Geert Ostyn, vice president of weaving machines at Belgian company Picanol, talks at the factory's plant...
Geert Ostyn, vice president of weaving machines at Belgian company Picanol, talks to Reuters at the factory's plant in Ypres, January 18, 2013. Picanol, a leading exporter of the weaving machines, is reliant on countries outside Europe for its growth as Belgium and the euro zone struggle to emerge from crisis with the twin burdens of public debt and heavy regulation. Trying to emerge from three years of crisis, the European Union has mandated deep reforms to help revive the continent's weakened economy, but Belgium, home to the EU's headquarters, has enacted very few of those changes. Italy, Spain and Portugal have been forced to confront bloated public finances and fading business dynamism. But entrepreneurs in wealthier northern nations like Belgium say their governments feel no such urgency to cut regulatory red tape, confront powerful trade unions and modernise. Picture taken January 18, 2013. To match Feature EUROZONE-BELGIUM/ REUTERS/Yves Herman (BELGIUM - Tags: BUSINESS TEXTILE)