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Staged every two years, the 2019 edition, opened this year by Yoko Ono, is at venues and spaces all over the city and will be the last festival before the opening of the North of England’s flagship new cultural venue, The Factory (due in 2021) which will be managed and programmed by the MIF team. The biennial arts jamboree this year includes work from Yoko Ono, Idris Elba, Philip Glass and more, making it a great time to visit the city with plenty going on and all in a great atmosphere.

The festival runs until 23 July and if you miss it fear not as there’s plenty of other great things taking place in the city, including Manchester Pride on August Bank Holiday (23 – 26 August). The newly renovated Emirates Old Trafford stadium will then play host to the popular Ashes cricket series in September when the fourth test match brings England and Australia head-to-head to see who will take home the coveted urn.

2019 also marks the bicentenary of the Peterloo Massacre, a major event in Manchester’s history and a defining moment for Britain’s democracy. Manchester Histories, working in partnership with key cultural organisations across the region including the People’s History Museum, is illuminating this story for visitors to explore from a contemporary perspective until August.

The birthplace of the industrial revolution, Manchester – as is evidenced by a packed programme of events this year – is now one of the most vibrant and cosmopolitan cities in the UK but one that, thankfully, also retains its own unique character. Set in a region that offers great value for money, Manchester welcomes visitors with its fine traditions of culture, music, sport and top-class events.

Recast for the 21st century as the original “modern city”, Manchester has experienced a contemporary resurgence marked culturally by the acclaimed reopening of the Whitworth art gallery and arts centre HOME; by a property and investment boom that has outstripped the rest of the country; and by major changes to its governance and infrastructure, positioning it the central focus of the ‘Northern Powerhouse’ agenda. If any UK city is more than well positioned to repel any fall out from a damaging “no deal” Brexit, that city is Manchester.

While the city racks up accolades as the UK’s most competitive, economically productive, liveable and vibrant city, young people are flocking to Manchester to take advantage of its thriving economy, unrivalled student experience and smart jobs in science and the creative and digital sectors.

Even the city’s go-ahead tourism authority, Marketing Greater Manchester, admits it’s difficult to keep track of bar and restaurant openings and the plethora of new hotels (many enjoying 90 percent occupancy rates) to keep up with increased tourist numbers. By 2025 it’s estimated that tourism alone will be worth some €8bn to the local economy.

Manchester Airport is the UK’s 3rd biggest and its route network is also rapidly growing, connecting Greater Manchester with over 200 global cities, including Brussels.

But this is a city that doesn’t rest on its laurels and, looking to the near future, the RHS has unveiled plans to create a stunning new 63 hectare garden in the heart of the North West – by bringing back to life the lost historic grounds at Worsley New Hall in Salford, Manchester’s next door neighbour.The creation of RHS Garden Bridgewater, the Society’s first new garden in 17 years, will be the largest gardening project in Europe and have a phased opening from spring 2020.

The Factory, meantime, is a world-class centre for arts and culture being developed in the heart of Manchester, which will be the permanent home of the MIF and is expected to attract up to 850,000 visitors a year. This, in fact, is just one of 14 cultural investments in Greater Manchester totalling more than £200m.

An absolutely great base for any visit to the city is the Crowne Plaza and Staybridge Suites, the first dual-branded ‘double decker’ hotel in the north of England. This 19-storey building just off Manchester’s bustling Oxford Road boasts a 212-room Crowne Plaza and a 116-room Staybridge Suites. Opened last September, Staybridge Suites is located on the upper eight floors of the hotel and offers a warm, social and home-like environment through a mix of studio and one-bedroom suites.

Located next to Alliance Manchester Business School on the Manchester University campus, from the moment you step into their bright and contemporary lobby you feel completely at home. Try to catch a glimpse of the city’s ever-expanding skyline from one of the fully self-contained suites. This is a place where you really can unwind after exploring all the city’s many outstanding attractions which include Manchester Science and Industry Museum. Situated adjacent to the site of the world’s first passenger railway station, this comprehensive museum tells the story of the history, science and industry of Manchester which details how Manchester rose to prominence as the world’s first industrial city.

Another “must-visit” attraction, not least for Belgian soccer nuts, is the National Football Museum, which displays replicas of the Premier League and FA Cup trophies. The museum has guided tours, opens daily and, with the new footy season looming, makes for a nice pre-match appetiser for City or United fans from this side of the channel.

Just out of the city, close to United’s Old Trafford stadium, is a chance to experience something quite different again: indoor skydiving at iFLY, ideal for anyone aged 3-103 and situated in the heart of Trafford City. Here you can soar like a bird in the first 4.3m diameter iFLY wind tunnel to be built in the UK. All first-time flights have two instructors – one to help in the tunnel, the other to control the air speed. Non-participants can watch some awe inspiring flyers taking to the air right in front of you.

After all that foot-slogging – and indoor flying – in and around the city you’ll probably have worked up quite an appetite and an atmospheric spot to sate any hunger is at The Refuge by Volta, particularly great for a Sunday roast (for which it is famous and is infused with Vimto!).

A major success on the city’s food and drink scene, it’s located in an imposing former insurance building and is the brainchild of Justin Crawford and Luke Cowdrey, a couple of local entrepreneurs. The terrific menu is inspired by the two DJ’s global travels so expect to find lots of world cuisine here, from Thai to Moroccan. The idea is to sample their small plates which are similar to tapas but notably bigger and very good value for money.

The restaurant’s airy Winter Gardens is a nice spot for a pre-dinner drink and also to admire the fine décor which includes many original features from what is one of the city’s most historic buildings. Informality is the order of the day here and the service, like the food, is top notch.

Another equally fantastic place to eat is the 300-seat Tattu restaurant, situated in yet another bustling and recently newly developed part of the city centre, which offers a lovely fusion of the best of Asian food. Priding itself on its dim sum, it also recommends sharing small plates in order to get the full experience of its fab food. Recommended starters, or small plates, include seared tuna and sticky beef ribs while popular mains offerings include saffron black cod and caramel soya beef fillet.

Look out for the quite beautiful cherry blossom tree in the centre of this very decorative eatery. Opened in 2015, other branches have since been launched in Leeds and Birmingham with a fourth due in Edinburgh later this year. The business was launched by a couple of Manchester brothers who are big fans of Chinese body art. It has enjoyed marked success but beware if planning to visit on a Saturday night as it has a waiting list of up to two months!

For those travelling by car from Belgium, accessing the North West is best done via the Eurotunnel which whisks you from Calais to Folkestone in just 35 minutes. There are up to 4 shuttles per hour and direct motorway access. The shuttle celebrates its 25th anniversary this year and is reassuring passengers that “whatever form Brexit takes” it’s business as usual.

Some might also like to know of the several Belgian links (apart from Vincent Company at City!) in Manchester including the Bock Cafe, which has the largest selection of Belgian beers in the North of England, alongside foods inspired by the Benelux country.

So, if you’re looking for last-minute ideas for a great summer break (or, in fact, any other time of the year) look no further than this great Northern city which is experiencing a real renaissance, not least thanks to the fine efforts of Marketing Manchester which is putting the home of Liam Gallagher on a national and international stage as a place to visit, invest, meet and study.

Embedded on the tiled wall of the grand old Refuge Assurance Building on the bustling Oxford Road is artwork showcasing the city’s skyline and a huge message that proclaims, “the Glamour of Manchester.”

It is an utterly appropriate symbol of the “new” Manchester and Gateway to the North.

Further info via:

www.ihg.com/staybridge/hotels/gb/en/manchester/manox/hoteldetail

www.refugemcr.co.uk/

http://tattu.co.uk/

www.eurotunnel.com/uk/

www.iflyworld.co.uk/

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In this interview, Alan offers his own unique perspective on Brexit, Europe, and the political and historical relationship between the UK and the EU more generally.

TMN: Is it fair to say that you’re a bit of an anomaly, being a pro-Brexit expat living in Brussels?

AA: Well I certainly appear to be. Most of the people I know in the expat community either work or have worked for a European institution, mostly the Commission. All of them are Remainers – turkeys don’t vote for Christmas. But among the people I know who have worked in industry, you get a more mixed view.

TMN: So are you able to discuss Brexit with your expat friends here – most of whom, I assume, are pro-Remain?

AA: Not very easily, even if they are Leavers. People seem to be very fixed in their position, for example on whether the EU political process is democratic or not. As I see it this is also the case with UK politicians, whose opinions are the ones that really matter. I’m not aware of a single one who has changed his or her position in 3 years of debate. I think there’s also a problem of understanding; I’ve met people who think the EU is the same thing as Europe. So when I find myself being lectured on people’s EU beliefs, I change the subject.

TMN: Did you vote in the 2016 Brexit referendum?

AA: No, like almost all the people I know here, I’d lived in Belgium for more than 15 years and so I wasn’t eligible to vote. This issue of eligibility is interesting. There’s an argument that our home country’s membership of the EU affects us long term residents, and so we should have had a say in the referendum. There’s even a European Commission code of good practice on referendums which recommends that people resident abroad should be allowed to vote. But now that we can have Belgian nationality, long term residents like me should really play our part in Belgian rather than UK politics.

TMN: But you would have voted Leave?

AA: Yes, absolutely. I’m a Leaver, as the Monkees almost said.

TMN: Why?

AA: Because as I see it the UK has been slowly leaving the EU ever since its inception. The referendum has simply brought that to a head. I appreciate that such a claim requires a certain amount of justification.

In his first proposal for a European Coal and Steel Community in May 1950, Robert Schuman described it as a first step in the federation of Europe. Before then other leaders had been proposing a United States of Europe, most notably, as Guy Verhofstadt is fond of pointing out, Winston Churchill in 1930 and 1946 and other times. With the famous exception of Jacques Delors, most European leaders have remained fairly quiet about European federalism, but it remains an objective of the EU. And so it should in my opinion if Europe is to hold its own alongside the likes of China, Russia and the USA.

In 1973 the UK became a member – and a very positive one – of the European Community, and remained so for 20 years. But then a major step towards a United States of Europe was taken in 1993 with the Maastricht Treaty. The UK signed it, but negotiated no fewer than five opt-outs, most notably the Euro and Schengen. That is the point, in my view, when the UK started the process of leaving. They developed a sort of half and half membership, half in and half out. I think that’s bad for the future of the EU, and even the UK. The UK wants economic but not political collaboration with the EU. So given the chance, I would have voted to put an end to it. For what it’s worth, I did vote, to remain, in the 1975 referendum, along with two thirds of the electorate.

TMN: So, in your view, the UK’s political situation in relation to Europe was inherently an unstable one?

AA: Well it wasn’t during its 20 years in the EEC, but after Maastricht yes. I wouldn’t use the word “unstable”, to me it has been more a case of gradually drifting away. And of course the EU has moved forward since Maastricht, especially with a European Constitution, which although not ratified was incorporated into the Treaty of Lisbon. For me an example of this “drifting away” is the UK’s reaction to the concept of “ever closer union”. In David Cameron’s pathetic attempt to negotiate a “reformed” EU, which the electorate could then choose to leave or remain in, he arranged that the UK would be exempted from “ever closer union”. This would have been yet another opt-out. He also arranged that the UK be further distanced, protected even, from the eurozone. These are the actions of a country that wants to distance itself from a European Union which is trying to move its members closer together, not further apart.

If the UK was as fond of EU membership as the 75% of MPs who are Remainers would have us believe, it would have wanted to contribute to the development of the EU, as it did of the EEC. It would embrace monetary union, and Schengen, and the other things. The UK makes the second largest financial contribution to the EU, and it should make a large political one.

TMN: I’m a bit confused; it appears that you would have been happy if the UK was properly part of the EU. So why were you in favour of Leave?

AA: Because, as I suggest, the UK simply isn’t “properly” part of the EU. You can’t turn the clock back of course, but if the UK had joined the European Coal and Steel Community in 1951, as it was invited, even begged to do, it could have made its appropriate level of contribution to all future developments, namely the EEC, the EU and towards, dare I say it, a United States of Europe. There are lots of interesting reasons why they didn’t join back then, which were very logical at the time. The history of all this makes very interesting reading and helps explain the very awkward position the UK finds itself in right now.

There’s another aspect of what we are calling “proper” EU membership. The ECSC was created to bind the coal and steel production of France and Germany together in a way that would prevent a repeat of the wars between them. But because of their relative size in the initial group of six, these two countries also established a dominant political position which has remained the case ever since. We can see this right now in the sometimes undignified process of selecting the EU’s new leaders. Macron even glorified this duo, if I can believe the BBC website, when he said on July 2nd “…the nominations were the fruit of a deep Franco-German entente”. At least he didn’t call it an entente cordiale. But if there has to be a group of top dogs in this union, then the UK should be one of the dogs.

I have been given examples of how Germany will break the rules if it suits them, and I’m not talking about my Volkswagen Golf. I would like to see the UK challenging this kind of behaviour, but I don’t see it happening.

TMN: So are you saying that, had the UK joined the ECSC when it was originally formed in 1951 – or, perhaps, had joined the EC earlier than it did – then you would have been in favour of Remain?

AA: I would certainly be in favour of Remain if the UK had been what we are calling a “proper” member. Joining the ECSC in 1951, or the EC much earlier than they did might have enabled this, but who can tell? There are a lot of “ifs” in all this re-writing of history. The UK was even cooler about Europe back then than it is now. Churchill argued for a United States of Europe but not with the UK as a member. The Labour party in the post war period was dead against it.

TMN: Do you also perhaps think that the UK is something of a “European outlier”, one which is crucially different to France and Germany in other important respects?

AA: I think this may have been the case until their first application to join the EEC, but that now, apart from what I’m saying about opt-outs, there’s no good reason for any crucial difference.

At the end of the Second World War the UK was in a very different position than other European countries that had been involved in it. The UK did not have to reconstruct itself politically. And it felt that its relationships with other parts of the world were more important. Its objective of preventing German domination of the continent had been achieved, with a great deal of help from members of the British Commonwealth. It was then time to return to its own agenda.

French President Charles de Gaulle twice vetoed UK membership of the EEC because (or at least he said it was because) the UK had too close a relationship with the USA. You could argue he was right, given the way that Blair took the UK into the Iraq war, treating the views of his EU partners with disdain, you could even say contempt. And the media like to talk about UK’s “special relationship” with the USA, but I am of the view that this is more a myth than a reality. The Americans do what suits them; Trump is making sure of that.

But it’s hopefully time for us to forget all this war stuff. The only people who remember anything about the war are oldies like me, and all I really remember is the end of sweet rationing. And that was in 1953. A younger generation of British politicians will need to work out what should be the UK’s role going forward. I think it will be easier for them to do this with the UK outside of the EU than in it. Is it the UK’s destiny to have a unique position, trading with the European Union in the same way that it trades with other major blocks, but politically independent? Can they even do it? They will find out.

Nothing stays the same in geopolitics. There could come a time, not in my lifetime and possibly not in yours, when a UK that has forgotten about its empire and imaginary special relationships is ready to be a real member of the United States of Europe.

TMN: I’m assuming you’re against having a second referendum?

AA: Based on what I’ve been saying I am. But if parliament wants to give the electorate a second vote, who am I to say they shouldn’t. Although the government said it would implement the result, the referendum is not legally binding and a new government could decide not to.

TMN: What do you think of the possibility of a no deal Brexit?

AA: It looks as if it’s more of a possibility than negotiating a different deal. And if the UK leaves without a deal there will no doubt be significant problems. The UK might well go downhill for a couple of years. But I don’t believe the economic damage needs to be irreversible. Businesses in the UK and the EU will work out how to continue to trade with one another whatever the rules. That’s what business does. Not sure if you can say the same about the politicians.

TMN: Final question: Do you feel British, or Belgian, or both?

AA: I think the simple answer to that question is that I’m English and European. I will become a Belgian citizen in a while and that will oblige me to vote. So I’ll have to get more interested than I was in Belgian politics. But I should say that how I feel about my nationality is unaffected by the UK’s membership, or not, of the EU.

– To get in touch with the author of this article, please write to

The post “I would absolutely have voted for Brexit” – an interview with a Brexiteer living in Belgium appeared first on Brussels Express.

In this interview, Dave talks about his life working for the EU, the impact of the Brexit referendum, and his love for his adopted country, Belgium.

(An interview I conducted a couple of months ago with Dave’s son, Alex, can be found here.)

TMN: Were you always a fan of the EU?

DS: If I’m honest, when I started out I didn’t really know that much about it: I wasn’t into news or politics at the time. I was so conscious of this that after two years I took a year’s sabbatical to go to the College of Europe in Bruges to do a masters in European Studies. The other students thought I was crazy. The only reason they were at the College was to land a job at the EU. They weren’t so interested in learning about Europe. Whereas I had the job, but did want to learn about it …

TMN: What was the reaction among your family and friends back in England to you working for the EU?

DS: In the early days most people thought, “Wow, he’s done pretty well for himself.” People in general were very supportive. This feeling lasted for about 10 or 15 years. But, slowly, things started to change. The attitude of the British people toward the EEC began to shift almost certainly because of the British media and the lies it circulated. Remember, Boris Johnson started inventing anti-EEC pieces for the Telegraph in 1989. Newspapers found that making up or circulating ridiculous stories about European rules on cucumbers, bananas and prawn cocktail crisps appealed to their British readership and turned them against the EU (or EEC). They seemed to figure that they could sell papers by blaming the EU for pretty much all of the problems in British society, and it became convenient for large segments of the British political establishment to blame the EU for anything that it could. Certainly by the end of the 1980s a lot of people had seriously started to hate it.

It eventually became so bad that when I went back to the UK, I actually stopped telling people that I worked for the EU. My colleagues who ended up moving back to the UK after retirement also used to tell me that they never mentioned to anyone in the UK who they used to work for; I mean, if you said you had been a convict they’d probably have given you more respect!

I remember an interesting story which is relevant here. In the early 1990s, I met a prominent British journalist who was based in Brussels as the BBC’s EU correspondent. I asked him a fairly blunt question: “Why don’t you ever publish anything positive about the EU?”

His reply was interesting. He said: “I used to write both positive and negative stories, but then after a while I realised that only the negative ones were getting published. So I eventually stopped writing positive stories – there was no point.”

TMN: That’s amazing. And this is the BBC we’re talking about – not The Sun, or The Daily Express!

DS: Yes. Again, there just seemed to be an appetite among the British public for nasty stories about the EU. And remember that many of them were fictitious, often made up by Boris Johnson in his column for The Daily Telegraph.

TMN: Do you think this appetite for nasty stories was itself partly created by an antagonistic media system?

DS: Yes, maybe. I also remember another similar story. I sang in an octet called The Commissionaires. We all worked for the Commission and enjoyed a cappella close harmony singing. Just after the signing of the Maastricht Treaty one of our members set the Treaty’s preamble to Gregorian chant. Our audiences loved it and eventually we were asked to perform it for the BBC in the Grand Place and they filmed it.

But when they showed the clip on the lunchtime news, the BBC’s comment on our performance was ridiculous. They basically said: “Look at these British workers for the Commission: not even they are taking the Treaty seriously!” But we were! I mean, we were parodying the language a little bit, but we certainly weren’t mocking the spirit or the principle or even the details of the Treaty. But that’s not what the BBC reported.

TMN: Can you say a bit more about how your relationship with the UK changed over this period?

DS: Well, I noticed during my time working for the EU that the UK was always an outlier of sorts; that it never really belonged in the same way that every other country did. It was always complaining about its various obligations, seeking opt-outs, things like that. And I found myself apologising to colleagues about the British attitude, because I believed in the EU.

Largely as a result of this, in addition to the biased media coverage and the serious animosity large segments of the British people bore towards the EU, I began, slowly, to drift more and more apart from the UK. I remember, around 20 years ago or so, my mum said to me: “You really don’t like England any more, do you?” And, in a way, it was true. Maybe I had just lost touch.

TMN: What was your reaction to the Brexit vote?

DS: I was totally shocked, and seriously disappointed. It felt like a knife in the gut, almost a personal violation; as though my entire professional life had been invalidated, that it had been for nothing. It was also, in my view, a real scandal that people like me, British citizens living abroad, couldn’t vote, especially given that we probably knew more about the EU than the average British citizen.

TMN: Did it affect you in a practical sense?

DS: Not really. Myself and my wife, and my daughter, already all had Belgian citizenship. My son never bothered to get his though: he’s still only a Brit. It could possibly affect him.

TMN: What do you think about what’s happening now in the UK with regard to Brexit?

DS: It’s a constant soap opera. I initially thought that a solution would be found very quickly: that either the British establishment would claim that the referendum result was only advisory and Britain would therefore remain a member of the EU, or that the EU and the UK would quickly be able to reach a deal. I was wrong. Problems arose that I don’t think many people had even considered, or knew about, like the Irish border. The UK is now such a divided country, it’s unbelievable. Ironically it wanted to leave the European Union, but now its own union is starting to appear under threat.

TMN: What do you think were the main causes of the vote?

DS: Well, one factor is the lies and bias of the media over several decades, as I already explained. Another factor, in my view, is the after-effect of the 2008 financial crisis. I don’t understand why bankers can play fast and loose and still not get punished. People felt really hard done by, and justifiably so. They hit out at the first thing they could hit out at: the political establishment wanted them to remain, so they voted to leave. There are also other big related issues, like gross economic inequality. But I think the vote was largely a vote against the establishment, rather than merely a vote against the EU.

TMN: What do you think is going to happen?

DS: I don’t know. It’s all such a mess. Your guess is as good as mine.

TMN: What do you want to happen now?

DS: Well, part of me doesn’t really want the UK to be part of the EU anymore. It always seemed to act as a brake on closer integration. As I explained before, it’s always been a bit of an outlier. On top of that, I really don’t have much fondness left for the UK. I wouldn’t be too upset if it ceased to exist, really: I’m in favour of a united Ireland, and of an independent Scotland. Another great side-effect of Brexit is that for three years now the other 27 Member States have been speaking with one voice on the issue.

However, I’m also aware that the EU doesn’t really want Britain to leave, as it might harm the trade of a lot of European countries, particularly those geographically close to the UK, like Belgium, the Netherlands, France, and Ireland. It really angers me, though, that even though it was the UK that asked to leave, a lot of people in Britain seem incensed that the EU is not bending over backwards to give the UK all it is asking for in the Brexit negotiations, even though the EU position was crystal clear and unwavering from the beginning. Part of me really wants to see the EU put the knife in, to punish the UK.

TMN: But surely you don’t want the average person in Britain to suffer?

DS: Of course not. But I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing a lot of senior members of the media suffer, as well as most of the politicians.

TMN: But don’t you think that there are, at least, some legitimate reasons for criticising the EU?

DS: If I’m honest, I’ve almost certainly been indoctrinated by the EU just by virtue of working there. The sheer pleasure of working alongside 27 other nationalities is so educational and stimulating. How can anyone ever be racist? But one problem I think the EU has is that it needs to be more open about what it is and what it does, particularly in the UK.

TMN: But how is it supposed to do that, with some of the major UK media outlets being so vehemently anti-EU?

DS: That’s a good question. I don’t know. Take ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) projects for example. Travelling through Greece, Romania, etc. you see huge signs up acknowledging the contributions from the EU. The UK benefits from similar contributions, but they will be mentioned on a small notice board about A4 size – often hidden behind a tree with the EU flag almost invisible!

TMN: What do you think of the criticism of the EU’s handling of the eurozone crisis, particularly in places like Greece?

DS: I have a lot of Greek friends – Greek is one of my languages – and I did feel very bad about that, and very sorry for the Greeks. But I was in Greece for a week recently and the general opinion now seems to be that it was necessary just to restore some kind of order and things are now improving a lot.

TMN: What about the argument that the EU is non- or even anti-democratic?

DS: That’s an argument that a lot of Leavers tend to make: they keep ranting about the EU being an undemocratic organisation run by unelected officials, but it’s not true. The Commission runs the EU in more-or-less the same way that the civil service runs the UK Government – and the civil service is not elected. Furthermore, the main EU decisions are taken by the Council, which is made up of Ministers from the Member States who are themselves elected. The democracy is there, it’s just indirect.

The argument is also deeply hypocritical. The UK has a system of government which is a long way from being democratic. Many people’s votes just do not count if they happen to live in a “safe” Conservative or Labour seat. The current system is weighted heavily in favour of the two major political parties, making it very difficult for smaller parties to get a seat. Just have a look at the last general election. See how many people voted Green, UKIP, Labour and Conservative – and how those votes translated into seats. This is not democracy.

TMN: Would you be in favour of a fully federalised, democratic Europe – a “United States of Europe”?

DS: Yes, I think so, though I in some ways I would prefer to see a Europe of regions, as opposed to a Europe of nation-states. As it stands, I think certain EU member states have too much power relative to others, especially France, Germany, and (formerly) the UK. Having a Europe of regions would go some way toward solving that problem. Although it might be difficult to organise …

Imagine a debate with Flanders, Catalonia, Malta, Yorkshire and Normandy arguing against Sicily, Crete, Westphalia and the Isle of Wight!

TMN: In what ways do you think you hold similar, or dissimilar, views to your son, Alex?

DS: Alex is not as much in favour of the EU as I am. I think in large part he views the EU as an obstacle to third world development, by its imposition of high external tariffs and so on. He’s also been very critical of the way the EU has handled the migrant crisis. He sees the EU as a club of the rich and something of a privileged bubble – and I do sympathise with that view. But I still think that the benefits of the EU far outweigh any cons.

TMN: What, in your view, are the main benefits of the EU?

DS: Well, it’s kept peace in Europe for 70 years. It’s made travel so much easier. It’s allowed products to circulate seamlessly across different countries. It’s allowed people, ideas, and cultures to mingle with and to learn from one another. It has done much to protect the environment, including birds and animals, by designating huge conservation areas . It has cleaned up the seas and the air. And it was a front-runner with action on climate change. And in many areas – chemicals, drugs, foodstuffs, etc. – it makes life easier because authorisation is required only once, rather than in each individual country like in the old days.

I remember that on the 50th anniversary of the of Treaty of Rome the Independent newspaper ran a front page with the title: “50 reasons to thank Europe”. It included things like the improvement of workers’ rights, environmental protection, action on climate change. In short, it’s had loads of benefits.

TMN: Final question: Do you feel British? Or Belgian? Or European?

DS: Well, I certainly feel more European than British. I would like to be able to say that I’m European, though I’m also very happy to say that I’m Belgian: I really feel like I belong here. I speak Dutch and French. I have Belgian friends. I’m active in the community – I’ve even stood in local elections. In short, I definitely don’t feel stateless. I feel very much at home here in Belgium.

To contact the author, please write to tmollernielsen@brussels-express.eu

The post “If I said I had been a convict the British would probably have given me more respect” – a retired EU official reflects on Brexit, his relationship to the UK, and the future of Europe appeared first on Brussels Express.

When Alex Skinner, 29, tells you his life story, it sounds, in large part, like that of a typical Belgian man.

He was born at Etterbeek Hospital, in Brussels, and grew up in Tervuren, Flemish-Brabant. He went to school in Ixelles, and now lives with his wife in Schaerbeek. As a child, he played football for the Flemish teams FC Moorsel and VJT Tervuren. He speaks Dutch and French. His sister and parents are all Belgian. He eats stoemp and drinks Kasteel Rouge. He even supports the Belgian national football team.

But Alex is not a Belgian citizen. He is a Brit.

Why – and how – did this happen?

The short answer is that it is because he is the son of British immigrants to Belgium, both of whom decided to acquire Belgian citizenship in the wake of the 2016 Brexit referendum. This option, however, wasn’t open to Alex, who never acquired Belgian citizenship as a child, and who had been living in the UK in the years immediately preceding the vote.

“Prior to the Brexit vote, a British passport was just as good as a Belgian one,” he explained to me the other day. “My sister, who’s a year younger than me, got Belgian citizenship right before she left for university in the UK, but I just thought, ‘Why bother with the paperwork?’”

Alex’s full life story is certainly an interesting one. He left Belgium at 18 to study at the School of African and Oriental Studies in London. For a few years after that he travelled and worked in several different places around the world, spending significant time in Italy and – of all places – the Sudan, before returning to London to work at an after-school centre for underprivileged children. But after tiring of – and never really feeling at home in – the UK, Alex decided to return to the country of his birth. He moved back 3 years ago, in early 2016, and is now working as a freelance journalist.

I caught up with Alex the other day at his apartment in Schaerbeek to ask him some questions about his present situation, as well as some more general questions about culture, identity, and of course the Brexit referendum and its aftermath.

Thomas Möller-Nielsen: Are you presently trying to acquire Belgian citizenship?

Alex Skinner: I’ve been trying for five years! For the two years prior to moving back to Belgium I tried repeatedly to get citizenship, but I was told I was ineligible because I didn’t have a job in Belgium – which was true, as I was working in London at the time. I also couldn’t get an ID card then because my father – who worked for the European Commission – had retired, rendering me ineligible for the ‘special ID’ that children of EU officials receive. Since moving back three years ago I’ve tried many times to get it, but now I’m told that I’ve been away from Belgium for too long. Hopefully I’ll be able to get the passport in a couple of years. But I don’t know for certain.

TMN: Do you harbour any regrets about not getting Belgian citizenship earlier, as a child?

AS: Possibly. But, to be honest, there’s no way that I could have predicted that Brexit was going to happen back then. My parents certainly didn’t predict it. And the feeling of being Belgian trumps, I think, whatever passport you might happen to have.

TMN: When people ask you where you are from, what do you say?

AS: I say I’m from Belgium.

TMN: Do you feel Belgian?

AS: I feel more Belgian than anything else, for sure. I certainly love living here, and I loved growing up here. I also love the people, the culture, the beer. But in a way I also feel sort of identity-less. It’s hard to explain. I feel semi-rootless, but that whatever roots I have are in Belgium.

TMN: Do you feel British?

AS: No. Definitely not.

TMN: How did you feel about moving to England for university?

AS: It had a big effect on me. I basically realised that I wasn’t English. The culture – especially the drinking culture – is totally different there: they “binge drink” a lot. And the people I met in England definitely viewed me as a foreigner.

TMN: Why did you move back to Belgium?

AS: Because I love Flanders, and I really love Brussels. I love its multiculturalism. I love the fact that there are so many different languages spoken around the city. In London, things are a bit different. I mean, yes, it’s a multicultural city, and people speak different languages, but the lingua franca among people there is invariably English. That’s not true here. You can be speaking Dutch one minute, French the next, and English the next.

TMN: Did you vote in the Brexit referendum?

AS: No.

TMN: Why not?

AS: Because I’m not sure if I was eligible – I wasn’t living in England at the time. And even if I was eligible, I don’t think I would have bothered to vote.

TMN: You weren’t bothered enough to vote?!

AS: Let me put it like this. If a similar vote was happening in a different country – Portugal, say – I would probably have cared about it just as much. In other words, for me, the Brexit vote was a bit like a vote happening in a foreign country. Obviously, I do care about the outcome to some extent – I’ve lived in England, I have family there, and the vote might even affect me personally – but I really just don’t feel British. Britain isn’t my home. It feels very distant to me.

TMN: How would you have voted, though, assuming that you were sufficiently bothered and/or felt sufficiently British?

AS: I would probably have voted Remain.

TMN: Why?

AS: Because I like the idea of Europe. It’s a pretty cool idea – an amazing one, actually. The EU has been great at unifying people and mixing people from different cultures. It’s also been a moral force in the world, taking the lead on issues such as climate change. Don’t get me wrong, I think the EU is far from perfect. It’s not really very democratic. It’s also quite opaque in some respects. But the idea is fundamentally a great one.

TMN: What was your immediate reaction to the result of the referendum?

AS: I was in Brussels at the time. I remember the feeling here was one almost of mourning. My dad was very upset. He’s a really committed Europhile, who has spent his life working for the EU. He felt that, in a way, his life’s work had been for nothing.

TMN: Were you surprised at the result?

AS: No, I wasn’t. In fact, I was almost sure people would vote to leave. A lot of the media in the UK – especially the tabloids, like the Sun and the Daily Mail – have been vehemently anti-EU for years, blaming the EU and Eastern European immigrants for pretty much all of the country’s problems.

TMN: Were you, or are you, angry about the referendum’s outcome?

AS: No, not really. It’s interesting: since the referendum I’ve joined a Facebook group called ‘The 48%’ – it’s a pro-Remain group. But the way in which some people in that group talk about Leave voters – the things they say about them – it really disgusts me. Sometimes it’s really vicious. Calling them “stupid” and “racist”, things like that.

Look, of course some of the people who voted to leave were probably motivated by racism. But people’s lives had also been getting worse across the UK for quite a while. The financial crisis and austerity have really harmed large segments of the population. I think the vote was mainly a vote for change. Against the status quo.

TMN: So you’re not angry with Leavers?

AS: No. If anything, I’m more upset by the EU’s reaction to the vote. In general, I just don’t think there’s been much soul-searching on the part of the EU to try to explain what happened, to try to understand why Britain left. There’s been no self-criticism. The EU project clearly hasn’t been working for many people. The EU needs to try to understand why.

TMN: Are you worried about the potential impact Brexit will have on you?

AS: Yes and no. I mean, it might be slightly harder for Brits to move to Continental Europe now, and vice versa. But we should realise how privileged we are, in the grand scheme of things. I mean, passports are almost useless items for a lot of people. For instance, my Sudanese friends are effectively trapped in Sudan with their passports – even if they have enough money for a plane ticket it’s really difficult, if not impossible, for them to go anywhere. Brexit is obviously an important issue and it will have a big impact on the world, but if you compare it to other issues – like world hunger, or climate change, or what’s happening in Yemen right now, for instance – it just pales in comparison.

I also think it’s worth adding that things are still going to be much better than they used to be, whatever happens. For instance, my dad lived in Italy in the 1970s, and he had to sign in with the Italian police each and every week. That’s not going to happen with the Brits living in Belgium, I’m sure of it.

TMN: Are you in favour of a second referendum?

AS: I mean, I haven’t signed the online ‘People’s Vote’ petition, if that’s what you mean. But, broadly speaking, I believe that the government should deliver the will of the people.

TMN: And what if the will of the people is to have a second referendum?

AS: Then the government should do that. But either way – whatever happens – Britain is going to be a deeply divided country.

TMN: Would you ever move back to the UK?

AS: Not willingly.

The post “I was born and raised in Belgium, I live in Belgium, all my family is Belgian, but I am a Brit” appeared first on Brussels Express.

At the request of the European Commission, EU Member States have been called upon to take « emergency measures » to limit the impact of a Brexit without agreement.

In Belgium, the various federal entities have agreed to « maintain the rights of British citizens present in Belgium before the exit of the United Kingdom from the Union (scheduled for the 29th of March, 2019) for a limited period of time, until the 31st December 2020 and on a reciprocal basis. »

The 25,000 Belgians currently residing in Great Britain should therefore also keep these rights (including living and social rights) after March 29th.

The Consultative Committee also asked for measures to be taken by each entity in four areas: taxation, work permit (or professional card for the self-employed), professional qualifications and social security.

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« What everybody expected, happened yesterday. A huge majority in the House of Commons rejected the deal. And honestly I have to tell you, I am not surprised. Since the outcome of the referendum, Westminster has produced a lot of majorities against something. Against membership of the Union. Against the Single Market. Against the Customs Union. Against the free movement of people. Against the Irish backstop. And I could continue.

The question is now how to break this deadlock, how to avoid a devastating no-deal. Therefore, we need urgently a majority in favor of something. A majority in the interest of Britain. And at the same time, a majority in the interest of the Union too. This can be achieved, if finally the political parties in Britain, and I mean all political parties start to put the interest of the country, the interest of Britain, above their own narrow party political interests. That Jeremy Corbin wants to become the next Prime Minister is legitimate. That Mrs. May wants to remain Prime Minister is legitimate as well. That the SNP wants to make Scotland independent is also legitimate. That the DUP wants the opposite and wants to stay in the UK is equally legitimate. So my message today is that whatever legitimate ambition everybody has, all have to come out of the trenches. All have to transcend the binary, system in which they are locked. A system that has produces antagonism. Brexit started as a catfight inside the conservative party, and this on the back of the European Union. But since the triggering of article 50, it has become far more than that. It became an existential question about Britain’s future, about Britain’s soul, so far bigger than ordinary conservative party politics.

I know, it’s not up to me, as a humble Belgian to lecture the Brits on what to do, but I think it’s time to tell our British friends that for the sake of Britain itself, it’s time for cross party cooperation. To define what the new relationship between the UK and the EU must be. To redefine also the ‘red lines’ that in fact have been unilaterally imposed by the hardliners of the conservative party.

We from the European Union are ready for a deep future relationship, even deeper than the one foreseen in the Political Declaration today. If there is a cross party majority in the House of Commons to go in such a direction, know that we are ready to fully engage.

Finally, two warnings. What we will not let happen, deal or no deal, is that the mess in British politics is imported into European politics. While we understand the UK could need more time, for us it is unthinkable that article 50 is prolonged beyond the European election date.

And my second warning concerns the interests of our citizens. EU citizens and UK citizens alike. Deal or no deal, we will do everything in our power to safeguard their rights, rights as foreseen in the Withdrawal Agreement. If necessary together with our LIBE committee, we will directly engage with the House of Commons and their Home Office Select Committee, to secure that. Our citizens can never, never be the victim of the party political games around Brexit. »

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A relatively short journey from this country, Ramsgate has always been a popular destination for Belgians and this pleasant Kentish seaside town could soon become even closer following news that the port is being dredged in order to turn the harbour into a « second Dover » in preparation for a no-deal Brexit.

Under UK Government plans revealed last week, the seaside port is being excavated so that ferries and large cargo ships can begin operating out of the harbour again. Ramsgate, which used to operate passenger ferry services to Ostend, was Charles Dickens’ favourite holiday home and it’s easy to see why.

The town, though, was once just a collection of fishermen’s cottages clustered around a harbour. But by the end of the 17th century a burgeoning shipping trade saw the port growing in importance. Fast forward to the present and, having been named as one of the UK’s ten Heritage Action Zones by Historic England and with the opening of the Grade II-listed Royal Victoria Pavilion, there is a real feel-good factor in Ramsgate.

Little wonder that Coast Magazine says, « If its regeneration continues at its current pace,this historic Cinque Port could easily outshine its neighbours. » With its historic waterfront and lively cosmopolitan feel, Ramsgate’s a good spot to head for for a short break.You can select an alfresco café, sip a drink and see the yachts bobbing in the picturesque working marina (this Cinque Port is the only ‘Royal Harbour’ in the country).

An excellent base to explore the area is Ramsgate’s Royal Harbour Hotel, located a short drive from Dover. Owned by a go-ahead local businessman, James Thomas, this is a lovely hotel on Ramsgate’s best known historic garden crescent. From its wonderful position perched on a hill, it directly overlooks the small marina/port of this vibrant town.

When James, formerly of Claridge’s, the famous London hotel, took over in 1999, it had just six rooms and two bathrooms. It has multiplied in size and also houses a locally highly renowned restaurant called « The Empire Rooms » serving excellent British food. James and his enthusiastic team have introduced some quirky touches, such a great collection of old-style vinyl LPs that guests can play on a record deck in the comfy lounge where an impressive large portrait of the Queen of England seems symptomatic of the « patriotic » feel of the surroundings.

This delightful Georgian hotel, made up of adjoining Georgian Grade 2 listed townhouses that date back to 1799, boasts pleasant family and disabled-access guest rooms. It was awarded a 5-star review by « An Inspector Calls » in the Daily Mail, voted « Best Small Hotel » by the Oldie Magazine Travel Awards and is often No.1 in Trip Advisor’s popularity index for Ramsgate.

It all makes for a very satisfying and relaxing stay and, from here, you can marvel at Ramsgate’s panorama (the vista affords views of the French coast on a clear day).

After taking in the refreshing North Sea air, you’ll have worked up a hearty appetite and a very good spot locally to sate any hunger is  the hotel’s Empire Rooms, ranked an impressive three out of 152 restaurants in Ramsgate.

Seating up to 45 the appropriately called « Empire » serves excellent British food (the lamb, pork and hake curry are particularly recommended), much of it sourced locally. The nicely balanced menu features a range of meat, fish and veggie dishes. Open for lunch and dinner, the fact that 80 per cent of diners (at weekend) are non-guests testifies to its wide appeal.

To reinforce its  British colonial connections, the restaurant walls are adorned with pristine front covers  of the old BBC magazine « Empire » which James, being passionate about British military history, used to collect. Its warm red walls, original mixed wooden tables and chairs and history books lining the walls, all combine to make this restaurant elegant and stylish, yet comfortable and informal (diners with dogs are also welcome).

The seasonally-adjusted menu, overseen by 36-year-old head chef Nick Cobley, is also very good so little wonder it’s been called by respected food critics as a « hidden gem ». Birmingham-born Nick says he tries to use local products from local producers as much as possible, adding, « That way, we can spread the word about the quality of local ingredients. It’s a win-win for both the producers and us. »

Nick and James also offer invaluable work experience to young people from a local college. Thanet is the furthest south-east you can go in Britain, almost touching mainland Europe and has many wartime related tales to tell. Ramsgate Tunnels, which housed over 1,000 people during the darkest period of WWII, has reopened while 2015 marked the 75th anniversary of Operation Dynamo when hundreds of ‘little ships’ set out from Ramsgate Royal Harbour and Margate to rescue troops from the beaches of Dunkirk in 1940.

Ideally located on the seafront, « Little Ships » is also the name of another of another local restaurant owned by James. Its walls contain lots of military-related memorabilia plus a framed jacket worn on active service by James’ grandfather, an army medical officer. The idea is not to turn the place into a mini-museum but, rather, to highlight Ramsgate’s role in WW2 (very timely, as this summer marks the 75th anniversary of the Normandy landings).

The restaurant is run by Broadstairs-born Craig Mather, a locally renowned chef who started cooking at the age of 13 to earn pocket money. In the space of just one week last year, James  et al transformed it from a very rundown café into the stylish and atmospheric eatery it is today (the chairs were salvaged from a scrapyard in Boulogne).

Unlike the Empire, this eatery relies more on a walk-in trade and offers simpler, bistro-style cuisine, including seafood such as oysters and mussels which 33-year-old Craig is currently keen to promote to locals.Some of the delicious dishes are cooked from the open kitchen on a locally-crafted £5,000 « Harrison » charcoal-fired oven which affords a particularly tasty and moist BBQ-type flavour to the food including sea bass and pork chops.

The very affable James has done a lot to help revive the town’s fortunes and he and Caroline, his wife-to-be, are not above lending a hand and serving here on busy nights. With the possible reopening of Ramsgate as a commercial port for the first time in five years, there’s likely to be a surge in cross-channel trade as people from Belgium and mainland Europe.

For people travelling by car from Belgium, « the Garden of England » is the most accessible part of the UK and the fine hospitality epitomised by James and his team can also be found just up the road in Margate at GB Pizza, which has rightly won a clutch of awards since it opened.

Located on the town’s historic seafront, it is notable not just for its very flavoursome pizzas, cooked in a wood-fired oven and using the best of Kent produce, but also for the many accolades it has received, including inclusion in the Guardian´s « top 10 budget restaurants. » This place boasts really  great tasting and authentic pizza served by a friendly staff, with good local beers and all in a relaxed and casual atmosphere (it’s small so booking is advisable).

It too sources locally wherever possible and also has a « special pizza », proceeds from which go to a brain tumour cancer charity, an issue close to the heart of owner Lisa Richards. The importance of the area’s long and rich maritime history was recognised by King George IV when he awarded Ramsgate its harbour Royal status – a unique accolade in mainland Britain.

But if you’re looking for a short winter break – or just to do a spot of sales shopping – the area is a great choice for lots of other reasons. Just down from Ramsgate, for instance, is Walmer Castle which commemorates some key political figures in the area’s history, including the Duke of Wellington who resided here after defeating Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo.At the nearby Hornby visitor centre, you can relive the story of Britain’s best loved toys. It has some fascinating displays, featuring rare products from the Hornby, Scalextric, Airfix and Corgi archives.

For people travelling from Belgium, this part of the UK is the main point of entry to England and, especially for military-minded folk, 2019 is a particularly good time to visit. The coming year marks 80 years since the start of WWII, of which Thanet has a number of connections – Ramsgate Tunnels, the RAF Manston History Musuem and the Spitfire and Hurricane Memorial Museum and their Spitfire simulator.

Getting to Kent from Brussels and the rest of Belgium is relatively easy, with leading ferry operator DFDS by far the most popular choice for mainland Continental travellers. Northern Europe’s largest shipping and logistics company, DFDS is an award winner (the world’s leading ferry operator in the 2015 World Travel Awards) and has seen a huge rise in both passenger and freight traffic volumes on its Dover-Calais and Dover-Dunkirk routes.

It now has a second ferry, the Côte des Flandres, on its Dover-Calais service which has increased its daily schedule of sailings between Dover and Calais to up to 30. When combined with DFDS’ three ferries on the Dover-Dunkirk route, the company now operates six ships in total on the Dover Strait, with up to 54 daily sailings to the two French ports. For a small extra charge you can upgrade to enjoy the delightful and peaceful on-board lounge and very useful priority boarding.

Back in 1821, King George IV was particularly impressed by Ramsgate harbour as well as the warm welcome and hospitality he received. Today, visitors are assured a similarly friendly welcome and, whatever prompts you to come, Ramsgate and Thanet won’t disappoint.

Good to know

https://royalharbourhotel.co.uk/

https://theempireroom.co.uk/

http://greatbritishpizza.com/

https://www.hornby.com/uk-en/hornby-visitor-centre

https://www.english-heritage.org.uk

https://www.dfdsseaways.co.uk/

www.littleshipsramsgate.co.uk

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