A quote from The New York Sun, 11 September 2007

Today, Belgium is a microcosm of the E.U.: bureaucratic, undemocratic, corporatist. As the author Paul Belien argued in his book "A Throne in Brussels," the "Belgianisation of Europe" is already far advanced. If the European Union is to be given back to its constituent peoples, Belgium might be a good place to start.

The break-up of Belgium need not create instability: 2007 is not 1831. Europe has nothing to fear from a free vote of the Walloons and Flemings, both of whom might choose to accede to France and the Netherlands respectively. Wiser counsel would no doubt urge the Walloons and Flemings to prefer the protection of some kind of arrangement with either the British or the Americans and their freedoms. In any event, democracy - not realpolitik - should decide Belgium's destiny. Let us hope that Europe, too, has an opportunity to vote before its future is determined from above.

A Throne in Brussels: Britain, the Saxe-Coburgs and the Belgianisation of Europe Author: Paul Belien ASIN: 1845400658