Belgium: We’re not small, just overly modest

Baudouin de Callatay

La Libre Belgique

It’s time we stopped thinking of ourselves as a small country, said Baudouin de Callatay. “Little Belgium” has become a cliché, not only abroad but here at home. It’s partly a result of our location, “at the crossroads of three giants”—Britain, France, and Germany.

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Yet it simply isn’t true. Sure, geographically the country doesn’t cover a very big area, but of the 27 countries in the EU, only eight have larger populations than ours. And we have long been a major player in Europe. As a country with both Latin and Germanic cultures, Belgium is “a natural facilitator among EU countries,” even a “symbol of Europe.” European institutions such as the EU and NATO are headquartered here. So enough with the “inferiority complex” and “the constant feeling of being small—this self-deprecation, this modesty.”

If we were truly that “colorless,” why is it almost always a Belgian chosen as “the ideal candidate for important international positions?” The first president of the EU, mind you, is neither a Brit nor a German but our own Herman Van Rompuy. He’s a living demonstration that politics “doesn’t have to be about image, bling-bling, and demagoguery.” He exemplifies the Belgian spirit: “serious, hardworking, moderate, intelligent,” and, above all, competent. Maybe it’s not sexy—but it’s “a national identity we can be proud of.”