Flemish Parliament

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The Flemish Parliament (Dutch: Vlaams Parlement, and formerly called Flemish Council or Vlaamse Raad) constitutes the legislative power in Flanders, for matters which fall within the competence of Flanders, both as a geographic region and a cultural and linguistic community of Belgium. It approves decrees, which are Flemish laws applicable exclusively to the Flemish population, it appoints and supervises the Flemish Government, and approves the Flemish budget. The Flemish Parliament meets in the Flemish Parliament building in central Brussels, its members and staff are housed in the House of the Flemish Representatives.

1 Competencies
- 1.1 Competencies for the entire Flemish Community
- 1.2 Competencies for the Flemish Region only
2 Members of the Flemish Parliament
3 Speaker of the Flemish Parliament
- 3.1 List of previous Speakers
4 History
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] Competencies

[edit] Competencies for the entire Flemish Community

Culture: The Flemish parliament is competent for all cultural matters. This includes protection of the cultural heritage (e.g. literature, fine arts), tourism and the media. A current debate is about the status of the official Flemish Radio & television, the VRT.
Language use: including language use in schools and universities, in the flemish and local administrations, and in relations between employers and employees in the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium, with the exception of the communes enjoying ‘language facilities’ (exception limited to the extent of the facilities itself).
All ‘matters relating to the person’: youth protection, family policy and childcare, together with policy regarding the handicapped, old age pensioners, equal opportunities and the integration of migrants.
Education: from kindergarten to university incl. scholarships, except for the establishment the period of com-pulsory education, minimum conditions for awarding degrees and pension schemes for teachers (remaining at the federal level)
Health care: including preventive health care, home care, institutions for mental health care, but excluding health insurance, financing of hospitals and most other competencies that remained federal.

[edit] Competencies for the Flemish Region only

Economy, employment and energy policy: includes government support for business, employment policy, agriculture and fisheries, the distribution of electricity and natural gas, the exploitation of new energy sources and the promotion of responsible use of energy
Town and country planning, housing, land development & nature conservation : including regional planning, building permits, housing policy, social housing, urban renewal, preservation of monuments and natural sites, land consolidation and nature conservation
Environment and water policy: including the reduction of air, land and water pollution, noise control, the purification of waste water, the production and distribution of drinking water and waste disposal policy
Scientific research: this field is the full responsibility of the regional authorities, except for aerospace and military research (that remained federal).

[edit] Members of the Flemish Parliament

See also: List of Members of the Flemish Parliament

118 members are directly elected in the Flemish Region. They have voting rights for both regional and community competencties. 6 members are directly elected in the Brussels Capital Region by those voters who voted for a Dutch-speaking party in the Brussels regional elections. They have no voting rights for the regional competencies.

	Ant.	Lim.	E-Fl.	Fl-Bra.	W-Fl.	Bru.	Total
Vlaams Belang	10	4	6	5	4	3	32
CD&V	7	4	6	4	7	1	29
SP.A-Spirit	6	4	5	4	5	1	25
VLD-Vivant	6	3	7	4	4	1	24
Groen!	2	0	2	1	1	0	6
N-VA	2	1	1	1	1	0	6
UF	0	0	0	1	0	0	1
Independent	0	0	0	0	1	0	1
Total	33	16	27	20	22	6	124

CD&V and N-VA form separate political groups in the Flemish Parliament. From the 35 seats that went to CD&V/N-VA in the last elections, six are taken by the N-VA and 29 by the CD&V. From the 25 from the SP.A-Spirit list, five went to Spirit and 20 to the socialists. Jean-Marie Dedecker became the only independent member after he was expelled from the VLD.

[edit] Speaker of the Flemish Parliament

At the beginning of each parliamentary year, on the fourth Monday in September, the Flemish Parliament elects a Speaker. The Speaker chairs the plenary sessions of the Flemish Parliament and acts as its official representative. He or she determines whether a certain initiative is admissible and thus can be put to parliament at all. The Flemish Ministers take the oath before the Speaker of the Flemish Parliament. Only the head of the Flemish government, the Flemish Prime Minister, takes the oath before the King.

The current Speaker is Marleen Vanderpoorten of the VLD.

[edit] List of previous Speakers

13.06.1995 - 12.07.2006: Norbert De Batselier
13.01.1994 - 13.06.1995: Eddy Baldewijns
18.10.1988 - 13.01.1994: Louis Vanvelthoven
02.02.1988 - 18.10.1988: Jean Pede
03.12.1985 - 13.12.1987: Frans Grootjans
22.12.1981 - 03.12.1985: Jean Pede
24.04.1979 - 22.12.1981: Henri Boel
14.06.1977 - 24.04.1979: Maurits Coppieters
09.05.1974 - 14.06.1977: Jan Bascour
07.12.1971 - 09.05.1974: Robert Vandekerckhove

[edit] History

After their creation, the Flemish regional and community institutions were united to form the unified Flemish legislative council, the Vlaamse Raad, now called Vlaams Parlement, after it was officially renamed on June 13, 1995. Members are called "Vlaams Volksvertegenwoordiger". In English, they will be referred to as "Members of the Flemish Parliament" (MFP's), like the MSP's in Scotland and the MEP's in the European Union. The title "Flemish Representative" is also used in English.

Currently, many voices in the Flemish Movement would like the Flemish Parliament to acquire certain sovereign powers as those over language, culture and education. In addition, a consensus is emerging that the Flemish Parliament should also acquire much larger financial and fiscal autonomy.