Mia Van Lil: “Spain and Belgium share the same values”
The Valencian Community and Spain, more generally, maintain very good relations with Belgium at the diplomatic, economic and tourist levels. In Alicante is the Belgian consulate which covers a large part of Spain. We met Mia Van Lil, the Belgian consul in Alicante, to better understand her role vis-à-vis the Belgians.
do you see us reminding you of your background? How did you become consul of Belgium in Spain?
My very first contact with a Belgian diplomatic representation was in the 1980s in Africa. The consul had helped us in preparing for a trip to Somalia and that had awakened in me a particular interest in diplomacy.
What offered me from the beginning was the desire to explore other places but also the diversity of jobs because each position is different. The human aspect, the fact of being able to help people in difficulty attracts me to consular work. After living in Kenya for a few years, I signed up for the outdoor competition.
I was sent to different posts, mostly in European capitals, and I also stayed for a few years in Brussels before being sent to Alicante.
Which regions of Spain do you cover as part of your job?
The jurisdiction of the Belgian consulate in Alicante covers the provinces of Castellón de la Plana, Valencia, Alicante, Murcia, Almería, Granada and Málaga.
My mission is to lead the consulate and create its activities, to ensure its proper functioning, to defend the interests of Belgians and to represent Belgium at the level of the consulate.
Do you expect to explain to us what your mission consists of? What are your main areas of work?
Alicante is a thoroughbred consular post. Its raison d’être is explained by the presence of a large Belgian community with more than 16,000 registrations at the consulate, moreover 55% of the Belgian population in Spain resides in our jurisdiction.
The consular tasks are similar to those of the municipality in Belgium or the town hall in France, but are oriented towards Belgians residing abroad.
The consulate also helps Belgians in distress and/or stranded in Spain. These are often minor incidents such as theft of documents, for example, or victims of pickpockets. We are still regularly confronted with more serious situations. And the most difficult cases can often be solved thanks to the good contacts with our Spanish network.
My mission is to lead the consulate and create its activities, to ensure its proper functioning, to defend the interests of Belgians and to represent Belgium at the level of the consulate.
What impetus do you want to give to your action in 2022 and for the years to come?
I would continue to intensify contacts with Belgian and local organisations. I arrived in autumn 2019 in Alicante, a few months before the pandemic. It was a difficult time to bond. Now that it’s possible again, I want to reconnect with local and Belgian organizations in the region and create more moments of exchange between them.
You represent all the regions of Belgium in Spain. How are the Flemish, German-speaking and French-speaking communities distributed in the country?
Our embassy in Madrid is the diplomatic representation of Belgium in the Spanish capital in the context of international relations; there is a general consulate in Madrid and three consulates in Spain, namely those in Alicante, Barcelona and Tenerife. These are federal structures.
There are also regional representatives present in Spain. For example, FIT Flanders Investment&Trade is a representation in Madrid and Barcelona, the latter is responsible for Valencia. We should also mention the Tourist Office of Flanders and Brussels, Visit Flanders, in Barcelona. There is also the AWEX (Walloon Agency for Export and Foreign Investment), which is a representation in Madrid and Barcelona, competent for the Valencian Community.
The French-speaking community is also represented in Madrid thanks to WBI (Wallonie-Bruxelles international), which works on French-speaking culture. And finally, in Spain, we find Visit Brussels, the Brussels Tourist Office, which is located in Barcelona.
Let’s not forget the many associations or clubs created by Dutch-speaking and French-speaking expatriates in the region, such as Belga Amistads of Levante, The French-speaking friendships of the Marina Alta, the VIW (Vlamingen in het Wereld) and so many others!
On the other hand, I don’t know of any Belgian associations that promote German-speaking culture here, in Spain.
Spain and Belgium share the same values, particularly with regard to human rights, the LGTB+ community, their effective policy on gender, climate change, the fight against terrorism, etc.
What are the main characteristics of relations between Belgium and Spain in general, and more particularly with the Valencian Community?
Belgium maintains close ties with Spain. Last year, the anniversary of 100 years of diplomatic relations was awarded (in 1921, the Spanish and Belgian diplomatic delegations were awarded the rank of embassies). Economically and commercially, Belgians and Spaniards mutually support each other, which is reflected in their trade.
Spain and Belgium share the same values concerning in particular human rights, the LGTB+ community, their effective policy on gender, climate change, the fight against terrorism, etc. The two countries are allies within EU and international organisations. Spain is also one of the most popular destinations for Belgians.
The embassy has its national and international interlocutors in the capital and each consulate has its relations at its own level. We are in contact with our contacts in the Valencian Community, and with the local authorities.
It makes me happy to see such a beautiful union between La Base Culture and the Center del Carme, in the beautiful city of Valencia!
Culture is an essential part of your mission. In this context, you are at the event organized by the Base Culture at the Center del Carme Cultura Contemporània (CCCC) in Valence on March 20, on the occasion of the International Francophonie Day. Why was this important to you?
Indeed, culture is very important to me. Culture and art have their own language, their own means of communication, a way of transmitting feelings, ideas, messages beyond diversity and our usual language.
March 20 was Francophonie Day, which is celebrated around the world. The embassies and consulates of Belgium participate in most cases, in one way or another, in these celebrations.
I arrived in Spain at the end of 2019, so I was able to participate this year for the first time in the Francophonie festival in Spain, since the lifting of the restrictions of the pandemic. It makes me happy to see such a beautiful union between La Base Culture and the Center del Carme, in the beautiful city of Valencia!