I loved the readout of the lunch that your colleague Alice Hancock had with former Belgian prime minister Alexander De Croo (“‘There’s a risk that Europe is being redrawn’”, Lunch with the FT, Life & Arts, February 22).
Charging €24 for a “shrimps croquettes” starter at the restaurant where the two met is of course outlandish, even though the Sainte-Catherine area in Brussels is known for its top-notch fish and seafood dining places.
More importantly — and on topic — is the reference in the article of De Croo ordering in Flemish, and that one part of the divided Belgian country speaks Flemish.
Amai! (“Wow” in Dutch). This is a regular misunderstanding of Belgium. In Flanders, one speaks Dutch (and hundreds of Flemish dialects). In Wallonia, you’d better speak French. French Walloon dialect does exist but is almost extinct, just as is Brusselian, a Dutch dialect spoken by a very small, but proud, group of Brusseleir.
So there is no Flemish language. Belgium has three official languages: Dutch, French and German. Over time, pidgin English may be added as a fourth language for the many eurocrats here in Brussels — but that depends of course on Europe collapsing or not in the next few years.
Joop Hazenberg
Brussels, Belgium
