Focus on Flanders 10/1, press review on Wednesday 14 March 2007 -------------------------------------------------- DIAMOND ROBBERY GENTLEMAN-THIEF ABSCONDS WITH 21 MILLION EUROS OF DIAMONDS IN ANTWERP Carlos Hector Flomenbaum, an English-speaking Argentinian with an American accent, is the false identity of the diamond thief who a week ago managed to steal 25 kilos of diamonds with a value of 21 million euros from the vault of an ABN AMRO branch in the heart of Antwerp’s diamond quarter. The theft was discovered on Monday 5 March when the contents of around five strongboxes appeared to have disappeared. Flomenbaum had been in the vault that very day. He had been a customer of the bank for a year, had an account there and came across as a successful businessman. He visited the branch daily and so was able to gain the trust of staff and gradually gather all the information to prepare the robbery right down to the last detail. The false passport he had on him was stolen from the real Flomenbaum in Israel. There are no camera images of the man, but on 12 March the Public Prosecutor’s Office distributed a photofit picture of him. A reward of 2 million euros is being offered to anyone providing the authorities with a successful tip-off. The diamonds were mainly used as security for bank loans. The photofit picture of the thief and the photos of the stones are now being sent to the 26 diamond exchanges across the globe. Johan Van Baelen - Gazet van Antwerpen - 13 March For the thief it came down to copying the guard’s key. He probably managed this by copying the master key of the vault guard at an unattended moment. Carlos had expressed his dissatisfaction with the location of his own strongbox. He asked whether there were any empty strongboxes available for rent and whether he could look in them. After asking for the umpteenth time he was probably given a guard’s bunch of keys for a moment to be able to size up an empty strongbox. For the thief this was the perfect opportunity to take a copy of the guard’s key. He then extracted information from the bank employees like a born toady. In this way he found out a few weeks ago that an inventory had been made of the contents of the cracked strongboxes. Because the stolen diamonds were given in security, the bank knew exactly what was in the strongboxes. What can the false Carlos do with the stolen goods? Again and again it is claimed that diamonds have an identity and that receivers get caught in the small world of diamonds. But the case surrounding Leonardo Notarbartolo, who in February 2003 stole 100 million from the strongboxes of the Diamond Center, suggests that is not the case. Notarbartolo (who was imprisoned for ten years) belonged to the Turin school, which could have the stolen goods worked by one-time jewellers, who knew the world inside out. Therefore the suspicion is growing that Carlos is also part of a larger group. Will we ever see the stolen diamonds again? Unlikely. Because even if he was working alone, Carlos can get away unseen. He can re-import the rough diamonds via Africa under a new identity. “Give me a couple of hours and you’ll have a Kimberley certificate of authenticity,” a diamond dealer told us. “In return for a percentage, obviously.” Things are trickier with cut diamonds. “But if you have them worked into a jewel in Bangkok, you’ll avoid any checks,” says the dealer. “Or you have them re-cut.” ENVIRONMENT AND MOBILITY HIGH CONCENTRATIONS OF PARTICULATE MATTER REDUCE MAXIMUM SPEED ON MOTORWAYS TO 90 KPH This week the maximum speed on almost half the motorways in Flanders has been reduced from 120 to 90 kph from Tuesday to Friday. The restriction applies on 465 kilometres of motorway through the most densely populated areas of Flanders in the provinces of Antwerp, Flemish Brabant and East Flanders. The measure is designed to keep pollution from smog in check. Because of the fine, calm spring weather, exhaust gases are building up. Not only are concentrations of nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxides and benzene peaking, since Monday the so-called particulate matter has exceeded the threshold of 70 micrograms per cubic metre. In particular, the soot emitted by diesels produces huge quantities of particulate matter. The Flemish Government is calling on parents, children and cardiac patients to avoid strenuous effort. The Brussels Government called on Brussels residents to leave their cars at home. Dirk Coosemans - Het Laatste Nieuws - 14 March Although the current situation is not yet critical, the Flemish Environment Agency says that too much particulate matter is extremely damaging to health. “Particulate matter is breathed in and enters the bloodstream, where it can cause the veins to become silted up. Every year around 1,000 to 1,500 people in this country die from a heart attack that is largely caused by particulate matter. On average, every Fleming lives 15 months less thanks to the harmful effect of particulate matter on the body,” says Frans Fierens of the Flemish Environment Agency (VMM). Fierens does not fear an increase in the number of “dust days” in our country. “It’s the first time the maximum speed limit has been reduced, but that’s mainly due to the fact that the anti-dust plan has only been in force since May last year. Over ten years, levels of particulate matter have fallen slightly in our country because cars are cleaner. So that’s good news.” Nor is it an accident that it is happening just now. “The period between November and March is sensitive to levels of particulate matter in the air. Both weather inversions (when a cold layer of air is trapped below a warm one) and a lack of wind - also typical of the time of year - create a lot of particulate matter. www.vmm.be ECONOMIC INDICATORS OECD PRAISES BELGIUM’S SOCIO-ECONOMIC POLICY In its latest report, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) sings the praises of the socio-economic policy being pursued in Belgium. Secretary-General Angel Gurria, who presented the report together with Premier Verhofstadt, praised the reduction of debt and the measures to encourage people to remain in work for longer. Economic recovery has meant Belgium is better armed against the globalisation of the world economy, it says. And yet the report also contains criticism. Unemployment remains too high, and Belgium is still the only country in the EU where unemployment benefits are not limited in time. In addition, the OECD points out, social security expenditure will have risen by 6% by 2050. To be able to bear this cost, it is vital that more people continue to work for longer and expenditure has to remain strictly controlled at all levels (federal, regional and municipal). Premier Verhofstadt saw this as an encouragement to continue down the present path. The Minister-President of the Flemish Government, Yves Leterme (CD&V), maintains that Belgium’s good score is mainly down to Flanders. DDW - De Tijd - 14 March In his verbal explanation, Gurria waxed almost lyrical about the rate at which the national debt was being reduced. The report itself is more critical. It points out, for example, that over the past four years, one-off measures in the budget account for 0.5 to 1.2% of GNP. - The OECD calls for a retirement age that rises in line with life expectancy. Verhofstadt reacts with his idea to replace the retirement age by a career account with days worked. Verhofstadt explicitly says that the Generation Pact is only the first step. However, according to him there is already a shift in attitude towards no longer retiring early. - The OECD says that unemployment benefits must be limited in time. “Not from an ideological agenda, but because we know it works,” says Gurria. Verhofstadt says he wants to wait for the results of the increased activation of and support for the unemployed. - The OECD refers in extremely guarded terms to the regional differences on the labour market. The experts mainly expect salvation in more flexible wage formation. To achieve this flexibility, automatic wage indexation has to be abolished in a radical move. - After 2000, job creation was mainly in the public sector, now in the private sector too. - The OECD calls for fewer seniority bonuses. The difference in cost between older and younger employees is almost nowhere as great as in Belgium. BANKS OECD CALLS FOR MORE COMPETITION IN BELGIAN BANKING AND INSURANCE SECTOR FF editor In the OECD report the Belgian financial sector gets a lashing. The four main banks, Fortis, KBC, Dexia and ING, have a market share of 82% in Belgium, compared to the European average of 45%, the report points out. The fact that the four banks also sell insurance products further impedes free competition, the OECD claims. After all, bank insurers can also sell customers fire insurance and life assurance with their mortgage loans. This gives them an edge over smaller banks that only offer loans. Bank insurers can offset poorer results in the insurance sector against better results in banking, and vice versa. The OECD also believes the financial sector has to work on the transparency of its prices. The gentlemen’s agreement which the sector concluded with the government in February 2004 is a step in the right direction, but not enough, says the organisation. www.fortis.be www.kbc.be www.dexia.be www.ing.be BANKS SP.A MOUNTS OFFENSIVE ON CITIBANK’S CONSUMER CREDIT People are increasingly borrowing money to buy consumer products such as cars, refrigerators or televisions. Consumer credit, very popular in the US, is therefore gradually becoming big business here too. Citibank is trying to attract as many customers as possible in Belgium with aggressive campaigns. A pay slip is enough to grant an instalment loan. Very quickly a Visa card follows, with credit limits up to 5,000 euros. They are also trying to take over existing loans from other banks and if they have to they will organise repayment by stopping wages. The Flemish Socialists have now launched a frontal offensive on Citibank’s consumer credit policy. The bank makes a habit of fobbing people who are already deep in debt off with more loans and credit, claims Johan Vande Lanotte, Chairman of the SP.A. The bank also uses misleading advertising and concludes illegal contracts, if it has to. The SP.A is therefore opening an office with the aim of gathering complaints and then lodging a complaint with Economic Affairs. Citibank is the market leader for consumer credit, with a market share of 30%. www.sp.be www.citibank.be MOBILITY NUMBER OF ROAD FATALITIES HAS FALLEN BY 33% On 12 March the second States-General on road safety took place. Traffic experts, politicians and road-users’ associations addressed the priorities of traffic policy. The Federal Road Safety Committee expressed its satisfaction. Compared with 2000, the number of road fatalities has fallen by 33%, and the number of serious injuries by 26%. Road safety has clearly improved, and the interim target that was set at the previous States-General - only 1,000 road fatalities by 2006 - is likely to be achieved. After France and Luxembourg, this puts Belgium in the top three of the biggest fallers in terms of road fatalities. Nonetheless, the very weekend before the States-General traffic claimed an unusually high toll of twelve deaths. What’s more, two fatal crashes occurred during a road race, each involving people from northern France. De Morgen - 13 March Accident statistics show that specific measures will still be needed to reduce the number of deaths among motorcyclists and the number of deaths as a result of accidents involving lorries or delivery vans. The number of road fatalities among cyclists and moped riders has, however, fallen by around half compared with 2000. The numbers of victims among pedestrians and private drivers also fell sharply, by 24% and 25% respectively. Although the sharpest drop in the number of road fatalities is among young drivers, most victims still come from this group. As regards timing, weekend accidents remain over-represented in terms of number and seriousness. They therefore continue to demand specific attention. Seatbelt-wearing among drivers has also improved: 51% of drivers who still did not wear a seatbelt in 2003 did so in 2006. The average speed is falling slowly, but the proportion of drivers who exceed speed limits by more than ten kph remains high. Further efforts are therefore still required, says the Federal Road Safety Committee. LANDUYT REPROVES PUBLIC PROSECUTOR’S LAX POLICY FF editor Federal Transport Minister Renaat Landuyt (SP.A) used the States-General to take a swipe at the Public Prosecutors’ Offices in that day’s De Morgen. In recent years the police have pursued a stricter policy of checks on the roads, increasing the chance of being caught and forcing drivers to adopt a more cautious approach. But when traffic offenders fail to pay their fines things go awry, because the Public Prosecutors’ Offices neglect to prosecute the non-payers, the Minister claims. It is precisely a hard core of traffic offenders who re-offend that must be tackled, he believes. The Public Prosecutors should therefore pick out those cases and deal firmly with them. The Minister also attributed the inefficiency of the Public Prosecutor’s Office to, among other things, the fragmentation of their sphere of action into 27 districts, with inadequate communication between them. He called for these to be replaced by a single Office for traffic, operating under the aegis of the Transport Minister. Public Prosecutors are not judges but civil servants, so the separation of judicial and executive competence does not apply to them, says the Minister. EDUCATION FLEMISH POLITICIANS FIND DI RUPO’S PROPOSAL FOR BILINGUAL SCHOOLS NOT OPEN TO DISCUSSION The Chairman of the Francophone Socialists, Elio Di Rupo, wants to establish bilingual schools in Brussels and along the linguistic border. He made the announcement at the presentation of part of the PS election manifesto on 10 March. The PS Chairman wants a joint venture between the Flemish and French Communities, teachers who teach across the linguistic border to retain their status and diplomas to be recognised in both halves of the country. Flemish Education Minister Frank Vandenbroucke (SP.A) is prepared to have a limited number of subjects taught in another language in certain secondary schools. But he does not want fully bilingual schools. Steven Samyn - De Standaard - 12 March The proposal met with considerable opposition from Flemish politicians. “Obviously multilingualism is very important in a global world, but in our view multililngualism begins with a good knowledge of Dutch,” says Flemish MP Kathleen Helsen (CD&V). The N-VA was equally opposed to the idea. Patricia Ceysens, the Parliamentary Party Leader of Open VLD in the Flemish Parliament, described it as “inconceivable”. The Vlaams Belang announced it was “absolutely against” the idea. Flemish Education Minister Frank Vandenbroucke (SP.A) is in his own words prepared to have a limited number of subjects taught in another language in certain secondary schools. But he does not want fully bilingual schools, as Di Rupo is proposing. “Immerse linguistically weak children in several languages and you risk zero linguistic ability. Especially in Brussels, the suburbs, Antwerp and Ghent, where there are many people who speak another language,” says Vandenbroucke. At first sight the negative reactions are striking. After all, a large section of the population has been won over to more and better linguistic knowledge. Di Rupo meanwhile is clearly playing it smart by not calling for more language education, but for schools that are run jointly by Flemings and Walloons. That comes down to a sort of partial and concealed refederalisation of education. It is mainly against that that the Flemish politicians are kicking up a storm. And yet in Flanders there is still considerable opposition to the use of other languages in education. In higher education, for example, lecturers can teach in another language - in practice usually English - but only under strict conditions. The fear that Dutch is coming under pressure as a language of education is clearly still prevalent. Francophone Belgium is currently a little more open towards different-language education. In contrast to Flanders, the French Community has jumped on the international trend for the language bath method. There are already 98 primary schools and 54 secondary schools with so-called “immersion”. Between 25 and 75% of lessons are given in another language, generally Dutch. The Walloon Marshall Plan is also investing heavily in language courses and training. Di Rupo does not really need Flanders, therefore, to increase the number of bilingual or multilingual Francophones. ELECTION CAMPAIGNS CD&V AND SP.A WANT TO EXTEND PREGNANCY LEAVE FF editor At the first of four “Days of Tomorrow” the CD&V advocated extending pregnancy leave by five weeks. Flemish Welfare Minister Inge Vervotte believes after all that all women should receive as much maternity leave as the European average, namely 20 weeks. Vervotte made a total of 12 proposals to better reconcile work and family. For example, she also defended a higher and more inflation-proof child benefit to boost families’ purchasing power. Another proposal that received plenty of attention was the “lifetime” account, in which an employee can save up to 10% of his salary to finance a period of unpaid leave at a later date. Finally, the party has also set its sights on greater energy saving with a tax allowance on the purchase of environmentally friendly domestic appliances. We are also slowly getting to know more of the SP.A’s election manifesto. The party is focusing on four topics: the climate plan it presented last week, international policy, the fight for a new social model and more attention to children and families. The extension of parental leave is the most conspicuous proposal in this last topic. A family can currently take three months until the child is six. The Flemish Socialists want to extend that to a full year’s pregnancy leave for each child up to the age of twelve. TAX POLICY AND ENVIRONMENT PACKAGING TAX TONED DOWN FF editor The federal inner cabinet has reached an agreement on packaging tax. The current eco-tax of 0.986 euros per litre for non-reusable drinks packaging and 0.141 euros per litre for reusable packaging will remain unchanged. It is being supplemented with a tax on other packaging. The idea is based on the Danish model (De Tijd, 13 March). Two parameters determine the size of the surcharge: weight and material, depending on CO2 emissions. A working group now has to set a weighting coefficient for each type of packaging. Paper and card, for example, are not taxed and will receive a zero coefficient. Plastic, aluminium and other types of metal packaging will get a higher coefficient. Biodegradable packaging will be exempt. But at the request of the Francophone Socialists, packaging for foods such as milk, vegetables and fruit, as well as medicines, will be exempt. In last October’s budgetary control the government had still assumed that the new packaging tax would provide an extra 320 million euros for the treasury in 2007. That amount has now been halved to 160 million euros. The new proposal will first be submitted to the European Commission before it can be enshrined in an implementing decree. Because of this European control the proposed introductory date for the tax, namely 1 July, may well not be met. EMPLOYMENT POLICY WORKING LONGER PAYS FF editor We are having to work longer, not only because pensions risk becoming unaffordable, but also because of the labour shortage. The government has therefore prepared a whole series of measures designed to activate working after 60. Commissioned by De Standaard (12 March), PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) calculated the financial impact of these measures for the older employee. The consultancy firm concludes that someone who continues to work until they reach the age of 65 instead of 60 will profit a lot. For instance, someone who takes the supplementary pension from their group insurance at 60, pays 16.5% tax on it, but someone who waits until they are 65 only pays 10%. From the age of 62, they are also entitled to a pension bonus of 2 euros per day worked. As well as the pension bonus and the higher supplementary pension, the five extra years also guarantee a higher state pension. Between the ages of 60 and 65, the government also pays a further time credit allowance of 417.05 euros a month. By continuing to work part-time until the age of 65, a clerk with a gross salary of 3,500 euros can therefore earn 72,000 euros more than if he took early retirement at 60. -------------------------------- FOCUS ON FLANDERS provides twice a week an online overview of the Flemish press and appears also in French and German. Lannoo Publishers Editor in chief: Frank Vandecaveye E-mail: frank.vandecaveye@lannoo.be tel: 0032/(0)51.42.42.99 [Image: 1x1.gif]