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It's slightly more subtle than that. Legolas Send a noteboard - 13/05/2010 12:00:29 AM
And of course, the Flemish and Walloons didn't have their own currency even before the Euro. Being no more than two hours' drive from a border wherever you are in the country probably helps too :P.

The Walloons (and particularly the Francophones in Brussels) don't care about being Walloon/Francophone, they care about being Belgian. The catch being that "Belgian" in their book means Francophone pretty much per definition (which isn't entirely as insulting as it might seem, considering that until less than a century ago, most of the Flemish elite thought the same thing). Wallonian separatism and rattachism (from "rattacher", in casu to France, even though it's kind of hard to see how Wallonia was ever attached to France in the first place) are both fringe movements, they all want to keep Belgium, but they don't seem to grasp that that would logically mean allowing the Flemish to pull their weight, and accepting that Belgium has a Dutch-language majority.

Still, the escalation of things in recent years have sparked something of a resurgence of pro-Belgian sentiment in the silent majority in Flanders, while it has convinced some on the Francophone side of the necessity of making efforts to show interest in Flanders, primarily through learning Dutch.
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So the list of countries using the euro will grow longer, not shorter... Estonia to join in 2011 - 12/05/2010 10:51:37 PM 1265 Views
Sounds like a winner - 12/05/2010 11:07:38 PM 884 Views
You Americans should like Estonia - they're rather neoliberal that way. - 12/05/2010 11:18:30 PM 1071 Views
Apparently we do - 13/05/2010 05:34:41 PM 910 Views
I liked the remark one Estonian bankofficial made - 12/05/2010 11:38:26 PM 853 Views
Re: I liked the remark one Estonian bankofficial made - 12/05/2010 11:42:37 PM 894 Views
I stand corrected than - 12/05/2010 11:45:33 PM 791 Views
I do sometimes wish more Belgians would understand that. - 12/05/2010 11:52:41 PM 763 Views
Re: I do sometimes wish more Belgians would understand that. - 13/05/2010 12:05:03 AM 786 Views
That would be more convincing if universities promoted more social mobility. - 13/05/2010 12:11:37 AM 894 Views
Social attitudes take a very long time to change. - 13/05/2010 12:28:09 AM 917 Views
We have need-based scholarships. We could extend them. - 13/05/2010 12:38:31 AM 812 Views
I guess it depends on exactly what the fees are. - 13/05/2010 11:06:37 AM 904 Views
They're low. Too low. - 13/05/2010 12:12:29 PM 921 Views
American universities do have entrance exams. Sort of. - 13/05/2010 02:17:13 PM 921 Views
Those are really too lame to count. - 13/05/2010 02:21:23 PM 957 Views
Re: Those are really too lame to count. - 13/05/2010 05:04:25 PM 959 Views
typically the more specialized programs require that - 13/05/2010 05:53:20 PM 879 Views
Re: Those are really too lame to count. - 13/05/2010 07:32:19 PM 962 Views
Like I indicated, I'm not suggesting it in the American system. - 13/05/2010 07:53:15 PM 971 Views
meh. Most degrees are useless anyway. - 13/05/2010 01:14:54 AM 795 Views
Re: That would be more convincing if universities promoted more social mobility. - 13/05/2010 08:08:16 PM 885 Views
Buying a senator helps. - 14/05/2010 02:33:44 AM 829 Views
Come on. - 13/05/2010 10:13:29 AM 951 Views
You ever been to Estonia? If not, stop speaking. *NM* - 13/05/2010 10:29:17 AM 478 Views
your funny *NM* - 13/05/2010 02:01:06 PM 357 Views
Surely Sweden can say, or could have said, that they wouldn't join till they damn well felt like it? - 12/05/2010 11:39:57 PM 821 Views
Apparently Denmark only got the opt-out after rejecting the Maastricht treaty. - 12/05/2010 11:47:00 PM 861 Views
Good point: it seems to me no-one cares about being Belgian, only Flemish or Walloon . - 12/05/2010 11:51:27 PM 744 Views
It's slightly more subtle than that. - 13/05/2010 12:00:29 AM 900 Views
What do you think about this suggestion? - 13/05/2010 12:09:02 AM 880 Views
That has been suggested by many, yeah. - 13/05/2010 12:28:24 AM 900 Views
But before you make a decision like that... - 13/05/2010 08:36:07 AM 880 Views
We have a Flemish government, though. - 13/05/2010 12:22:57 PM 931 Views
There is one answer to most of those questions - 12/05/2010 11:49:46 PM 768 Views
I love that the rest of you have the euro. - 12/05/2010 11:53:10 PM 767 Views
*waits for the Pound to drop and the UK begging for the euro* *NM* - 12/05/2010 11:56:25 PM 421 Views
That would be the worst time to do it. - 13/05/2010 12:05:32 AM 846 Views
Well... that is true. But your exports would be really high. - 13/05/2010 12:11:50 AM 802 Views
Also the best time. - 13/05/2010 12:11:53 AM 846 Views
I WIN *NM* - 13/05/2010 12:12:51 AM 369 Views
Bah *NM* - 13/05/2010 12:18:48 AM 316 Views
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times... *NM* - 13/05/2010 12:19:32 AM 305 Views
There is a small problem with that... - 13/05/2010 10:21:44 AM 764 Views
I found the wikipedia article. - 13/05/2010 10:53:00 AM 960 Views
WOW WHEN DID THE UK CHANGE THEIR COINS - 13/05/2010 12:10:41 AM 845 Views
2008, apparently. Though I don't think we actually saw them until 2009. - 13/05/2010 12:17:46 AM 880 Views
I used to use a ten-pound note to inhale...things. - 13/05/2010 05:54:09 AM 819 Views
You have a thing for Charles Darwin? - 13/05/2010 10:45:14 AM 754 Views
From "Mean Mr. Mustard" - "keeps a ten-bob note up his nose...such a mean old man..." - 13/05/2010 02:36:34 PM 796 Views
In that case I'm going to have to disappoint you. - 13/05/2010 02:54:04 PM 921 Views
I knew that, but I had limited options. - 13/05/2010 03:15:07 PM 903 Views
You could try a €500 note. - 13/05/2010 03:18:11 PM 799 Views
In other news, the sky is blue. - 13/05/2010 03:33:25 PM 820 Views
I seem to remember reading something in 2002 about Germans paying their monthly rent in cash. - 13/05/2010 03:43:35 PM 913 Views
Hm. Possible. - 13/05/2010 03:50:31 PM 784 Views
Re: In other news, the sky is blue. - 13/05/2010 07:45:06 PM 894 Views
Sheesh...I was just using, not dealing. - 13/05/2010 03:47:05 PM 803 Views
The thrill of decadence? *NM* - 13/05/2010 03:51:21 PM 345 Views
Ooh...I'm sure THAT will shore up the eurozone... *laughs* - 13/05/2010 05:51:12 AM 844 Views
Agreed - 13/05/2010 12:20:12 PM 822 Views
Nobody said it would. - 13/05/2010 12:34:27 PM 829 Views
You know what will save the eurozone ? - 13/05/2010 04:55:06 PM 823 Views
You're a little ray of sunshine, aren't you? *NM* - 13/05/2010 05:10:48 PM 342 Views
Hey man, I don't want Europe to be the next Japan - 13/05/2010 05:42:26 PM 822 Views

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