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Looking to buy real estate? Belgium is now for sale

Belgium for sale on eBay
19.09.2007 - 09:25 CET | By Elitsa Vucheva

Belgium, "a kingdom in three parts", was put on sale on the Belgian version of Internet auction site eBay last weekend, before eBay took the offer off on Monday (17 September).

The ad said it was possible to buy the country "as a whole", but added that it was "not recommended".

It suggested buying its three parts – Flanders, Brussels and Wallonia – separately, while being careful "with [the] 300 billion of National Debt" which still have to be split among the three regions, Le Figaro writes.

The initial price was put at one euro but it got 26 subsequent bids, the last of which was offering as much as €10 million for the kingdom.

eBay removed the offer because it could not sell anything virtual or "unrealistic", its spokesman Peter Burin was quoted as saying by Belga news agency.

The seller was identified as former Belgian journalist Gerrit Six, who wanted to attract attention to the political turmoil in his country, where the parties of Dutch-speaking Flanders and French-speaking Wallonia have been unable to agree on the formation of a coalition government since general elections took place on 10 June.

The main Flemish parties would like to see a profound reform of the balance of powers in Belgium, giving more power to the regions, and notably allowing Flanders – the richer northern region of the country accounting for 60 percent of its population - to control its own economy.

Wallonia, the southern and poorer French-speaking part, is more attached to a federal form of government and is resisting a devolution of powers to the regions.

Under the Belgian Constitution, the government should be half Flemish and half French-speaking. However, the political parties of the two communities have proven unable to form a coalition for more than 100 days now and fears have started to rise that the country may eventually split.

According to eBay's spokesman, this was not the first time Belgium was announced for sale, "but the last time it wasn't a Belgian who made the announcement and it wasn't as well done or as amusing", Mr Burin has said.

Some 10.5 million people live in Belgium, 6 million in Flanders, 3 million in French-speaking Wallonia and 1 million in the Brussels region – an enclave within Flanders.