Chimay, at the heart of the Entre-Sambre-et-Meuse region, placed its trust in Bouge! (MR) in the October 2024 elections, with 56.8% of the vote. A lawyer specialising in European law, professor and special adviser to the MR President, Jolan Vereecke is now alderman for finance, town planning and economic development. At 35, he combines high-level legal expertise with strong ties to his native Chimay, where he aims to combine fiscal rigour, territorial ambition and support for local players.
You are a lawyer, you teach European law, you negotiated the government agreements and you represent Chimay on the ground. How do you switch from the national stage to the concrete management of a municipal budget?
All these experiences are highly complementary. For a liberal elected representative, the same battles apply at national and municipal level: sound management of public finances, a constant fight to lower the tax burden, more people in work, efficient administration, scrapping unnecessary rules, and greater security. On all these issues, a real paradigm shift is needed in the south of the country, requiring Copernican reforms at every level of power. That is the mandate we received on 9 June. We fought for ambitious government agreements at federal and regional/community level, and we must now implement them at full speed to live up to the mandate given by voters. We have no right to make mistakes. It's the same mentality I try to instil daily in municipal management, together with a whole team and a College, led by our mayor Tanguy Dardenne, who share the same ambition.
As alderman for finance, you hold key responsibilities, from town planning to public procurement. How do you plan to combine financial rigour, territorial appeal and support for SMEs or craftspeople in Chimay?
Financial rigour is also an image we want to project: that of a well-run municipality, which does more with less, doesn't spend money it doesn't have, and helps those who create jobs and activity to thrive. Supporting local economic players also means, above all, relieving them of unnecessary rules. Let them create! We do everything we can to make it easier for a self-employed person or a job-creating business to set up here. That's what will restore appeal to our area. At my first meeting with Chimay's shopkeepers as alderman, I told them one thing: “List all the pointless rules stopping you from working, and we'll do everything we can to scrap or ease them.” The role of politics is to make it easier for citizens bursting with energy to take initiative.
Besides its culinary heritage, Chimay is known for its heritage (castle, abbey, Grand'Place) and natural areas (Lake Virelles, forest). What projects do you want to pursue to preserve this setting while innovating?
The finding is this: in the past, we may have rested too much on our internationally known name. We're lucky to live in a Principality, in one of the most beautiful municipalities in Belgium. Our heritage is full of treasures. We need to make them better known and, above all, communicate about the renewed dynamism of our region. Rediscover that sense of pride, that desire to showcase our terroir, and turn our municipality into an engine of regional development. That's what we've wanted since we took the municipality back in hand 6 months ago. There's so much to do and see in Chimay. To that end, we're working hard on maintaining our forest heritage and working hand in hand with the princely family, the abbey and our wonderful ambassadors. For anyone with an ambitious project, Chimay is the destination!
During the campaign, you brought together the “Jolan of the towns” and the “Jolan of the countryside”: how do local agriculture and the urban economy reinforce each other in Chimay? Do you have an initiative to share?
I've always believed we enrich ourselves by multiplying experiences and building bridges between town and countryside. That's also part of my journey, having lived in the United States. Chimay's strength is a name, a location, an exceptional heritage and a history. It's an ambition at the scale of an entire area that needs to be carried forward. Towns and villages aren't built in opposition to one another, quite the opposite. That's what we call ecosystems. The more a nearby town thrives, the more the surrounding countryside benefits alongside it. Today, people also want a return to the land, to what I call rural common sense. That's an important value. It's also about the availability of good products, and we're lucky to have exceptional producers and craftspeople in the south of the Hainaut boot. Everything we can do to help them find outlets for these superb products at national or continental scale, we do. It's in this spirit that we will appoint “Ambassadeurs Chimay”, whose mission will be to make our riches known across the country!
When you think of 2030, what is your vision for Chimay? What indicators will tell you your mandate is bearing fruit?
A town with a balanced budget, well-maintained heritage, more people in work and a renewed, tangible dynamism to become attractive once again. Let's get to work!