BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY
PRAYON-RUPEL GOES EAST
[BIZ: Liège, January 25]
Silox, a joint subsidiary of the chemical
company Prayon-Rupel and the Cybelle Group, has just acquired 61% of a new company
Transpek-Silox with 4 plants in the Indian state of Gujarat. Its activities include the
production of chemicals used in bleaching pulp for paper and in fixing textile pigments.
The acquisition will allow Prayon to complete its range of paper and textile products in
Europe, penetrate the Asian market and demonstrate its global presence. Société Chimique
Prayon-Rupel has consolidated sales of around EUR 420m; it is active in inorganic
chemicals and is an important worldwide producer of phosphoric acid and its technical and
food grade derivatives. Prayon is jointly owned by Office Chérifien des Phosphates
(OCP - Morocco), one of the world leaders in phosphate minerals, phosphoric acids and
phosphate fertilizers and by Société Régionale d’Investissement de Wallonie
(S.R.I.W.).
http://www.prayon.com
http://www.lameuse.be
REAPING THE WHIRLWIND
[BIZ: Aachen, January 25]
Energie 2030 GmbH & Co is looking for
stakeholders in its EuroWindpark. The company plans to erect three windmills, each
generating 1.8 MW in the EuroWindPark Aachen and needs backers for this EUR 5.5m project.
Founded in Belgium and Germany in 1995, Energie 2030's objects include the search for
alternative energy solutions.
http://www.energie2030.com/de/wp_aachen.htm
DSM SLOUGHS OFF MORE PLASTICS
[BIZ: Heerlen, January 19]
DSM Engineering Plastic Products (EPP) has been taken over by Quadrant Holding Zuerich,
Switzerland, as of January 1, 2001. DSM Engineering Plastic Products manufactures
engineering plastic stock shapes and finished products for a variety of industrial markets
and has operations in 16 countries, employing 1,085. Last September, DSM announced its
intention to focus on life science products, specialties and performance materials. EPP
products fit better into Quadrant's strategy than that of DSM. There are 20 factories
involved.
http://www.dsm.nl
http://www.quadrant.ch
NEDCAR VOLUMES FOR 2001
[IND: Born, January 18]
In the year 2000, NedCar produced 215,217 cars and 1,920
CKDs (completely knocked down cars). Equivalent production figures are expected for
2001. In the coming year, 250,000 cars will be produced including 135,000 Volvo S40s and
V40s and 80,000 Mitsubishis (30,000 Carismas and 50,000 Space Stars). They are being
produced on a two, rather than 3 shift system, introduced January. NedCar has also
recently been ISO 9001:2000 certified.
http://www.nedcar.nl
AUTOMOTIVE OVERVIEW
[IND: Heerlen, January]
The latest issue of Limburg International Magazine
gives an overview of Limburg automotive companies supplying NedCar. In the same
issue, it covers TRW in Heerlen, successor to Kelsey-Hayes as a producer of ABS systems
and concludes with an article on the Ford Research Lab in Aachen. This is a welcome
supplement to the survey of automotive-related businesses in Aachen (see Meuse-Rhine
October). An overview of automotive companies in Liège can be found on the SPI+ site and
a thorough breakdown by NACE code is available on the Gomlimburg site.
http://www.Ford-FFA.de/
http://www.webcontentnow.com/NewsOctober.htm#BUSINESS
http://www.liegeonline.be/cat0205.html
http://www.gomlimburg.be/verd.htm
MERCHANT BANKERS MOVE IN
[BIZ: Cologne, January 17]
Europe's largest independent private bank Sal.Oppenheim jr
& Cie KGaA has decided to hold a European roll out at Maastricht Aachen Airport in the
spring to outline its expansion plans in the Dutch investment market. Sal. Oppenheim was
established in 1789 and has remained an independent family-owned bank since that time.
Headquartered in Cologne, it is managed by seven personally liable partners heading the
three business divisions - Private Banking, Asset Management and Investment Banking - as
well as the associated support services, research and risk management units. The entire
Oppenheim group employs around 1,200 and has foreign subsidiaries in Switzerland and
Luxembourg. They are currently developing an SME focus and hoping to do EUR 100m's worth
of new business.
http://www.oppenheim.com/home.htm
LOGISTICS AND INFRASTRUCTURE
LANAYE LOCK NR 4 GETS GO-AHEAD
[LOG: Liège, January 25]
Walloon Minister of Public Works, Michel
Daerden and Dutch Minister of Transport, Tineke Netelenbos signed an agreement at The
Hague on January 24 for the construction of the fourth lock at Lanaye. Ratification is
scheduled for February 19. Work starts in 2004 with completion due in 2008. Projected cost
is around EUR 6.7m, with funding to come from the EU, the European Investment Bank via
Sofico (additional Walloon infrastructure funding). The cost split is 90% to be paid by
the Walloons and 10% by the Dutch. The 25 meter lock will speed up traffic at this
well-known bottleneck and open the doors to Antwerp, Rotterdam, the Rhine and the East.
http://www.webcontentnow.com/NewsOctober.htm#LOGISTICS AND
INFRASTRUCTURE
http://www.lalibrebelgique.be
http://www.lesoir.be
http://www.lameuse.be
NOTICE IN ENGLISH INVALID
[INFRA: Liège, January 13]
The 8th Chamber of the Industrial Tribunal in Liège has
declared that notice of dismissal to employees drawn up in English is invalid. Such notice
contravenes a decree of the French Community of Belgium (1982) on the use of the French
language in matters of social relations, when the real or legal persons involved have a
branch in the region where French is spoken. Declaring notice nul and void does not
prevent the employee from being dismissed, however; but the employee then has the right to
demand compensation.
http://www.lameuse.be
VIRTUALLY LINKLESS MEDIA AID
[INFRA: Aachen, January 12]
At the inauguration of the new president of Meuse-Rhine
Euroregion, a media guide in CD Rom form was made available to the press. This useful
documentation in an expensively laminated case with a raised plastic disc mount
covers a wide range of authorities in Meuse-Rhine. It gives addresses and telephone
numbers of the tourist authorities, police stations, newspapers and TV stations in
glorious technicolor, but is unfortunately somewhat impoverished in respect of links to
websites or e-mail addresses, many of which must be well known.
http://www.euroregio.mr.org
AACHEN CATHEDRAL DIMENSIONED
[INFRA: Aachen, January 11]
The 1200-year-old Aachen Cathedral has been subject to
3-dimensional measurement over a period of seven years by a team headed by Professor
Benning. The results are a complete photogrammetric representation of the cathedral both
inside and out, using CAD technology. This data comprises 17,000 m2 of cathedral surface
on 1200 photos on 20 CD Rom discs.
http://www.domaachen.de
SITTARD IN THE
EUROREGION
[INFRA: Sittard, December 27]
The newly merged municipality of Sittard-Geleen-Born wants
to join the Meuse-Rhine. Sittard is particularly keen to be involved in the new
transfrontier rail developments.
http://www.sittard-geleen.nl/
GOVERNMENT AND EDUCATION
TAKE OFF 2001
[EDU: Maastricht, January 26]
Take Off 2001, a conference organized
by business students at Maastricht University, will be welcoming guests to
Maastricht February 7, 13 and 14. The theme will be 'The Information Battle:
Consequences of the New Economy for Business and Economics'. Messrs de Hoop of
HotOrange and Tim Lunn of First Tuesday and Ms Smits of VendexKBB will speak on the
13th. Minister Zalm, Professor Luc Soete and Professor Schilder of the Nederlandsche
Bank will be there on the 14th. The Clingendael Institute, Oracle, Z-punkt, Escador,
Bol.com, Maastricht U., Deutsche Bundesbank and the Nederlandsche Bank will hold
workshops.
http://www.imperator.nl/to2001
MEUSE-RHINE EVP ELECTS A COMMITTEE
[GOV: Maastricht, January 24]
The European People' Party (EVP), a largely
Christian Democratic party, has elected a committee for Meuse-Rhine to coordinate
wide-ranging cross-border activities at Euroregional level. There has been informal
cooperation among the parties for 30 years, and a committee will now provide a formal
structure. It will be in office for three years. Chairman is Leo Dautzenberg from CDA
Heinsberg, further members are Lou Vleugels CDA Limburg/NL, Hubert Chantraine CSP East
Belgium, Chris Moors CVP Limburg/B and Marcel Stiennon, PSC Province of Liège. Matthias
Biergans CDU Heisberg and Aachen will be secretary.
http://www.aachenerzeitung.de
TRANSNATIONAL UNIVERSITY TREATY
[EDU: Maastricht, January 18]
The Flemish Minister of Education, Mrs Vanderpoorten, and
her Dutch counterpart Mr Hermans signed a treaty between the kingdom of the Netherlands
and Belgium's Flemish community in the matter of the transnational University of
Limburg/Maastricht-Hasselt in the great hall of the University of Maastricht in
Maastricht.
http://www.unimaas.nl
EUREGIONALE 2008
[GOV: Aachen, January 15]
As reported earlier, preparations are underway to attract
Regionale 2008, the German regional conference covering arts and innovation in the
regions, to Meuse-Rhine. Meetings were held in Kerkrade on January 19 and in Aachen on
January 26. Key figures are Ralf P.Meyer, heading the project's local office, town-planner
Frauke Burgdorff, historian Robert Zgodda and Christopher Mek -the man with the political
savvy- from the district of Euskirchen. Regional specialists will have the assistance of
experts in the form of Professor Kunibert Wachten, coordinator of EUROGA 2002, Professor
Hans Maks of the University of Maastricht, a specialist on the prospects for economic
cooperation in Meuse-Rhine, Aachener Zeitung (the daily with the best Meuse-Rhine
coverage) editor Bernd Mathieu and Wolfgang Mainz of Kronenbrot KG.
http://www.aachener-zeitung.de
http://www.webcontentnow.com/NewsDecember2.htm#GOVERNMENT AND
EDUCATION
MEUSE-RHINE GOES TO BRUSSELS
[GOV: Heerlen, January 12]
A Joint Council meeting in Brussels for the
city councils of Meuse-Rhine (Aachen, Genk, Hasselt, Heerlen, Liège and Maastricht) is
planned for the period between Ascension Day and Whitsun, May 24 -June 4. According to a
report in the Limburgs Dagblad, there is some doubt about the willingness of all
parties to attend.
http://www.ld.nl
JUERGEN ROTERS INSTALLED
[GOV: Aachen, January 11]
Juergen Roters, the governor of the Cologne and Aachen
regions in Germany, assumed his position as president Meuse-Rhine recently in Aachen and
held a press conference, also marking the Meuse-Rhine exhibition, at the AGIT Technology
Center. He placed emphasis on the positioning and marketing of the region (the strategy
for which is apparently being developed by former Limburg/NL provincial information
officer Paul 't Lam's Apostroof Agency), on encouraging multilingualism amongst the youth
and on the availability of around EUR 50m for INTERREG III projects over the next six
years
http://www.euroregio-mr
LIEGE GOVERNOR'S DECADE
[GOV: Liège, January 10]
The governor of the Province of Liège, Paul Bolland,
celebrated his ten years of office by giving an overview of this period's achievements.
Despite a masochistic, almost suicidal, fixation on heavy industry, the city had turned a
corner and achieved international respect and admiration. He referred to the city's role
in Meuse-Rhine, the organization of the Tour de France, the European Football Competition
and the role of the Royal Walloon Opera and the Philharmonic Orchestra in cultural life.
From 1990-1998 tourist turnover rose from EUR 446m to 694m, those employed in the sector
went up from 16,000 to 19,000 and the number of overnight stays in the province rose from
2.4 to 3.6 million. Advances were also booked in the metalworking industry, engineering
technology, in agriculture and the food sector.
http://www.liege.be
MEDICINE AND TECHNOLOGY
LIEGE LIFE SCIENCE SPINS OFF 30
[MED: Liège, January 25]
With Kitozyme, a new spin-off at the
University of Liège, a total of 30 companies, employing 250, with annual sales of around
EUR 52m has been added to the life science sector. They are listed by Sonia Jérôme of La
Libre Belgique-Gazette de Liège as: Hybritech Europe SA, Radim SA, ATC SA,
Amos, Gamma SA, Piscimeuse SA, Star Informatic SA, UGG SA, Eurogentec, Belsim SA, Physiol,
Samtech SA, NRB, Spacebel, Biocode SA, Gesval, APC SA, Cimoca-Supreme, Microbelcaps SA,
Unisensor, Horpi Systems, Lasea, Mithra Pharmaceuticals, Promocell, Ines, Kitozyme, Lauras
SA, Qualty Partner, Spinventure and Coincidence. Since 1980, there have been 41 start-ups.
the shake-down leaves the above in business. Dyax has been omitted for some reason -
perhaps because of the top spin
http://www.lalibrebelgique.be
http://www.webcontentnow.com/NewsNovember2.htm#MEDICINE AND
TECHNOLOGY
ELSA IN THE GROWING DSL MARKET
[TECH: Aachen, January 19]
ELSA, a leading vendor of solutions for Internet access and computer graphics, is
now offering an easily installable router for high-speed Internet access in small and
medium sized enterprises or in the home office with the LANCOM ADSL Office. Both ADSL over
ISDN and ADSL over POTS (Plain Old Telephony System) versions of the LANCOM ADSL Office
have simple automatic installation routines for easy integration into the network. An
annual growth rate of over 90% is predicted in the European DSL market through 2004
(Dataquest) - Iceland has apparently already achieved 65% ADSL penetration with Internet
access at 84%. ELSA will concentrate on the two most important DSL versions: ADSL
(Asymmetrical Digital Subsriber Line), with up to 8 Mbps download rate with an upload rate
of up to 800 kbps, and SDSL (Symmetrical Digital Subscriber Line) with send and receive
rates of up to 2.3 Mbps for business customers.
http://www.elsa.de
FLANDERS BIO (ORGANIC) VALLEY
[MED: Tienen, January 19]
Het Belang van Limburg relays a report from the
Belgian News Agency that Mayor Eddy Poffe of Tienen would like to see Tienen and the
surrounding Hageland (bordering on Meuse-Rhine) develop into Flanders Bio Valley in
response to the demand for organically grown produce and analogous to the Flanders
Multimedia Valley around Diepenbeek and the Language Valley around Ypres - the latter
currently emerging from the Lernhout and Hauspie difficulties. This would make the Tienen
area the organic garden of Flanders. The area has strong agricultural roots and is
particularly well-known for sugar production. The location of the University of Louvain
nearby would also be an advantage in such a development.
http://www.belga.be
http://www.hvbl.be
REGITEL TO MEET
[TECH: Maastricht, January 17]
Regitel, the Limburg (NL) ICT association, is meeting in Thorn under the aegis of
Development Company LIOF, February 6. The program covers ICT recruitment, the presentation
of Online.dotcom and a short talk by Jos Peeters of the International Institute of
Infonomics, entitled: 'what this computer stuff is all about' - or words to that effect.
http://www.regitel.nl
http://www.infonomics.nl
SMS SERVERS AND SENIOR CITIZEN CARE
[TECH: Beringen, January 19]
The Essec telecom company has presented two new products: an SMS server for companies
allowing communication between company terminals and mobile telephones of staff in the
field and their Novilog software which records the calls of senior citizens in nursing
homes and homes for the aged, etc. Essec achieved its top sales figure last year of EUR
12.4m, a rise of 25 per cent over 1999. It is looking forward to doubling its sales by
2005.
http://www.essec.be
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT ON-LINE
[TECH: Aachen, January 16]
TEMA, technology marketing in Aachen, announces the
introduction of Babylon's Knowledge-Management Solution which complements its
translation and calculation functions. The new system helps businesses to organize and use
their information more efficiently. Babylon currently has 8 million users, using its
click-on translation, definitions and calculations.
http://www.tema.de
http://www.babylon.com
BIO VALLEYS AND BIO INCUBATORS
[MED: Aachen, January 11]
The Meuse-Rhine biotechnology scene was presented to the
Japanese. Together with BioJapan the first EU-Japan Workshop on biotechnology start-ups
was held in September 2000. This was a joint venture of the European Commission and the
Japanese Ministry of Trade MITI. The Meuse-Rhine's 'in Europe initiative'
(www.ineurope.org) was presented as a European model for the industry. The Meuse-Rhine
Euroregion has begun close cooperation in the life sciences. Assistance is provided to
investors, companies and starters in networks and the infrastructure for young
biotechnology firms has been developed to allow the cluster to grow rapidly.
http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/quality-of-life/publications.html
http://www.ineurope.net
BIOPARTNERING IN ENGLAND
[MED: Aachen, January 11]
An international matchmaking event Southern Bioscience
offers biotechnology firms in Meuse-Rhine the opportunity of being matched up with
companies from Britain, Germany and other European countries. The British firms involved
are, in general, looking for technologies or licencing options. Costs can be taken over
for companies chosen. Preference will be given to companies genuinely seeking
collaboration in preference to service companies and research institutes.
http://www.ineurope.org
A NOTE FROM MR BUSQUIN
[TECH: Heerlen, January 11]
Mr Philippe Busquin, the European
Commissioner for Scientific Research, in his speech on the opening of the
International Institute of Infonomics in Heerlen, said, in the context of comments on the
lack of cooperation, communication and fragmentation of scientific research in Europe,
that the continent was losing its traditional position as a source of worldwide knowledge.
'Today, European companies take 36% of high-tech patents at the European Patents Office,
against 36% for American and 22% for Japanese companies. For American patents, however,
European companies only account for 9%, while American and Japanese companies reach 57%
and 22% respectively. The imbalance is even greater in the areas of software and patents
derived from gene information. The high-tech trade balance deficit amounts to EUR 28bn
annually.'
http://www.infonomics.nl
NEURO TV GETS EUR 642,044
[TECH: Liège, January 5]
Euro TV, the Liège branch of Neuroplanet which
specializes in attractive TV applications and cartoons, has received an advance grant of
EUR 642,044 from Serge Kubla, minister in the Walloon region. R&D total of EUR
1,917,206 is being staked on the short term development of a unique standard for
interactive TV decoders and digital TV. The standard called DVB-MHP (Multimedia Home
Platform) is based on JAVA language which allows the development of interactive
applications compatible with all decoders. The R&D target is interactive TV. First
results are expected at the end of 2001.
http://www.neuroplanet.com
SYNCHRONIZING THE HUNGARIAN WIRELINE
[TECH: Liège, January]
The Liège company GILLAM-FEI has just completed phase 1 in its turnkey
project for the synchronization of the Hungarian wireline network. GILLAM-FEI specializes
in remote control networks, synchronization and rural telephony. The objective of network
synchronization is to keep the source and receive clocks in phase, so that receiving node
can properly interpret the digital frame. When timing synchronization is off, quality
issues range from distorted and unreadable faxes,through corrupted or lost data to frozen
images in videoconferencing or even audible clicks in voice transmission and call cut offs
in mobile transmissions. Units have been connected in Hungary, including two Cesium
clocks. Phase 1 is operational. Phase 2 will be completed at the end of February.
http://www.gillam.be
arxes TO SUPPLY FRANS
MAAS
[TECH: Aachen, January]
Dutch logistics giant, Frans Maas, the largest logistics service supplier in Europe is to
use arxes AG Aachen's tracing system. arxes AG runs the system on its own computers which
comes from ZEBRAXX AG Europe Ludwigsburg, in which arxes has a 70% stake. Turnover for
2001/2002 is expected to reach EUR 2.1m and produce revenues of EUR 0.75m.
http://www.arxes.de
LEISURE
A TRENCHERMAN'S NOTES
[LEI: Eijsden, January 27]
In an attempt to avoid raging bulls and teeming toxic
salmon, our trencherman stuck to hare over the festive season. This led to a surfeit; hare
for three days in succession. They varied in flavor from gamey to less so. The gamiest was
provided by l'Instant Terroir in Visé, which also carries the Dubernet range of
charcuterie from Southwest France. Dubernet also has an outlet in Liège, where one can
buy the famous Poilane loaves. While on the subject of Visé - hometown of Governor Paul
Bolland - there is a handy little restaurant, which charges moderate prices, called Le
Robinson in rue des Récollets, whither one can repair for a quiet luncheon and where one is
unlikely to bump into everyone one knows. By the way, if you have trouble in booking a
table at Biro's (Ca' del Biro) in the Hoogbrugstraat in Maastricht for dinner, why
not try lunch, it is easier to get in. In Aachen, reliable Belgian cuisine is to be had at
the Battice, just round the corner from the cathedral. This is also a
woman-friendly restaurant. In Fourons, a Yuletide visit to our old friends at The
Golden Horse revealed an interestingly multilingual dining room, where German, Dutch,
French and indeed, English, were spoken at different tables in an atmosphere of harmony
and goodwill. A king-size Aachener Printen was also awarded to the table that guessed its
weight. No linguistic problems arose. High point of the season, was a visit to Robert
Lesenne's premier starred restaurant inLiège and then the caf é chantant, Les
Caves du Porto...
http://www.webcontentnow.com
MARCEL-LOUIS BAUGNIET RETROSPECTIVE
[LEI: Liège, January 27]
The Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, MAMAC, in Liège will
be holding an exhibition of the works of one of the leading exponents of abstract art and
constructivism in Belgium from March 16 through May 23. The painter and furniture designer
Marcel-Louis Baugniet, who died after a century of creative work in Liège in 1995, was
the joint founder of l'Association des Decorateurs et Ensembliers Modernes. He was
influenced in the twenties by the cubism and constructivism of the Bauhaus. He later took
part in the 'Plastique Pure' movement and worked together with the Dutch architect
Ewaud van Tonderen, with whom he set up an important Belgian Art Deco dealership.The
exhibition runs from Tuesday through Saturday from 13.00 hrs to 18.00 hrs and on Sundays
from 11.00 to 16.30 hrs.
http://www.mamac.org
EURO FÊTE
[LEI: Liège, January 25]
Liège's year-long party to celebrate the
millennium has been declared a major success. Key events were: the Picasso Exhibition,
which has drawn in 175,000 and they're still counting and Euro 2000, the European Football
Cup, which brought 90,000 to the city. Towering above them all was the great Choir, a vast
scaffolding structure, robed in translucent white, where once the Cathedral had stood.
This, the third church in Christendom, was torn down in the aftermath of the French
Revolution. The shimmering edifice must have given many a pause for thought at the
magnificence of what had been lost. Below the ground, archaeologists revealed the pediments of some of the columns from the
original nave, unseen for more than 200 years. In all, there were 130 events, around 4
million visitors and a budget of more than EUR 17m.
http://www.liege.be
1200th ANNIVERSARY
[LEI: Aachen, January 24]
On January 27, there is a concert at 11.00 a.m. in the
Coronation Hall of the Aachen city hall to celebrate the 1200th anniversary of the
coronation of Charlemagne by Pope Leo III. The program includes Mozart's Jupiter Symphony,
Bach's Suite Nr.1 in C Major and the Overture to Handel's Fireworks Music. There will also
be a lecture by Professor Mathias Becher on 'Charlemagne, the Empire and Europe - The
Problems of Empire in the Early Middle Ages'. Those present will be Mayor Juergen Linden,
Detlev Samland, NRW Minister for Federal and European Affairs, Professor Dagmar
Schipanski,Thueringen's Minister of Economics, Research and the Arts and chair of the
Aachen Cathedral Foundation and Cathedral Provost Dr Johannes Muellejans. The Aachen
Symphony Orchestra will be conducted by Elio Boncompagni.
http://www.presse.de
TOY TRAINS AGAIN
[LEI: Aachen, January 18]
The Ludwig Forum for International Art in Aachen is holding
an exhibition known as the Architek-Tour from January 28 through March 11, 2001. On a 100
m2 surface a model ICE train will speed through a landscape of everchanging architecture
on its 25 meter stretch. There will be fantastic imaginative utopian buildings, bridges,
stations, streets, houses, industrial developments and they will be visible from a camera
mounted in the engine of the train and projected on to a large screen, so that the
architects have the option of taking the traveller's view.
http://www.heimat.de/ludwigforum
CAROLUS THERMAL SPA OPENS
[LEI: Aachen, January]
The Carolus Thermen, the new Spa facility opened on January
22, after 16 years of planning and around EUR 10m investment in technology. The
total investment is around EUR 35m. The thermal baths cover 18,440 square meters and
have all manner of swimming, bathing, foot and other pools. It looks to become the new
temple of wellness.
http://www.aachener-zeitung.de/corem/corem/z=az/euregio/therme16190854_10116.htm
NOT SPOILING THE BROTH
[LEI: Moenchen Gladbach, January 16]
The Dorint Hotel Group of luxury hotels which runs a
flagship operation at the Dorint Park Hotel Quellenhof in Aachen, is dispatching a team of
regional cuisine experts to give an extra stir to the pot. The expert to be dispatched to
Aachen is Sascha Baum (29) who is to assist in providing a new structure, quality
assurance and improvement in the food and beverage area, as they put it.
http://www.dorint.de/aachen
NEW WHAT'S ON
[LEI: Aachen, January 15]
Dreilaender-Freizeitkompass addressed to the
Euregianer (which sounds better than the Euroregionals) has just published its 10th issue.
The focus is on feeling good, modern wellness hotels, and thermal spas. There is also a
sketch of Governor Paul Bolland's first decade in office and many attractive features. The
what's on sections are valid through March 31, 2001.
Mail to:
M-A-D.aachen@t-online.de
BY THE LEFT, QUICK MARCH
[LEI: Maastricht, January 15]
Maastricht's Guard Regiment 'De Kachelpiepers' is
organizing a Euroregional Guard's Parade on February 11 for the 7th time. This is a first
in Maastricht and involves a spectacular march through the city, where 25 guard regiments
from Germany and Belgium, as well as Maastricht, will march around town. Generally
speaking, these regiments are related to carnival clubs and are seldom seen on parade
themselves. So here is your chance. The program starts at 11.00 a.m. on the Vrijthof.
http://www.vvvmaastricht.nl
FESTIVAL DE LIEGE
[LEI: Liège, January 13]
Liège
will hold a festival of theatre, dance, music and marionette shows through to Valentine's
Day on February 14. The exhibition ranges from music composed on the Rwandan genocide, a
puppet show with twins in the clutches of a wicked grandmother, a Polish piece dealing
with the Russian maffia, mime and a story of four unemployed brothers living in Zagreb.
Then there is the tale of a Serb who watches from his house in Belgrade as the bombs fall
and finally, 'Daddy, I've seen this piece six times before' by the South African Dance
Theatre. The selection does display a certain eccentricity of choice, reflecting, no
doubt, the theme of 'exclusion' chosen for the festival.
http://www.liege.be
1.7 MILLION HITS FOR EAST BELGIUM
[LEI: St.Vith, January 12]
The East Belgian internet site of the East Belgium tourist
bureau recorded more than 1.7 million hits in the year 2000. This site gives access to a
whole range of tourist facilities including hotels, restaurants, holiday homes and
resorts.
http://www.eastbelgium.com
MEUSE-RHINE WEB QUIZ
[LEI: Diepenbeek, January 12]
An on-line quiz, known, at some considerable length, as the
NIGHT OF THE MEUSE-RHINE
EUROREGIONAL WEB has been planned, with the
support of the universities of Maastricht, Liège, Diepenbeek and Aachen, to
acquaint young people with the cultural, economic and tourist features of the region. It
is to be held on the night of 22 to 23 February 2001. Practice questions are available on
the web site. There are prizes and participation is free.
http://newmer.luc.ac.be
THE TOBACCO MUSEUM
[LEI: Sint Niklaas, January]
Before all tobacco is consigned to a museum, it is perhaps
worth taking a look at the tobacco museums of the Flemish and Walloon regions. There are
seven of them. A tobacco route has been mapped out. You can look at pipes in Andenelle, a
collection of cigar wrappers in Geraardsbergen, an international collection of waterpipes
in Nimy and in Vresse-sur-Semois paintings and the favorite pipe of the writer Georges
Simenon. For this and other delights call the association of Belgian tobacco museums at
00.32-2-646.07.50
http://www.test.telegraaf.nl
http://www.hbvl.be
MEUSE-RHINE MEDIA
[LEI: Eijsden, January]
The excellent TV magazine program covering the Euroregion
which was rather difficult to find, but worth watching when found, has gone off the air.
The funding has run out and new resources depend on a renewed INTERREG III grant for which
applications are to be submitted in March. According to a highly-placed source at L1,
progams will be exchanged by regional TV companies on the fiber optic ring linking
Meuse-Rhine's principal cities.
http://www.L1.nl
HEERLEN'S AMERICAN NOVELIST
[LEI: Heerlen, January]
One time Heerlen resident, US novelist, Richard Powers, the
darling of the American intellectuals, merited a 6 page review of his most recent novel Ploughing
the Dark in v.XLVIII nr.1 of The New York Review of Books. He even gets a
David Levine cartoon.
His novel Galatea 2.2 dealt with his South Limburg
experience.
http://www.nybooks.com
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