A quote from a leader in The Hindu (India), 3 October 2007

The question that now lies at the heart of the Belgian and European debate (for, has not the so-called success of Belgium been touted as the model par excellence for a federalist Europe?) is the pertinence of this model. […] The federative model was once a seductive solution but appears less efficient and rational in the face of the divergent political and economic destinies of the constituent parts. Unemployment in Flanders is 9 per cent compared to the 17 per cent in Wallonia and over 15 per cent of the receipts of the French-speaking south come from the wealthier north. “Why should we pay for these lazy left-wingers” is an oft repeated complaint in Flanders.