Provinces of Flanders

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Flemings live mainly in the Flemish Region (covering 13,522 km² and containing over 300 municipalities) and in the Brussels-Capital Region. Flanders is divided into 5 provinces that form the Flemish Region (as defined in the Belgian constitution). In Brussels, the Flemings have their own community institutions (alongside French-speaking ones).

Five provinces of the Flemish region:

1. Antwerp (Dutch: Antwerpen)
2. Limburg (Limburg)
3. East Flanders (Oost-Vlaanderen)
4. Flemish Brabant (Vlaams-Brabant)
5. West Flanders (West-Vlaanderen)

When the former province of Brabant was split, the regional institutions of the Brussels capital region also acquired 99% of the provincial competencies in the area. One says that the Brussels region falls outside the provinces. The remaining provincial institutions are limited to a governor and a deputy-governor.

In Brussels, the Flemish government is also responsible for all community-legal matters (e.g. education and culture in Dutch). The Vlaamse Gemeenschapscommissie (in Dutch, also called 'VGC') is the Flemish council in the Brussels-Capital Region for these matters. The VGC therefore acts as an intermediary administration level, parallel to the administrations of the 5 provinces, but very different in nature.

See also:

• Flanders
• Flemish Community
• Flemish Region
• Brussels-Capital Region