VZCZCXRO7258
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHBS #0478 0920713
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 020713Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS
TO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8791

UNCLAS BRUSSELS 000478 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV BE
SUBJECT: PM VAN ROMPUY OUTLINES HIS GOVERNMENT'S PRIORITIES 
 
¶1.  (U)  Summary:  Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy, 
in a series of interviews with the Belgian press over the 
March 28-29, 2009 weekend, outlined his government's five top 
priorities.  These priorities are: balancing the budget, the 
regularization of immigration, whether to phase out nuclear 
energy, an institutional reform agreement, and the resolution 
of the Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde conflict.  However, PM Van 
Rompuy stresses that progress will not be made on many of 
these issues until after the regional and European elections 
on June 7.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (U)  The prime minister,s first priority is balancing 
the budget.  Known for significantly reducing the nation,s 
deficit as Minister of Budget in the Jean-Luc Dehaene 
government, many see Van Rompuy,s experience as a great 
asset to Belgium in the current economic crisis.  His 
six-year management of the budget, starting in 1993, is 
credited with giving Belgium the ability to adopt the euro. 
But with the Socialists rejecting austerity measures to 
reduce spending, and conservatives saying no to raising taxes 
to increase revenues, Van Rompuy deftly dodged conflict by 
revealing that he has ideas for increasing government 
revenues without raising taxes, yet without offering examples. 
 
¶3.  (U)  His second priority is to establish a humanitarian 
solution to immigration.  While Belgium has maintained an 
official ban on immigration since 1974, it continues to be a 
country of immigration, mostly illegal.  The growing "sans 
papiers" movement and population is driving the government to 
seek a solution.  However, differences of how to resolve the 
issue have stalled the process, at least until the regional 
and European elections set for June 7.  During the March 
21-22 weekend, Prime Minister Van Rompuy met with majority 
leaders and Minister of Integration and Asylum Annemie 
Turtelboom to discuss the issue.  There were no 
breakthroughs.  Minister Turtelboom announced the following 
weekend that she intends to allow families with children, who 
meet specific requirements, to stay in Belgium for one year 
as part of a provisional regularization plan.  While 
supported by many as a temporary resolution for a few 
thousand of the most sympathetic cases, others allege that it 
is either not enough or too much.  However, this reluctance 
is not likely to seriously impede the talks. 
 
¶4.  (U)  Third is whether to reverse the decision to phase 
out nuclear energy in Belgium.  There are seven nuclear 
reactors in Belgium, generating two-thirds of its energy. 
However, in 2003, an earlier government in which a green 
party was included in the governing coalition passed a law 
prohibiting the construction of additional nuclear power 
plants, and mandating the closure of the seven reactors from 
2014 to 2025.  This timeframe has created a sense of urgency 
which is not lost on Van Rompuy.  "It is a decision we will 
need to make without delay," he said, although adding, "after 
June 7." 
 
¶5.  (U)  The institutional reforms process, which has been 
particularly contentious, is fourth on the list.  Flemish 
demands for greater regional autonomy have threatened the 
integrity of the country.  On July 15, 2008, when the 
self-imposed institutional reforms deadline arrived without a 
deal, the then-Prime Minister Yves Leterme tendered his 
resignation, which was rejected by King Albert II.  Most 
recently, in January 2009, the institutional talks again 
collapsed.  With the proximity of the June 7 elections, 
Flemish leaders wanted to appease their constituency with 
concessions from the Walloons, while francophone politicians 
wanted just the opposite. 
 
¶6.  (U)  As a specific example of regional controversy, the 
fifth and final priority outlined by PM Van Rompuy is the 
Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde conflict.  Due to the increasing 
francophone presence in the Flemish suburbs surrounding the 
Brussels-Capital Region, the Capital Region and the 
Halle-Vilvoorde district have been combined into a special 
electoral district.  However, the Flemish want to re-divide 
these two districts to conform to constitutionally specified 
principles, a move that the francophone community fears will 
disenfranchise them from having a political voice. 
 
BUSH 
.