Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde
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Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde (often abbreviated as "BHV") is a contentious Belgian electoral district in the center of the country that encompasses both the officially bilingual Brussels-Capital Region as well as an officially unilingual Dutch-speaking area, Halle-Vilvoorde, around it. Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde is also a judicial arrondissement, known as the Judicial Arrondissement of Brussels.
The official status of this region stems from the 1961-1965 Lefevre-Spaak government, during which Brussels was officially limited to 19 municipalities. This was due to Flemish fear/anger that the predominantly French-speaking city would continue growing, uninterrupted into the surrounding Flemish countryside, and without the slightest form of respect for the Flemish nature of those places.
A deal was struck. Bilingual Brussels would be limited to 19 municipalities, encompassed by the regions of Halle and Vilvoorde, themselves divided into municipalities. However, six of these in the encompassing Halle-Vilvoorde region had a French-speaking minority (of between 30 and 50% of the local population, as determined by the latest linguistic census). The French-speaking parties tried to add these areas to Brussels, which was fiercely resisted by the unanimous Flemish parties who wanted to protect the Flemings, the native population in those cities. These became officially Dutch-speaking areas, which were required by law to provide facilities for francophone residents and are known as linguistic facilities (Dutch: faciliteitengemeenten, French: communes à facilités).
This arrangement thus followed the same lines as for other municipalities on the border between Wallonia and Flanders, and where local linguistic minorities (as soon as above 30%) could enjoy linguistic facilities.
Though officially agreed and effected, this compromise led to bitter resentment by both communities and did much to fuel the rise of extreme parties on both sides.
Around 2000, a consensus was gradually formed among Flemish parties to request the splitting of the electoral district. The situation was also condemned in 2002 as unconstitutional by the Arbitration Court (Dutch: Arbitragehof, French: Cour d'Arbitrage). It judged that, among others, this was in contradiction with the explicitly provincial definition of the electoral districts for national and European elections. However, it left open the precise nature of any solution and this did not explicitly demand the splitting of the electoral district, nor did it allow its maintenance.
The purported reasons for Flemish dissatisfaction are the following: In European and national elections voters in this district can choose candidates from both communities (French and Flemish), although the Halle-Vilvoorde area solely belongs to the constitutionally-established Flemish community. Because of the amalgamated BHV electoral district, that possibility is extended to the French-speakers living in the Flemish district of Halle-Vilvoorde. This means that people living in Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde can vote for parties and candidates from another Region and Community than the one they live in. The current BHV electoral district was therefore ruled to breach both the constitutionally established provincial borders as well as the borders between the linguistic areas, and between the communities. The problem is not so much that French-speaking inhabitants of Halle-Vilvoorde can vote for French-speaking candidates who live in Halle-Vilvoorde themselves, but that they can vote for candidates and parties who belong to another constitutionally-established Community and Region.
The French-speaking parties, who are embedded in the French Community and the Brussels and Walloon Regions, are radically opposed to dividing the BHV electoral district, while the Flemish parties are equally adamant in favour of a split. The bottom-line is whether a French-speaker in the Flemish Region belongs to a linguistic minority in the territorially defined Flemish Community, or is an extra-territorial member of the French Community.
Flemish demands for the area to be split are met with equally stringent demands by the French-speakers for the six special-facility communes to be officially added to Brussels proper (this Francophone demand would, incidentally, create a previously non-existent "corridor" running between the French-speaking region of Wallonia and majority French-speaking Brussels). Given the sheer conviction held by each of these sides, neither situation is likely to transpire.
As of 2005, cabinet ministers and parties have been locked in debate over the future of this electoral district, and long overdue decisions have not yet been forthcoming.
Compromise solutions have been proposed:
- The BHV electoral district could be joined to the neighbouring Flemish electoral district of Leuven, allowing greater numbers of Dutch speakers a vote in a combined Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde-Leuven district. There are, however, concerns that this would be unconstitional under Article 63 of the Belgian constitution, which limits the number of candidates standing in a single electoral district. Some advocate changing this section of the constitution. However, modification of the constitution requires, by Belgian law, that the prevailing government be dissolved, re-elected through nationwide elections held within forty days and made to vote again on the issue. Since a significant change of attitude is unlikely from any new government, most citizens and political parties (with the exception of the extreme-right Vlaams Belang) are unwilling to risk the fall of the government over something of this nature.
- In return for leaving BHV in its current state, certain powers currently under Federal jurisdiction, such as Transport and Energy could be conferred to the federal region of Flanders, thus further devolving power in an already heavily-federalised Belgium.
A deadline of May 11, 2005, by which time a decision was to be reached, has expired with a compromise eluding the negotiators. In particular, one Flemish party, namely the Flemish party Spirit, has been the only explicit opposition to a compromise worked out by Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt. It is believed that this compromise would have entitled the French Community with the right to exercise certain, limited powers over inhabitants of the Flemish Community, in return for the splitting of BHV.
After visiting King Albert II to report the failure of the seven negotiation meetings to reach a successful conclusion, the Prime Minister requested a vote of confidence from the parliament. The Parliament supported the government on Friday 13th May 2005 and the issue was put on hold until the next general election in 2007.
