DHL to pull out of Brussels

DHL Worldwide is preparing to take part of its business out of Brussels Zaventem Airport as it is no longer prepared to wait for the country to agree to DHL's plans to expand, a Belgian paper said on Tuesday. DHL, a unit of Deutsche Post, wanted to expand at Zaventem but needs the green light from the country's different regions to allow it to increase the number of night flights so the business can grow.

Belgian daily Het Nieuwsblad quoted "high-placed" sources at DHL as saying DHL would keep its headquarters and its courier service in Zaventem, near the Brussels capital, but that the airport would lose out on an expansion of DHL's European sorting center.
That could put thousands of jobs at risk, the paper said.
A spokesman for Deutsche Post said he was not aware of any such plans, however. A decision on where to expand — in Germany, Belgium or France — is still due in the autumn.

BELGIAN PAPER SEES GOVERNMENT CRISIS LOOMING
BBC Monitoring International Reports 09-15-2004

Text of unattributed report titled, "Purple government in total deadlock – DHL and regional claims act as dynamite", by Belgian newspaper De Standaard web site on 15 September

A government crisis is looming. Negotiations on the expansion of DHL [land and air courier service] are completely bogged down. In addition, regional strife is escalating. [Prime Minister] Verhofstadt has six days left to defuse the situation.This evening, top-level federal ministers will meet for the umpteenth time to discuss the prime minister's government policy statement, which he is to deliver nest Tuesday [21 September]. Yesterday, the place wasa abuzz with several discreet contacts, committee meetings, and behind-the-scenes diplomacy in preparation of this meeting. Why so much fuss? Because of the DHL stalemate. Despite official denials by the DHL leadership, newspaper reports claiming that DHL has finally decided to relocate the company, which is currently based at Zaventem Airport, have caused much unrest among its personnel and in government circles.

Through his spokesman, Prime Minister Verhofstadt let it be known that he "is working very hard to ensure DHL's future presence in Zaventem", adding that he "banks on all the regions' loyal cooperation to this effect, in particular that of the Brussels region".

This "assertive" statement was directed at [Brussels regional] Premier Charles Picque who rejects a further increase in the number of night flights. Picque reacted resentfully: "We have observed certain statements are being made without any solutions being suggested."

Flemish [regional] Premier Yves Leterme also expects Brussels to take part of the responsibility for the nuisance that DHL's expansion in Belgium would entail.

If DHL decides to move to Germany, Verhofstadt's days will probably be numbered. This could seal the fate of an unstable government led by a prime minister who linked his fate to the creation of 200,000 new jobs.

Moreover, there is not only the deadlocked DHL dossier; regional antagonisms are also escalating. The four French-language party chairmen – Elio Di Rupo (PS), Didier Reynders (MR [Reform Movement]), Joelle Milquet (CDH [Humanist Democratic Centre]), and Jean-Jacques Javaux (Ecolo [Ecologist Party]) – met yesterday to discuss a joint strategy. After the meeting they said that they would never accept the Flemish administration's demand for the "immediate" split of the Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde constituency.

This message is not new. What is new, however, is that the four chairmen threw their tantrum in front of the cameras. By doing so, they sought to put Flemish political parties under increased pressure. But they have not yet slammed the door shut. They said they are still willing to negotiate, providing the Flemish parties come up with balanced proposals that respect the interests of the French-speaking community.

This action by the four chairmen will not bring an early solution any closer. At the Brussels level, however, discreet talks are being conducted on sensitive issues to be discussed at the Regional Forum and on a possible compromise on the Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde case.

In addition to reviewing the budget of the Brussels region, the government will also have to review linguistic requirements for Brussels civil servants. In a radio interview last Monday [13 February], Deputy Prime Minister Patrick Dewael spontaneously referred to the language rules applied in hospitals belonging to the Iris group. By doing so, he was skating on thin ice, since new language rules have just been incorporated in the new Brussels government's policy statement. These rules were a bitter pill to swallow for both the CD&V and SPIRIT [Dutch-Speaking Socialist Party -Different/Social, Progressive, International, Regional, Integrally democratic, and Future-Oriented].

Source: De Standaard web site, Groot-Bijgaarden, in Dutch 15 Sep 04

) BBC Monitoring