application of the European Charter of Local Self-Government 
in Belgium, which the Institutional Committee of the Congress 
forwarded to the entire Congress for possible adoption. 
Keulen and the three mayors are expected to appear and debate 
before the Congress. 
 
¶5.  Keulen's announcement apparently took by surprise the 
Minister-President of Flanders, Kris Peeters (CD&V).  Peeters 
had been working to try to get the institutional talks off to 
a good start, having named three prominent Flemish 
politicians as negotiators in October.  He had intended to 
discuss the mayors' status at a cabinet meeting on November 
26, where a compromise might have been considered.  Keulen is 
believed to have acted so precipitously in order to reinforce 
his party's Flemish bona fides, which may have become suspect 
and engendered a certain loss of standing in the opinion 
polls.  That opening has been exploited by the up and coming 
party of former VLD leader Jean-Marie De Decker (Lijst De 
Decker).  The Open VLD has also been weakened by the problems 
that two of their federal ministers, Karel De Gucht (reftel) 
and Patrick Dewael have recently experienced. 
 
¶6.  The linguistic and institutional question has been pushed 
to the side recently by attention paid in the press and among 
the public to the economic crisis.  There had been some hope 
that progress could be made while the institutional talks 
proceeded under the radar.  Also, many politicians are 
reluctant to force the linguistic issue while the government 
must deal with serious financial problems.  The francophone 
parties met on November 25 and formally asked Peeters to 
state whether the entire Flemish government endorses Keulen's 
decision.  They said that Peeters' decision will determine 
the future of the institutional talks -- putting them 
essentially on hold until Peeters answers.  At the same time, 
 
BRUSSELS 00001787  002 OF 002 
 
 
the francophone Socialist Party (PS) leader Elio Di Rupo and 
his CDH ally Joelle Milquet said they do not want to be 
trapped into starting "linguistic warfare" that would only 
benefit hardliners.  They preferred at this point to blame 
liberals of all stripes (Open VLD and the francophone MR) for 
the dust-up over the mayors. 
 
FOX 
 
 
 
.