Belgian crown prince told to keep quiet -- again
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-02-04 01:08

Belgium's crown prince Philippe has got into trouble again for straying into politics.

The heir to the Belgian throne, now occupied by his father King Albert II, signed a statement issued by Belgian and Greek employers calling on European Union states including Belgium to stick to the Lisbon Agenda, an EU plan for economic growth.

A representative of the Belgian employers group tried to play down the prince's signature on the document by calling it "purely ceremonial," but that did not wash with the prime minister.

"I'm counting on this never happening again in the future, for the benefit of the constitutional monarchy we know in this country", Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt said in an appearance before Parliament on Thursday.

Philippe was already in the doghouse with Verhofstadt for accusing the far-right Vlaams Blok party of wanting to destroy Belgium.

The royal family is supposed to keep away from politics to maintain national unity in a country divided between French and Dutch speakers.

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