Flemish Parliament Vlaams Parlement |
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Type | |
Type | Unicameral |
Leadership | |
Speaker | Jan Peumans, N-VA since July 13, 2009 |
First Deputy Speaker |
Carl Decaluwe, CD&V since July 13, 2009 |
Second Deputy Speaker |
Marijke Dillen, VB since July 13, 2009 |
Third Deputy Speaker |
Dirk Van Mechelen, Open VLD since July 13, 2009 |
Fourth Deputy Speaker |
Mia de Vits, SP.a since July 13, 2009 |
Fifth Deputy Speaker |
Jos De Meyer, CD&V since July 13, 2009 |
Members | 124 118 from the Flemish Region 6 from the Brussels Region |
Elections | |
Last election | June 7, 2009 |
Meeting place | |
Koepelzaal, Flemish Parliament building, Brussels | |
Website | |
http://www.vlaamsparlement.be/ |
Belgium |
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The Flemish Parliament (Dutch: , 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 community of Belgium (unlike the French-speaking community and Wallonia, which each have separate legislatures - the PCF and the Walloon Parliament).
The Flemish Parliament approves decrees, which are Flemish laws, applicable to all persons in the Flemish Region, and to Flemish institutions in Brussels, 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.
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From 1830 until 1970 Belgium was a unitary state with a single two chamber parliament and a single government. The laws issued by Parliament applied to all Belgians, and government ministers exercised their authority across the length and breadth of the country. Between 1970 and 2001 the Belgian Parliament approved five successive constitutional reforms. Slowly they changed Belgium from a unitary into a federal state. Part of this was to give the communities and later the regions their own parliamentary assemblee.
On December 7, 1971, the Cultural Council for the Dutch-speaking Cultural Community held its first meeting, later followed a parliament for the Flemish Region. Flanders decided as early as 1980 to merge the Flemish Community with the Flemish Region. As a result, Flanders now has a single parliament and a single government with competence over community as well as over regional matters. This Parliament was called the Vlaamse Raad until it was officially renamed Vlaams Parlement (Flemish Parliament) on June 13, 1995. Over the last thirty years, Flanders has thus developed into a separate state within the federalised Belgium.
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. Since 1995 members of the Flemish Parliament are directly elected.
Currently, many voices in the Flemish Movement would like the Flemish Parliament to acquire certain sovereign powers in addition to those concerning language, culture and education. Furthermore, among the broader Flemish population a consensus has emerged that the Flemish Parliament should also acquire much larger financial and fiscal autonomy.
For all areas within its sphere of competence (both vis-à-vis community or regional competences), the Flemish state can conclude international treaties with other states, whether they are national states or member states of a federation. This competence includes development cooperation and foreign trade.
118 members are directly elected in the Flemish Region. They have voting rights for both regional and community competencies. 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.
This table shows the distribution of seats following the 2009 regional election:
Affiliation | Constituency | Total | ||||||
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Ant. | E-Fl. | Fl-Br. | Lim. | W-Fl. | Bru. | |||
Christian Democratic and Flemish | 8 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 31 | |
Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats | 4 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 21 | |
Flemish Interest | 7 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 21* | |
Socialist Party Different | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 19 | |
New Flemish Alliance | 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 16* | |
List Dedecker | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 8 | |
Green! | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | |
Union of Francophones | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | 1 | |
Total | 33 | 27 | 20 | 16 | 22 | 6 | 124 |
2009-2014 | |
2004-2009 | |
1999-2004 | |
1995-1999 |
At the beginning of each parliamentary year, on the fourth Monday in September, the Flemish Parliament elects its 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 Minister-President, takes the oath before the King.
The current Speaker of the Flemish Parliament is Jan Peumans of the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA).
The Speaker of the Flemish Parliament is assisted by the Bureau, which consists of the Speaker, four Deputy Speakers and three Secretaries. The Bureau is responsible for the day-to-day activities of the Flemish Parliament and meets at least once every two weeks. The Extended Bureau, which consists of the Bureau and the floor leaders of the recognised political fractions in the Flemish Parliament coordinates the political activities of the Flemish Parliament and sets the agenda for the plenary session. It usually meets every week on Monday.
Much of the work of the Flemish Parliament is done in committee. The Flemish Parliament currently has eleven standing committees. Each committee is specialised in a particular subject area and consists of 15 Members of the Flemish Parliament. The primary task of the committees is to examine the texts of decree proposals and organise hearings and discussions on decree proposals. There are also two ad hoc committees: the Digital Flanders Committee and the Flemish Constitution Committee.
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