The Jordaan is one of Amsterdam’s oldest and most famous haunts. Only a brisk ten-minute walk west of the city centre, the neighbourhood personifies the image of crooked gabled houses and rippling canals that Amsterdam has become synonymous with (for better or for worse).

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If so, the good news is that you don’t have to head for the Swiss Alps for such delights… they are right here on your doorstep.

All this and much more besides is available just over the Belgian-Dutch border at the famous Efteling theme park where it is not an exaggeration to say that “even the coldest days of the year feel like the warmest.” 

Until 31 January, the park, located in the south of Holland, will remain transformed into a winter world of twinkling lights, bonfires and snow-covered pine trees for its annual “Winter Efteling.”

One of the special winter attractions available this January is cross-country ski-ing which takes place along a 450 metre track around a beautiful Dutch landscape, complete with windmills and granaries. Skis and poles are available free of charge at the entrance to the track.

Until the end of the month, the theme park, which is also open all year round, will offer a whole range of other great special winter attractions such as the IJspaleis indoor ice rink while its “Fairytale Forest”, another winter special, is currently cloaked in a wintry atmosphere.

All of the park’s attractions will be open as usual during Winter Efteling, aside from the water rides, meaning that winter visitors can enjoy the fun, magic and thrills it has to offer year round with an additional winter wonderland touch.

The indoor ice rink, for instance, allows visitors to skate on a frozen pond at the palace of the Snow Princess and Fire Prince in the heart of the park. Children who don’t want to brave the ice can ‘bounce’ on the towers of the castle, or slide down a slope on inflatable tyres.

The Snow Princess and Fire Prince will make daily musical appearances to encourage singing and dancing on the ice rink. Meanwhile, the Fairytale Forest, covering around a quarter of the whole,massive Efteling park, brings fairytales to life with attractions, sculptures and interactive scenes depicting well-known stories, such as Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty.

During winter the forest becomes even more magical and enchanting and, in the heart of it all, the Fairytale Tree, comes to life as children approach and gives a special winter performance.

As dusk falls, the forest is illuminated with an impressive light show on the façade of Villa Volta – Efteling’s indoor ‘madhouse’ that rotates to give a dizzy experience. The 3D projection brings the building to life with the story of Hugo the Buckrider from the 18th century.

Elsewhere in the park, the Aquanura water show is also particularly impressive in the dark with its 200 fountains, music, fire and light displays.

Efteling is, today, one of Europe’s leading – and biggest – theme parks and is noted for its family and multi-generational appeal but it actually started back in the 1950s as a sports park. The theme park celebrated its 65th anniversary in 2017 and has recently seen the opening of its third accommodation offering: holiday village Efteling Loonsche Land, and its newest and largest attraction – Symbolica: Palace of Fantasy. Attracting more than 130 million visitors since its opening in 1952, Efteling aims to become a truly international destination with five million visitors per year by 2020 through a programme of phased growth.

This splendid park – which comfortably beats anything available in Belgium – is very easily accessible (by car or train) from Brussels and other parts of Belgium and makes for a great way to see in the New Year.

Good to know:

• For those looking for a short stay or just a great day out, the good news is that Winter Efteling runs until the end of the month, from 11am to 6pm on weekdays and from 11am to 7pm at weekends.
• Until 7 January, the gates will remain open ‘til 8pm.

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The two countries decided in 1961 to improve the connection between the Juliana Canal and the Albert Canal. The bed of the Meuse river moved to the cities of Visé, Maastricht and Eijsden-Margraten. Plots from Belgium were then landlocked in the Netherlands, and vice versa. These changes have led to difficulties, particularly for the police and rescue services to access these locations.

A consultation was initiated in 2014, explained the governor of the Province of Liège. Negotiations took place between the competent ministers, the Walloon Region, the provinces, three communes, the police and the organizations managing the waterways of the two countries.

Starting on January 1st, the exchange of territories will be official. Belgium yields a little more than 16 ha of land in the Netherlands, and inherits 3 ha and the Lock Lanaye, a strategic crossing point for river traffic.

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The European Medicines Agency (EMA) will relocate to Amsterdam in the Netherlands. This decision was taken today by the EU 27 Member States in the margins of the General Affairs Council (Art.50). The Agency now has just over 16 months to prepare for the move and take up its operations in Amsterdam on 30 March 2019 at the latest.

“We welcome today’s decision on the new location of EMA. Now that we finally know where our journey is taking us, we can take concrete actions for a successful move,” said EMA Executive Director Guido Rasi.

“Amsterdam ticks many of our boxes,” he continued. “It offers excellent connectivity and a building that can be shaped according to our needs. I am very grateful that the Member States took into account our requirements for business continuity and gave priority to the protection of public and animal health ».

Our internal surveys have shown that a large majority of EMA staff would be willing to move with the Agency to Amsterdam. However even in this case, our activities will be impacted and we need to plan for this now to avoid the creation of gaps in knowledge and expertise.”

EMA has to relocate due to the United Kingdom’s decision to withdraw from the EU. Amsterdam was one of 19 offers to host EMA submitted by the Member States at the end of July 2017. Today’s decision on EMA’s new location follows an assessment of the bids by the European Commission and EMA.

“My staff and I are very honoured that so many Member States showed an interest in hosting EMA,” Professor Rasi commented. “The huge effort invested by the bidding countries to put together their proposals is a reflection of the Agency’s important role in the protection of public and animal health and the stimulation of a vibrant and innovative pharmaceutical industry.”

The decision today marks the official start of a challenging joint relocation project that will have to be delivered within extremely tight timelines whereby the relocation has to be completed by 30 March 2019.

Effective collaboration between EMA and the Netherlands on the basis of the commitments made in its offer to host EMA is essential to ensure a successful move and the continuation of EMA’s operations with minimal disruption.

EMA and the Netherlands will kick start their collaboration by establishing a joint governance structure to steer and oversee the relocation project. Because of its important role to safeguard public and animal health in the EU, EMA is committed to giving stakeholders and the public full visibility of the relocation project. In early December, the Agency will make available a monitoring chart on its website that will allow to track the progress made.

Notes

• EMA has been based in London, UK, since it was established in 1995. It currently employs nearly 900 staff members at its headquarters in Canary Wharf, London.
• The relocation of EMA from London is a consequence of the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union. The Agency was not involved in the selection of the new location

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This year marks the 25^th anniversary of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. Which were the main objectives of this Charter?

The general aim is to protect and promote the regional and minority languages; to normalise the use of those languages in the domains of education, public authorities and administration, as well as in the media, and in the social, cultural and economic life.
In fact, the formal recognition, and the monitoring system with the national consulting boards and the on-the-spot visits of the Committee of Experts have been very positive for the awareness of the respective language communities. First of all, for the strengthening of the relationship between regional and central governments, and secondly for the inclusive approach of the Charter, which is linking the various domains in its ambitions and working together.

Are you satisfied with the implementation of this treaty in the different Members States?

Unfortunately, not all the Member States who signed the Charter have ratified it. The reports of the Committee of Experts often show the gap between the wishes and needs of the language communities and their respective stakeholders; moreover, they show that the actual language policies of the state governments are reluctant to improve their legislation and the application of the signed undertakings in practice. For example, with regard to Frisian in education, already three times the Committee of Experts has recommended the Dutch government to improve the educational policy, with the expression of: “encouraging”, “urging” and “strongly urging”. The monitoring system itself is very well structured with the national reports and the on-the-spot-visits of the Committee of Experts. Nonetheless, the monitoring cycle of three years, and the reports with the recommendations, creates some difficulties and delay regarding the implementation in the member states. However, the Council of Europe is developing a more thematic approach of the monitoring instrument. That might give us some more concrete and achievable results of implementation.

How is the current situation of the CRSS  in the European Union?

There is no simple answer to that question, because there is a huge variety of languages and language communities with their own traditions, goals and achievements. Plus, there is a huge variety of language policies among the EU Member States.  The more the State is centralised, such as France and Greece, the less space will be given for the recognition of regional and minority languages. In a federal State like Germany or Spain, the languages enjoy more freedom and can create better opportunities for the growth and blossoming of the linguistic diversity. Other good examples of a balanced language policy are Finland and Sweden as neighboring countries, and the United Kingdom. Finland and Sweden have a mutual responsibility for their languages as cross-border languages, and they share the responsibility for the Sami languages in the north – together with Norway and Russia, by the way.
Within the United Kingdom the more or less autonomous regions of Scotland, Wales, Cornwall and Northern-Ireland, as well as the Isle of Man and the Canal Isles of Wight, Guernsey and Jersey do have their own rules and regulations.

Are the European governments committed to the promotion of all the languages of Europe?

The European Institutions should promote the 24 national languages and not only a few working languages. Plus we can’t forget that we have more than 60 regional languages, as well as more than 175 migrant languages.
Of course, not all languages can be treated at the same level of protection and promotion. However, in my perspective, the EU Programs should be equally accessible for national languages as for minority languages that are recognized in their respective Member States. This could stimulate the EU member states to finally sign and ratify the Charter!

Why is the linguistic diversity so important for the identity of Europe?

The motto of the EU is “Unity in Diversity”, the more than 500 million EU citizens do not consider themselves ‘Europeans’ – as the Americans do – but they first consider themselves citizens of their region or their Nation State. In order to link the citizens to the concept of ‘Europe’ it seems important to me, that they are welcome to bring their own cultural and linguistic background to Europe, as a part and parcel of the European Mosaic.

Multilingualism is nowadays a reality and the coexistence of various languages is common-
-place in European societies. Nevertheless, many citizens -and not few governments- look at this fact as a problem. What would you say to them?

First of all, one should make a difference between multilingualism of society as such, and multilingualism -or plurilingualism- of individuals. Without doubt, multilingualism of the individual citizen is an asset, not only for the cognitive and cultural development of the person itself, but also for his social participation and career perspectives. The informal use of regional and migrant languages in shops, health care or sports, is absolutely positive for the success of the conversation. Governments, regional and local authorities should encourage all pupils, students and adults alike to acquire more languages than just their mother-tongue + 2.
On the other hand, multilingualism of public authorities and governmental organization should be the reflection of the wishes and needs of the population in all its varieties, in order to create and maintain a stable society. That does not mean that a government shall translate all documents into all languages spoken on its territory, but that they shall develop a tailor made approach which guarantees the various language communities to be equally recognized as a citizen of that country / region. The menu-system of the Charter can be used as a model for the member states and regional government to fine tune the language policy for that purpose.
For example, in Friesland, the menu-system of the Charter republic authorities (art. 10) has been used to develop a very detailed menu-system for language policy of the municipalities with almost 100 undertakings to choose from. That works very well for the individual municipality but also for the common understanding of the municipalities together with the provincial government.

It is estimated that over 40 million Union citizens regularly speak a regional or minority language that has been handed down from generation. Is there any chance of harmonizing the rules that apply in the different Members States with the aim of promotion the minority languages in an equivalent way?

I am afraid, there is no chance to harmonize the rules that apply in different EU member states by means of European rules. First of all, with regard to culture  and education, the rule and motto of “subsidiarity” is in place. Secondly, any policy regarding linguistic diversity and the protection and promotion of minority languages should aim at a tailor made approach.
An “equivalent” way does not prerequisite a standard-common structured set of rules and measurements. However, there is a common need to learn from each other, to develop common strategies and to join & support each other at the European fora by expressing one voice.

You have been elected as the Chair of the NPLD in June of this year. Which will be the priorities for your mandate?

I will be very much in favor of the right balance of both wings of the work of the NPLD: Advocacy work at European level (EU Commission, Parliament, and the Council of Europe) as well as project work by means of the exchange of best practices in the field of language planning in the various CRSS language communities. Of particular interest are the subjects of Information and Communication Technologies to enhance language learning, promotion and vitality of all languages.

In addition to those priorities, there are two items to be mentioned: (1) the expansion of the NPLD in size and power by attracting of new members to the NPLD; (2) the strengthening of our Academic Group (network of universities) that takes the initiative for new research projects in the field of language planning that might be co-financed from the Erasmus-Plus program, in particular with regard to the development of digital structures and opportunities. Furthermore, with themes as language and economy, visibility of the languages. I very much welcome the initiative by one of our members to organize a Summer School on Linguistic Diversity & Language Planning.

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