Would Flemish/Dutch speaking people feel okay with being in a "German union" (on an EU-like level)?

[Creoda]

Any clue why is he not active anymore? After 70,000+ posts...

Think he just got sick of the trolls and idiots, I know the feeling. Same for many prolific NW Euro posters in the past.

[RogueState]

From my observations, Flemish people in Belgium can blend with Germans, but Dutch people are culturally much more liberal, individualistic, and closer to Brits than to the German ethos

[rothaer]

From my observations, Flemish people in Belgium can blend with Germans, but Dutch people are culturally much more liberal, individualistic, and closer to Brits than to the German ethos

You have a point there and I personally feel torn forth and back in how to assess these aspects of Dutch. From a German point of view the Dutch characteristics are said to be purely mercantilistic and somewhat „soulless“ which is to be understood as lacking any strive that exceeds the aforementioned.

[Dandelion]

Most of us call our language Dutch and not Flemish.

[catgeorge]

Dutch should be encouraged to be their own thing and celebrated

[sioned]

The Dutch are Dutch and Germans are Germans, no need to put it all together.

[Tiberius]

They are germanic by blood, doesn't matter what language they speak. Smart people would accept it, brainwashed communists would not.

[PlattitüdenPaule]

I`d sure welcome the Dutch with open arms to be part of our country. However I`d not appreciate them losing their language over this.

[Dandelion]

Just like the Austrian speakers would. We also speak Dutch, man.

One former boss of mine once told me "I think the German culture is closer to ours than the Belgian one."

Yes, the Protestant Germans. The Rhinelanders are closer to us Flemish. My uncle is married to a woman from Monschau and she likes Flemish more than Dutch. How come? She's of Catholic background. She finds it very annoying the Dutch remained angry at the Germans as a collective over WW2 whereas Flemish people were able to see good German individuals who were just as victims during the occupation. It took the Dutch until 2010-ish to finally unlearn their Germanophobia lol. The Flemish already were over it since the beginning.

I still think Flanders and the Netherlands should potentially be one country should Belgium fail. I am no hardliner here, though and my fascination for the Netherlands is what makes me work and move there rather.

Either way, I think German and Dutch are different enough not to bring them together. Our languages aren't mutually intelligible. I do think that Germans have a lot in common with us in mentality regardless and we should pay more attention to this. The time people can be shamed by bringing up WW2 is long gone now.

[Dandelion]

Germans have a similar mentality to Dutch and Flemish, I find. Very similar. Almost the same people.