Meanwhile ...
... the Belgian King (Albert II) declined to accept the resignation of Prime Minister Yves Leterme on Thursday.
Leterme submitted his resignation Monday night because of his coalition government's inability to successfully divide federal powers between the Flemish- and French-speaking communities.
King Albert II also announced a commission, consisting of one German-speaking and two French-speaking senior politicians, tasked with facilitating talks on constitutional reform. The group will report on its progress at the end of July.
Leterme had set a deadline of July 15 for the four-month-old coalition to agree on constitutional reforms to grant increased autonomy to the two regions.
Leterme said that the current federation system of Dutch government was incapable of solving the problem, since the wealthier Flemish region wanted even greater autonomy and the Francophone region maintained that the Flemish move was meant to completely separate itself from the rest of the country.
IHT:
King Albert II of Belgium rejects prime minister's resignation
The Observer:
Brussels the key in battle for Belgium