Government goes to the seaside

19 March 2004

BRUSSELS – Belgium’s top government ministers will gather in the port of Ostend this weekend for a major brainstorming session.

The meeting will allow members of the coalition government to air their views on a number of sensitive issues including Belgium’s efforts to tackle global warming, social security payments, poverty and economic development.

Political analysts are predicting fireworks, saying members of Guy Verhofstadt’s Flemish Liberal Party (VLD), who favour greater economic liberalisation in Belgium, are likely to clash with socialist government partners concerned with preserving the country’s high but costly standards of social protection.

The coalition has come under increasing strain recently.

With regional and European elections looming, government members have begun breaking ranks to campaign against each other and for their different political parties.

Subject: Belgian news