Belgium has not yet ratified the European constitutional treaty. The Belgian federal parliament as well as the regional parliaments in Brussels and Wallonia have approved it, but the regional parliament in Flanders has not. In the Flemish parliament the Flemish-secessionist and Eurosceptic Vlaams Belang (VB) is the largest party. The VB demands that the EU Constitution be submitted to a referendum.

Belgium’s federal Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt is pressuring the Flemish Parliament to ratify the EU Constitution before the end of this year. However, the VB will be able to stop the Flemish Parliament from taking a decision before at least the Spring of 2006. This is an embarrassment for Verhofstadt. He has just authored a book The United States of Europe in which he proposes the establishment of a federal Europe. If this should prove impossible with all 25 EU members, Verhofstadt insists that a “hard core” proceed with the federalist agenda. He sees Belgium as a leading member of this group, which must also include France and Germany. If Belgium does not get the EU Constitution ratified, because of the VB’s refusal to cooperate, Verhofstadt’s plan will be a non-starter.