In the run-up to the European elections, what issues are being debated in Belgium?
"On Sunday June 7, the Belgium people will not only vote in European elections, but also in regional elections. Inevitably, the latter is getting the most attention. This dual vote clearly influences the campaigns being waged by the various candidates for the European parliament. We find that little attention is given to substance, to the most pressing issues in Europe, to the different conceptions of Europe. There is a strong movement that plays on fear and uncertainty among people about the outcome of the financial crisis. What will happen with my savings? Will I be able to keep my job? Can I keep up with my mortgage? But in the answers that politicians give, we clearly see an increase in nationalist and protectionist sentiments.
"Some politicians emphasise their desire to 'safeguard national interests'. In my opinion, we should be looking for a solution at the European level, to find a common approach to the problems caused by the financial crisis and the recession. We should be debating about how to find a common European strategy instead of each country devising its own plans. We should focus on cross-border investments in sustainable economic projects. We should discuss the pros and cons of issuing European bonds. But issues like these are lacking from the campaign. If we continue this way, Europe risks becoming a footnote in history."
A key issue in European politics is market ideology, especially with the financial crisis. In Belgium, is there debate about whether the market ideology of Brussels needs to be amended?
"There is some discussion about market ideology, but this is certainly not a big topic. There is a widespread feeling that we have seen too much deregulation. But in my personal opinion, I think many people who voice this criticism wrongly equate liberalism with neo-liberalism. Adam Smith wrote that a market without regulations will not function correctly. What we need is more of this kind of liberalism, with a market that offers space for creativity, and with a social system that offers protection if things go wrong.
"Many people now understand that if you follow the neo-liberalist line and become a market fundamentalist, you will get the financial abuses that have come to light in the last months. Greed is an important factor in liberalist theory, and we should be able to control it by forcing people to accept the consequences if they insist on high risk-taking: you can win a lot, you can loose a lot."
Another key issue is euroscepticism. What is the general attitude in Belgium towards Europe? Is there a populist protest against Europe?
"There is quite a bit of euroscepticism in Belgium. It is fuelled by extreme right-wing parties who reject calls for a broader European perspective and argue instead that we should fall back on Flanders – not even on Belgium, but on the Dutch-speaking part of the country - and to the secure world we are familiar with. But in my opinion this is a false kind of security. If you really want to prepare for the future, you should try to find solutions at the European level.
"The arguments of the eurosceptics are flawed. They say Europe is issuing too many rules, that it has too many officials. But there are only 24,000 of them, the same number as in any big city and that for half a billion people. There is a lot to protest against when you look at Europe, but you need to shift your focus. Why are there no transnational parties? Why can't parliament chose who will be a European commissioner."
How would voters in Belgium like the EU to develop? Would they support a joint foreign policy? A stronger central bank?
"In spite of everything, I think you will find a majority in favour of those developments in Belgium. On a national level, we are used to working with different cultures, different languages. Europe is the same on a far broader scale. In addition to that - and that's a major difference with the Netherlands for example - we've had a couple of prime ministers who strongly believed in Europe. Politicians like the Christian democrat Wilfried Martens, who was prime minister during most of the eighties; Jean-Luc Dehaene, another Christian democrat who was prime minister in the nineties; and my brother Guy Verhofstadt, from the liberal party, who was prime minister from 1999-2008."
Any anecdotes from the campaign for the European elections in Belgium?
"My brother Guy just published a new book on the financial crisis and how Europe can save the world. Some critics say he is unrealistic, a dreamer. But I think the really unrealistic people are those who say you shouldn't act at all. They remind me of a socialist minister in the eighties who, confronted with our fast growing national debt, said: public debt swelled on its own, it will also shrink on its own. What we need, in my opinion, is a European perspective. The real dreamers are those arguing for a return to the national, or even the subnational [regional] level."
