Schreurs-Roofer agreement

The agreement Schreurs-Roofer (of the name of Fernand Schreurs, lawyer and Walloon secretary of the Ore baskets national and Walter Roofer, professor at the University of Ghent), is one of the great demonstrations of dialog between Flemish and Walloon separatists since the national question in Belgium arises. This agreement had an immense repercussion in the press when it was signed on December 3rd 1952, even if it engaged obviously only militants (50 Flemish Wallons and 50 significant signed it) This agreement is not by no means without precedents. In spite of the sharp oppositions between Walloons and Flemings, the contact was unceasingly required in order to arrive, generally with this type of people engaged, with an agreement on the Belgian Fédéralisme, which will be then elaborate within the Room and of the Senate, sometimes by personalities which took part in these contacts.

Contacts since the First World War

One of the first attempts at contact took place at the end of the First World War between the leaders of the Walloon Opinion and Ons Vanderland, a Walloon newspaper and a Flemish newspaper appearing in France under the censure of the Belgian Armée. The essence of the agreement consists in founding a self-government of the two people, the Walloons and the Flemings, after the war. The short bracket very unitarist according to the war will make the agreement obsolete. In 1920 Auguste Buisseret filed in a project of meeting with the Flemings on the desk of the Walloon Assemblée, but without success. In 1923, Raymond Colleye which had created the Parti federalistic Walloon constitutes with Flemish militants a Safety and Health Committee of meeting. They are always federalistic projects. But the attempt does not succeed. Some time later the Congress of the Ligue of Walloon action adopts in July 1926 the principle of contacts to tie with the Flemings, but the tensions revive, in particular with the election of Auguste Borms.

In March 1929, in a more significant way, within at least semi-official framework of POB is signed a Compromis Belgians with, in particular Camille Huysmans and Jules Destrée, on the principle of the cultural integrity of Wallonia and the Flanders, from the point of view however more decentralizing than federalistic. In 1930, Georges Truffaut comes into contact with the group Internacia of Antwerp: the federalistic meeting of spirit aims at challenging any imperialism on both sides. The president of the Walloon Association of the personnel of the State is the same in 1930 also in liaison with Flemish civils servant. The Abbé Jacques Mahieu maintains very discrete contacts with representative of VNV between 1936 and 1940. The Walloon National congress of 1945 proposes also contacts with Flemish. Those will be carried out in 1951 at the same time within the Center Harmel and outwards. Center Harmel being able to be also considered among contacts exploratory between Flemings and Walloons, but organization (even if he is scorned by the press and the Parliament), has an official origin.

The Schreurs-Roofer agreement

As from March 1952, periodic meetings allow Maurice Bologna, Jean Pirotte, Jean Van Crombrugge of going front with Flemish militants like A.J.Aernouts, J.Braeckman, Walter Couvreur (professor with the Université of Ghent). They blame Belgian unitarianism, the excessive centralization of the country and preach in seems the federalism. December 3rd, 1952, they present a Manifeste to the press where a series of principles are stated:

  • there is in Belgium two people distinct

  • it is necessary to fix the border which delimits them
  • the two Parliaments of both federate States to be created are in theory qualified in all the fields, except a series of limited competences reserved for the Federal state and consigned in the Belgian Constitution
  • the capital Brussels has a special statute.

The publication had an enormous repercussion. More than 1250 press articles were devoted to him both in Flanders and in Wallonia and in Brussels. In Wallonia the political circles of left approve the agreement, just as free Wallonia, the personalities like Jean Rey, the Circle of the Walloon students of ULB etc the PSC abstains from but the Mouvement of the Walloon provinces (Walloon movement rather opposed to the federalism), rejects the agreement. In Flanders, the reception is mitigated more, except on behalf of the Flemish war veterans . The traditional parties necessarily do not react in a negative way and a Commission of the regional businesses creates for itself within the Liberal party (Belgium), just as within PSB.

Then on the basis of project of federalism worked out by the Walloon National congress of 1945, then the proposal of Joseph Merlot with the Room, the two groups of the Schreurs-Roofer agreement undertake to write a Constitution. This one organizes two Regional states and a special Territoire of Brussels . September 18th 1953, a project of revision of the Constitution is deposited.

Continuation of the contacts

October 17th 1954, a Collège wallo-Flemish is made up, composed paritairement of ten Flemings and ten Walloons. Many meetings take place and even, in August 1956, the group is received by the Minister of Interior Department Vermeylen. The contacts take again in 1960 pennies the crook of Maurice Bologna and Claude Daenen prefect of Athéne of Tirlemont. May 16th 1961, new a Manifeste is published. The context is more favorable because the General strike of the winter 1960-1961 strongly popularized the idea of the federalism. Conferences are organized so much with Liege than with Charleroi in order to determine convergences and divergences between Walloon and Flemish federalists. October 15th, a meeting of the Walloon and Flemish federalists takes place with the Palais of the Congresses of Liege. One will see there intervening in particular Maurice Bologna, Claude Daenen and even some Wilfried Martens, just as a deputy of the Volksunie, Daniel Deconnink. In May 1967, the Flemish catholic newspaper De Standaard in the spirit of the dialog between Walloons and Flemings, calls on François Perin (which will found the Walloon Rassemblement and is already appointed), André Magnée, Albert Parisis (all the two elected officials of PSC, André Genot of FGTB. Lastly, on September 23rd 2007 the Walloon Popular assembly sign and publishes a Joint Declaration with the Vlaams-Socialistische Beweging under the title " Belgium, obstacle for a co-operation flamando/wallonne".

One could say that these many contacts, sometimes more confidential, sometimes intensely followed by the press, opened the way with political discussions with the more high level which continue still today and led to deeply reform Belgium in the direction of the federalism. A foreign observer like Christophe Traisnel in a recent thesis of doctorate presented as well to Montreal as Paris, noted as the practice was maintained until today, in the Flemish mediums and the most radical Walloons (except with the Vlaams Belang), to invite at the time of work, conferences, emissions, congress, meeting, a speaker of the other community, whether one is in Flanders or Wallonia. This tradition continued in particular within the framework of the Institut Jules Destrée or, Flemish side with the Minister of state recently deceased Hugo Schiltz, in particular in its review Vlaanderen Morgen .

Bibliography, Sources

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