News Summary R O Y A L B L O G. N L

Belgian King and Queen in Liechtenstein

The heads of state of the German speaking countries in Europe met in Liechtenstein for an informal gathering by invitation of Hereditary Prince Alois and his wife Hereditary Princess Sophie. Apart from the Liechtenstein royal couple there were other royals present as well.

Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg and the King and the Queen of the Belgians, Philip and Mathilde, travelled to the tiny Principality, sandwiched between the river Rhine, Switzerland and Austria. The presidents of Liechtenstein's neighbors and Germany's President Joachim Gauck also attended.

Prince Alois welcomed his royal and presidential guest to Vaduz Castle, high above the tiny capital of his country. Alois has been overseeing the daily administration of Liechtenstein since 2004, when his father Prince (Fürst) Hans Adam went into semi-retirement, although he remained head of state.

The meeting had the European migration and refugee crises as one of its main topics, along with digitization and the labor market. Tthere was also an excursion to the Liechtenstein Art Museum, and a meeting with Liechtenstein politicians. Next year's meeting will be hosted by King Philip in Belgium. 

© RB; Photos by © Roland Korner / Close Up AG / tous droits réservés; via GDL & BM

Rijksmuseum hosts royal guests - Masako skips

Queen Beatrix on the last full day of her 33 year reign hosted a dinner at Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum, attended by members of her family, foreign and national dignitaries, and royalty from all corners of the world. Rembrandt's Nightwatch watched over the gathering in the recently reopened museum's Gallery of Honour, which was splendidly decked out.

Although the guests dressed up in royal style, the atmosphere was informal and the Crown Princes and Crown Princess did not get out of the bus in a particular order. They mingled and chatted, as friends and colleagues would.

Japan's Crown Princess Masako did not come to the dinner. Some suggested Queen Beatrix might have encouraged her to spend the evening with her parents, who live in the Netherlands. The queen is family oriented and knows how important a family get together is, especially when separated for so long and so far.

Masako was not the only one who went missing. Sheikha Moza of Qatar was not present at the dinner either. But that did not much to shorten the guest list, with Frederik and Mary of Denmark, Felipe and Letizia of Spain, Victoria and Daniel of Sweden, Naruhito, Philip and Mathilde of Belgium and Haakon and Mette-Marit of Norway, and Albert of Monaco. Princess Charlène could not make it. She is attending to charity work in South Africa.

Morocco was represented by Princess Lalla Salma, wife of King Mohammed VI. On the red carpet she was followed by Prince Hassan and Princess Sarvath of Jordan, Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and further distant Prince Albert, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and his wife Stéphanie.

The eldest and longest serving heir to (a) throne present was the Prince of Wales, who was accompanied by his wife Camilla. The Thai Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn however has also already clocked 41 years since becoming heir. 

© RoyalblogNL, Hans Jacobs

Liechtenstein Prince withdraws his art

Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein has initiated a boycott of Germany. The ruler of the tiny principality has decided to withdraw all loans of art work to German museums and exhibtions. First victim of this decision is the Neue Pinakothek in Munich.

Their planned exhibit "Wiener Malerei des Biedermeier aus den Sammlungen des Fürsten von und zu Liechtenstein" was cancelled on Tuesday. Since all the works to have been showed as of 25 May 2008, were from the extensive private collection of the Liechtenstein princely family, there no longer is something to see.

The decision was taken in protest against the German political attacks on Liechtenstein, its Princely House, its principal and Princely bank, and its banking system. German intelligence paid a former employee of the princely bank in order to obtain stolen information about the bank clients, said to be German tax dodgers. In doing so the Germans broke Liechtenstein law.

© RB

Prince Alois defends Liechtenstein's rights

Prince Alois fiercely defended Liechtenstein's right to govern itself and to keep its secretive banking system in his fourth Speech from the Throne, delivered on Thursday in the new Landtag or parliament building in Vaduz.

The 39-old Heriditary Prince runds the daily affairs of the principality since 2004, while his father Prince Hans Adam II remains Head of State. 

Liechtenstein shook off the label of a money-laundering center after it hurriedly revised its banking laws seven years ago. Now the tiny Alpine principality is in trouble again, accused of being a haven for European tax evaders.

This famously discreet bastion of gentility returned to the media glare when German investigators alleged that hundreds of wealthy Germans have been stashing away their money in Liechtenstein trusts, hiding behind banking secrecy laws to keep from paying taxes in Germany.

It's a touchy subject for a country of 35,000 people on a land area only double the size of Manhattan, nestled in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland.

A medieval castle - home to the princely family von und zu Liechtenstein - towers over the glass-and-steel banks that line streets of the capital Vaduz. A contrast that underscores the speed with which Liechtenstein has developed since World War II, when it was still emerging from being a poor agricultural country.

Financial services have been a key factor in that transformation _ bringing an influx of wealth to the German-speaking principality whose per capita income of 112,000 Swiss francs (US$ 102,000; euro 69,600) now ranks it among Europe's wealthiest countries.

Angel Gurria, secretary-general of the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, said the basic issue is how to deal with countries whose banking secrecy helps them profit from tax dodging by residents of other countries.

"Excessive bank secrecy rules and a failure to exchange information on foreign tax evaders are relics of a different time and have no role to play in the relations between democratic societies", Gurria said in a statement.

In Liechtenstein, the financial sector has been developing since the 1920s through close links with Switzerland _ another country whose fabled secrecy in banking matters has attracted fortunes from around the world.

The OECD, a 30-member watchdog body, on Tuesday said Liechtenstein was among only three countries still on its black list of uncooperative tax havens _ along with two other European principalities: Andorra and Monaco.

Banks and other financial services go right to the core of Liechtenstein's economy, providing 14.3 percent of the work force and contributing 30 percent of the gross domestic product of 4.3 billion Swiss francs (US$ 3.9 billion, euro 2.7 billion). The royal family owns the country's largest bank (LGT), which handles investments from clients around the globe.

Liechtenstein's ruling Prince Hans Adam II  - who handed the day to day affairs of ruling the country to his son Heriditary Prince Alois - effectively has more powers than any other monarch in Europe, with sweeping rights that include dismissing governments and vetoing laws.

Alois jumped into the fray Tuesday to defend his realm _ saying Germany should get its own tax system under control. In a speech to parliament Thursday, Alois said Liechtenstein had more work to do on its finance laws and hinted that banking secrecy might have to be modified because of tax treaties so that perhaps it won't be so comprehensive as it is today.

Liechtenstein Justice Minister Klaus Tschuetscher said Wednesday that the practice of allowing foreigners to open trusts in Liechtenstein anonymously by registering them through a local attorney or trustee is in line with international law. He said the complaint that this encourages foreigners to use Liechtenstein trusts for tax evasion purposes was an absurd theory.

Financial analyst Andreas Venditti of the Zürcher Kantonalbank in Switzerland, said Liechtenstein's banks are suffering a blow to their reputation because of recent developments.

Claudia Meier, an analyst at Zurich-based private bank Vontobel, said: "We expect that the tax affair will have negative effects on the business of the Liechtenstein banks, with German clients withdrawing assets and new investments declining."

© RB; Sources: GPD, AP; Photos by © RB Marius Cirtiu, HJ