Belgium: a federal State

Belgium gained independence in 1830. In recent years the country has evolved into an efficient federal structure. This was achieved via four State reforms (in 1970, 1980, 1988-89 and 1993). Therefore the first line of the Belgian Constitution today reads (for the first time): 'Belgium is a Federal State made up of Communities and Regions'.

The power to take decisions no longer resides exclusively with the Federal Government and Federal Parliament. Leadership of the country is now in the hands of various partners, who exercise their powers independently in their own areas.

The reorganisation of powers ran along two broad lines. The first concerns language and, in a wider framework, everything to do with culture. This gave rise to the Communities. The concept of 'Community' refers to the people who make up such a Community and to the ties that unite these people, namely their language and culture. Belgium lies on the fault line between Germanic and Latin cultures. This explains why the country has three official languages: Dutch, French and German. Today, therefore, Belgium has three Communities: the Flemish, French and German-speaking Communities. These Communities thus correspond to the population groups.

The second line of State reform was inspired historically by economic interests. The Regions, which strove for greater economic autonomy, expressed these interests. The result was the establishment of three Regions: the Flemish Region, the Brussels Capital Region and the Walloon Region. To a certain extent the Belgian Regions are comparable to the American States and the German "Länder".

The country is further divided into 10 provinces and 589 municipalities.

Nevertheless, the Federal State still retains considerable power, among other things in the field of foreign affairs, national defence, justice, finance, social security, public health and internal affairs. The Communities and the Regions do, however, have the right to enter into foreign relations for matters over which they have power.

Reconciling regional and cultural identities with a Federal structure is easier said than done. However, this does offer the advantage of bringing the decision-making process closer to the people. The result is a more clearly defined political structure with greater emphasis on quality of life.

Text last edited on: 08/2006

Source: European Union
© European Communities, 1995-2007
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