TRUCK & BUSINESS 268

On 14 January of this year, the three Belgian professional organisations in road transport organised their joint New Year's reception. Federal Minister of Mobility François Bellot was on duty and the debate between the minister and the federations took place in a friendly atmosphere. It must be said that Bellot, as a defender of the Belgian transporters, did more than his best in the face of a Commission that excels in indecisiveness. Given the far-reaching regionalisation of road transport, the minister no longer has much say. It did not stop him (see previous pages) from launching a 'little balloon', which we hope will be given a chance after the elections: he wants to smooth out the negative consequences of the sixth state reform by creating new forms of cooperation between the regions. Febetra, UPTR and TLV therefore looked their members straight in the eye on 14 January and had chosen 'with one and the same voice' as their slogan. Almost exactly one month later, a case from the past seems to throw a spanner in the works. It concerns a 'war chest' of the former NBFBV that has given rise to a (final) cassation appeal by UPTR and TLV, while Febetra, which withdrew from the NBFBV at the end of the eighties, had joined the legal steps of TLV and UPTR in the first instance.

Finding and training 3,000 drivers, as in the Netherlands, seems to us a useful way to spend a war treasure of one million euros…

Regardless of the final verdict in cassation, it is clear that the three professional organisations have not made a good impression. Neither about the way in which they split off from the former NBFBV at the time (this case has already expired, Your Honour), nor about the way in which they are dividing up the inheritance. An inheritance that, depending on the source, would amount to more than one million euros. According to lawyers, the assets of a non-profit organisation in liquidation can only benefit an organisation with similar objectives, more specifically professional defence in the broad sense of the word. Perhaps the creation of a large and unified transport federation could offer some relief? Since 13 February, this has unfortunately become a somewhat greater illusion. While the Belgian professional organisations are fighting over this million, the transport sector in the Netherlands has managed to find, train and employ 3,000 drivers in one year. Would it not be better to focus on this? Claude Yvens, Editor-in-Chief.