ABSTRACT
This chapter describes that the time lag cannot be put down to mere differences in the nature and intensity of problems challenging both countries, but is due to institutional differences and system characteristics. The Belgian mode of ethno-linguistic conflict accommodation and minority protection offered appealing examples for other ethnically divided societies in Europe and beyond. From a Belgian perspective the sometimes lengthy Dutch decision- processes are easily observed. From a Belgian perspective, indeed several procedural aspects that comply with characteristics of a 'viscous' Dutch state are observed. Another 'classical' new issue is the protection of the environment. Also here, Dutch policies precede those of Belgium. In Belgium in the 1990s, economic recovery also received high priority from the federal government, as well as the necessity to curb the huge public-debt. The ethno-linguistic cleavage in Belgium, and its absence in the Netherlands, remains an important source of divergence for the Low Countries, focus on the Belgian federation as a whole.
