Banks have confirmed their commitment to raise at least 1 billion euros for SME funds, with the first funds extended to provide long-term financing for small and medium-sized enterprises released during the second half of the year. Flemish minister-president Kris Peeters (CD&V) met with representatives of the banking sector, the sector organisation Febelfin and the employers’ organisations yesterday. During their meeting the four major banks, BNP Paribas Fortis, KBC, Belfius and ING, confirmed their plans to start the first funds, which will increase to at least 1 billion euros during the latter half of the year.

 The SME funds are part of the Flemish government’s banking plan to provide businesses with more financial breathing space and assist the growing number of businesses struggling with credit extension from banks. The Flemish government will guarantee the loans via its Gigarant guarantee scheme. The amended Gigarant decree must still be voted on in the Flemish Parliament. Peeters hopes the vote can take place before the summer to get the legal go-ahead for the launch of these funds.

“The crisis threatens to further affect the vigilance of SMEs with respect to their own capital basis” says Peeters. “That could put credit extension to businesses further at risk and consequently also threaten economic recovery.” Thanks to the banking plan businesses will now also enjoy further access to credit from friends and family in a fiscally favourable way via the extended win-win loan.

Flemish culture minister Joke Schauvliege (CD&V) has agreed to raise the annual subsidies for the Flemish Opera and Flanders Royal Ballet, scheduled to merge in 2014, by 791 000 euros. The Royal Ballet and the Flemish Opera currently receive an allowance of 18.1 million euros and 5.9 million euros respectively. With this announcement the minister has countered criticical rumours that the provided merger of these cultural institutions will never take place.

The merged Opera and Ballet are poised to become the biggest cultural organization in Flanders and its first general director will soon be appointed. He must complete the merger and manage the newly formed organisation. This most senior role among peers will preside over a three-headed board committee, with Assis Carreiro serving as artistic director of the ballet and Aviel Cahn as artistic director of the opera. “The merger gives the Ballet immediate access to two additional stages in the Ghent and Antwerp Opera buildings,” says Schauvliege in defence of the merger. “Moreover it will also be provided with its own orchestral support.”

Within the next few weeks the Bruges city canals, the Burg and the Grote markt will be the stage of Bollywood stars. The new film by Indian director Rajkuman Hirani will be partially set shot in Bruges. The film tells the story of an Indian student living in that city, who wants to marry her boyfriend, but all kinds of obstacles appear. The unfolding of the story, according to Eurydice Gysel of the production house Czar, remains a secret but rumours have it that the girl is a student in Bruges who falls in love with someone she cannot marry because of her background. Following a series of twists and rebellious plans to marry, she returns to her own country.

This may sound like just another romantic Bollywood tale, but according to Dipti –Nagpaul D’souza, a columnist for The Indian Express, there’s more to the story. “Hirani produces comedies with a social message. He makes people think,” she says. Even though she is also not familiar with the storyline, she has no doubt that it will not be a simple romantic Romeo and Juliet story. Rijani is a filmmaker who reaches a wide audience, but he remains intellectually credible with plausible scenarios. At this stage Hirani himself has only mentioned that the film will deal with “God and Godmen”. Peekay, the title of the film, refers to the alcoholism of the principal character, played by top Indian actor Aamir Khan. His co-star in this “political satire” is Anushka Sharma. A few Belgian actors will star in smaller roles when the 50-strong Indian team starts shooting in Bruges on 9 June.

The choice of the Indian crew to film in Bruges was partly the result of budgetary problems. According to Gysel they initially planned to shoot in Italy. “They were looking for a romantic European city with an abundance of water,” says Gysel. They then contacted Czar via the City Film Office Bruges, the production house which also acts as production service provider. “We organized the 10-day shooting in Bruges but we did not finance anything,” Gysel adds. Hirani Films contacted the Belgian consulate in Mumbai, which put them into contact with the Flemish Tourist Office. Bollywood films increasingly include Europe in their locations, says Dipti -Nagpaul D’sousa. “They are especially keen on cities reminiscent of an English university city,” says Gysel, who doubts the film will even mention the name Bruges in the film. Not that the city is complaining, as it stands to benefit handsomely from the wide audience Raj Hirani films attract. In addition to the benefits of providing a huge film crew with board and lodging for a few weeks, Bruges mayor Renaat Landuyt (SP.A) hopes tourism to the city will benefit from the exposure. In the UK and Switzerland the effect of Bollywood films on tourism is enormous. In Bruges the local Film Office will act as contact and coordinate enquiries, but the Flemish Tourist Office may come on board with logistic support. “It’s important to positively identify and promote the location. We will consider ways in which we can use the film to promote the city as a tourist destination.”

European Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas will table a proposal for more competitive ports today. In the recent past  the liberalization of port services has proved to be a delicate matter on the continent. Following massive protests in 2003 and 2006 from harbour workers regarding the liberalization of ship loading and unloading in particular, the European Parliament gave up its plans to reform port policy.

Therefore Kallas has left controversial topics such as the transhipment by the ship's crew or curbing of the excessive long term contracts for harbour services untouched and limited his concerns to open markets, financial transparency and more autonomous port management.

He proposes total transparency in respect of the expenditure and financial flow of six harbour services, including piloting, fuelling, waste disposal and dredging. Monopolies such as the Flanders monopoly on piloting must be justified and open procedures must designate the provider of the service. If the port decides to subcontracting a specific service, the selection process must be transparent. Financial transparency must also be the rule for all public services. It will enable Flemish port authorities to have a clearer vision on the use and possible abuse of funds by rival ports. Belgian port authorities are currently autonomous, but if Kallas’s proposals are accepted, all port in Southern Europe will also follow suit. All issues pertaining to dock worker and employer relations will be handled via social consultation.

According to the European Commission the upgrading of ports is not an isolated strategy but an economic necessity as 74% of all imports arrive in Europe by sea. The fact that Europe’s three key ports (Rotterdam, Antwerp and Hamburg) handle 20% of all freight traffic, whereas Europe counts 319 ‘key ports’, inevitably results in congestion and additional costs.

The port directive aims at stimulating short sea shipping (coastal traffic) to avoid congestion in the interior and stimulate investment. The commission believes that this port directive could save Europe 10 billion euros by 2030. The European Commission also believes that Southern European harbours like Marseille and Genova could do with more flexibility and efficiency as well as a more independent port authority.

It is said that the new directive won’t have much impact on the four Flemish ports but it can boost the new strategy for short-distance freight transport between the country’s harbours and other Southern European ports.

French oil giant Total plans to invest 1.05 billion euros in its Antwerp site in the next few years and will give the refinery and petrochemical installations a profound facelift. The Antwerp harbour is home to Total’s biggest integrated refinery and petrochemical platform in Europe. “We will spend just over one billion to upgrade our European flagship and increase competitivity,” says Total’s president of refining and chemicals Patrick Pouyanné. An estimated 700 million euros have been earmarked for the refinery and more than 300 million euros will be spent on its linked petrochemical installations. Investments at the refinery will be spent mostly on the treatment of heavier fractions of unrefined petroleum or the so-called ‘bottom of the barrel’ which contains large amounts of sulphur and is less economically viable. “We plan to convert this into products with a bigger demand on the market such as diesel that is low in sulphur,” explains Pouyanné, who adds that these investments are also made in reaction to more stringent environmental standards. The less commercially viable sulphur-containing fractions of oil are traditionally used as bunker oil but with the standards for bunker oil and household fuel becoming stricter in future, they will need to be lower in sulphur.

Investments in the petrochemical industry serve to recuperate the so-called residue gases which are currently incinerated. The refinery’s use of residual gases at the petrochemical installation is a great example of the integration of their refinery and petrochemical activities in Antwerp, says Pouyanné. “And it increases competitivity of our entire Antwerp outfit.” These investments will yield an estimated 250 million euros extra each year. The Antwerp investment programme was actually initiated as far back as 2011, when Total took over ExxonMobil’s minority participation in joint crackers.

The investment will create about 3 000 jobs for suppliers between 2014 and 2017 but will not result in any new jobs at Total Antwerp, with its staff of 1 700. A cracker and polyethylene production line will be scrapped as polyethelyne production will be cut by 15% following Total’s decision to focus its European production lines on products with a higher added value. “In this way Total Antwerp distiguishes itself from the basic plastic mass-produced basic plastics from the Middle East,” says Pouyanné.

Next week sees the opening of Dutch businessman Bram de Swart’s Antwerp branch of 3D Hub, a network of 3D printers where customers can have basic designs printed in plastic that range from an iPhone cover to a bracelet or vase. They simply send their design to the website and then the linked printers carry out the orders after receiving a payment. According to fans of the technique, this is the birth of a new way of doing things. Belgian 3D veteran Mario Fleurinck does however warn against high expectations, saying: “I will not have anything made on this type of machine that carries a safety risk.” As director of Melotte Direct Digital Manufacturing with its years of experience in three-dimensional printing he should speak with authority as his company, based in the Limburg Zondhoven, has carved an international name for itself as manufacturer of specialized products commissioned by customers such as aircraft maker Boeing, chemical giant DuPont, arms manufacturer FN Herstal and chip machine manufacturer ASML. Fleurinck is nevertheless in favour of enterprising initiatives like 3D Hub as he believes in the future of this manufacturing technique. Last month De Swart launched a similar network for basic products in the Netherlands. Launching these printers in Antwerp and Amsterdam are only the first steps towards popularizing the technique and De Swart and his 3D start-up company 3D Hub is a veritable hub of treasures waiting to be unlocked in European cities. Hubs in other European cities are ready to become operational once there are enough print owners who have approached De Swart. This will result in increased production in Europe without the damaging effects on the environment often caused by large-scale production in far-off countries like China.

This innovation marks the gradual rise of a ‘blue economy’, as Fleurinck brands this new technique which prides itself in the minimal waste of raw materials. A qualified engineer, Fleurinck himself boasts a background in the American aerospace industry. Computer-driven three-dimensional printing makes it possible to create objects without the old-fashioned use of drilling, cutting or lathes which require lots of materials, energy and cooling water. One industry that benefits immensely from these new techniques is the medical industry with its custom-made 3D printed heart valves, bone and tooth protheses.

Fleurinck recently presented a tooth prostethesis with metal-based printed castings that could possibly serve as the best set of dentures in the world, and he hopes it will win him the prestigious international Energy Globe Award next week.

Melotte currently manufactures 70 000 components at his lab in Zonhoven each year. There is a staff of 60 who work mostly on the development of new applications for a variety of industry sectors. The new products that will hit the market in the next decades will create employment opportunities in Belgium and Europe, says Fleurinck. “In fifteen years’ time you will be able to have quite a few things made just around the corner.”

Each year the Flemish government runs a check on its progress towards positioning itself among the top five regions in Europe by 2020 when their research unit compares the government’s achievements with the examples set by the other fifteen top achievers in Europe. According to the most recent report, the Flemish region withstood the banking crisis better than the other regions. With the Flemish GDP at 29 900 euro per capita (commuters to Brussels included) in 2009, the region’s ranking at number four showed an increase of two positions.

It seems the Flemish economy’s strong and weak points remain unchanged, with Flemish wealth mostly due to its high labour productivity. A number of regions have however overtaken the region in the past few years and Flanders currently ranks in the fifth position. Despite a slight improvement, the employment rate in the age group 20 to 64 remains a weak point, but at number four in Europe the region scores well in the unemployment stakes and upped its ranking by one position since 2008. This is a further indication that Flanders managed to survive the 2009 crisis relatively well. The research unit nevertheless warns the region against taking this performance for granted and advises the region to increase its efforts in respect of innovation. Even though the region has been doing much to catch up on this level and has spent more than the European average on research and development, these efforts are not yet reflected in the figures  and the region still scores below Germany and Scandinavian countries.

Judging by the comparative study on indicators such as environment and welfare which the research introduced into their study this time as well, Flemings are doing pretty well and ranked in the third place with an average of 490 kilogram of household waste per capita. When it comes to recycling at 190 kilogram per capita, Flanders is in second position after the Southern Netherlands, which is also the only region that outperforms Flanders in respect of decreasing the poverty risk.

An increasing number of Flemish producers of fiction series are discovering distant shores. Following in the wake of Flemish film, television series are geared to conquer the international arena. Series like De matroesjkas (VTM) and Vermist (VT4, Vier) have firmly established themselves on the international scene with sales in 51 and 91 countries respectively. Salamander, the Saturday series on channel Een of the public broadcasting company VRT soon starts on the British BBC Four and an American remake of the series is currently underway. According to Peter Bouckaert of the production house Eyeworks, the sale of Salamander to the BBC could pave the way for more Flemish offerings. Dubbelleven, another Channel One series produced by Eyeworks, is also geared for an international remake and the rights to Code 37 were recently sold to a Canadian production house which is currently at work on a remake of the North American version of the VTM series. Clan, one of last autumn’s hypes, is also about to make an international breakthrough.

The answer to the question why all of a sudden the Flemish series have become so succesful seems to be quality. “The quality of scriptwriters, directors, producers and actors on the Flemish market continues to increase,” says Christian De Schutter of Flanders Image, the communication division of the Flemish Audiovisual Fund (VAF). Veerle Baetens received rave reviews from HBO for her role in The White Queen. In the past many Flemish series and a number of other television programmes received mention locally but failed to be sold abroad; often because they did not seem to interest producers. According to Jan Theys, owner of the production house Skyline Entertainment that released Salamander, the success of Danish series like Borgen and The Killing picked the interest of many producers. He too was inspired by the success of these Danish series when he decided to make an international trailer of Salamander, which produred calls from three Hollywood producers and three distributors.

“Money does play a role,” says VTM network manager An Rydant. “Programmes which are bought abroad cost a mere 5 to 10% of the cost of a locally produced series. As in Flanders, broadcasters in the UK and US have to watch their budget. In Flanders they can find programmes which meet their standards.”

The opposite also rings true, and tight budgets force many Flemish producers to look abroad for additional income. The fact that Bouckaert’s Eyeworks is currently shooting the fifth and sixth seasons of Vermist is purely due to the international sales of the crime series. It seems the answer is also unanimous when asked what the government is doing to put Flanders on the international map: they invest much appreciated funds. Their tax shelter system makes it possible for businesses to invest in Flemish fiction and their Media Fund (the television affiliate of VAF, Flemish audiovisual Fund) supports documentaries, prestige and animation series. But according to Rydant there are shortcomings: “The fund only supports the first season of prestige series. Most foreign broadcasters only become interested after 24 episodes, which means at least two seasons.” Selling productions abroad has always been an initiative by the production houses themselves. 'It would be very useful if the authorities started a policy for the export of television series', Ellen Onkelinx of the associaton of production houses concludes.

Subsidies to social economy companies will come to an end by the middle of next year when the decree on customized work will be introduced and funds diverted directly to employees. Works minister Freya Van Den Bossche (SP.A) has received the go-ahead for this profound reform from her colleagues in the Flemish government.

The decree on customized work stipulates that Flemish government subsidies will no longer be granted to social economy companies but to the concerned employees themselves. In future ‘employees with a work disability’ will receive a ‘backpack’ which the employer can use to finance a portion of their wage (and possibly also the cost of training and mentoring).

This approach is similar to the new form of support in the care industry for the disabled which sees funds redirected from the institutions providing care to the individual receiving the care.

According to minister Van den Bossche the existing subsidy system is “too complex” and “not entirely fair”. Currently normal companies that employ disabled staff are not entitled to the same amount of subsidy as social economy companies. The decree on customized work will change this approach, which Van den Bossche hopes will open doors to employ more job seekers with disabilities.

The Flemish Employment Services and Vocational Training Agency (VDAB) has been commissioned to screen applicants and to determine their wage subsidy and required level of training and/or mentoring. The Flemish social economy currently employs a staff of 22 000 spread over 67 sheltered workshops, 97 social workshops and 200 insertion companies. As from the middle of next year, however, these will be referred to as ‘customised work  companies’.

The Belgian pork industry has been in a crisis since 2007, causing pig farmers, butchers, boners and wholesalers alike to fight for their survival. With a relatively stable retail price and the number of pigs hardly diminished on the market, consumers and outsiders have barely noticed the serious changes in the industry. Still almost the number of pig farmers has dropped by 25% in Flanders since 2006. These changes went largely unnoticed, as many farmers continued to work for the party they sold their business to, usually a fodder company. Similarly small slaughterhouses and wholesalers were consolidated or merged with bigger companies. One example is the alliance in 2011 between slaughter group Covalis and meat trader and processor Viangro. But the big names did not escape the slump either.

It’s not too difficult to see why the industry has been experiencing problems if one considers the fact that the cost of producing pork has exceeded the retail price for many years. The cause is a little more complicated. Originally 50% of all Belgian pork was exported. But things started to change when Germany produced enough pork for local consumption, no longer imported from Belgium and started to export itself. Furthermore, the Belgian pork industry is forced to compete with international market prices. “Our biggest customers are situated in a 300-kilometre radius around Brussels, but within that area a number of major co-ops like the Dutch VION, the German Westfleisch and Danish Crown dictate the price,” explains General Farmers’ Syndicate advisor, Ludo Dobbels. “The co-ops are not profit-driven, so they agree on rock-bottom retail prices.” Instead of keeping up with increasing production costs, the price of pork remains more or less the same. Changes in the price of wheat have caused the prize of fodder, which makes up 70% or farmers’ costs, to increase exponentially in the past five years. Not to mention the fact that pig farmers in this country incur much higher costs than their competitors in neighbouring countries as they adhere to much more stringent hygienic and environmental standards and pay wages that are much higher. In simple terms, a labourer here receives 25 euros per hour compared to the 8 euros he earns at Westfleisch.

Late in 2011 Flemish minister-president and minister of agriculture Kris Peeters (CD&V) launched an action plan to secure economic sustainability for the sector in the medium term. It now seems his efforts were unsuccessful and the only other option would be for retailers to increase the price of pork. “Pork meat will have to increase by 10 to 15 eurocent to remedy the chain,” says Bert Bohnen of De Boerenbond (Farmer's Union). “But the consumer will have to be willing to pay this price.”