Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium

Map indicating the language areas and provinces of Belgium.
  Dutch-speaking
  French-speaking
  German-speaking
  Bilingual Du./Fr.
Community: Region:
Flemish Flemish (Flanders)
Capital (Brussels)
French
Walloon (Wallonia)
German-speaking
Provinces are marked by the thinner black lines.

Belgium is a federal state comprising three communities, three regions, and four language areas. For each of these subdivision types, the subdivisions together make up the entire country; in other words, the types overlap.

The language areas were established by the Second Gilson Act, which entered into force on August 2, 1963. The division into language areas was included in the Belgian Constitution in 1970.[1] Through constitutional reforms in the 1970s and 1980s, regionalisation of the unitary state led to a three-tiered federation: federal, regional, and community governments were created, a compromise designed to minimize linguistic, cultural, social, and economic tensions.[2]

Country subdivisions

The Flemish Region (Flanders) and the Walloon Region (Wallonia) each comprise five provinces. The third region, Brussels-Capital Region, is not a province, nor does it contain any. It is roughly akin to a federal district.

The three regions are further subdivided into 589 municipalities, which in general consist of several sub-municipalities (which were independent municipalities before a municipal restructuring in early 1977).

The communities, regions, language areas, municipalities, and provinces, are the five most important subnational entities of Belgium, as laid out in the Belgian constitution. Lesser subnational entities include the intra-municipal districts, the administrative, the electoral and the judicial arrondissements, police districts, as well as the new inter-municipal police zones (lower level than the police districts).

All these entities have geographical boundaries: the language areas, the communities, the regions, the provinces and the municipalities. The language areas have no offices or powers and exist de facto as geographical circumscriptions, serving only to delineate the empowered subdivisions. The institutional communities are thus equally geographically determined. Belgian Communities do not officially refer directly to groups of people but rather to specific political, linguistic and cultural competencies of the country. There is no subnationality in Belgium.

All Communities thus have a precise and legally established area where they can exercise their competencies: the Flemish Community has legal authority (for its Community competencies) only within the Dutch language area (which coincides with the Flemish Region) and bilingual Brussels-Capital language area (which coincides with the Region by that name); the French-speaking Community analogously has powers only within the French language area of the Walloon Region and in the Brussels-Capital Region, and the German Community in the German language area, which is a small part of the province of Liège in the Walloon region, and borders Germany.

The three regions are:

The three communities are:

The four language areas (as taalgebieden in Dutch and Sprachgebiete in German), occasionally referred to as linguistic regions (from French régions linguistiques), are:

The constitutional language areas determine the official languages in their municipalities, as well as the geographical limits of the institutions empowered for specific matters:


Public services rendered in the language of
individuals expressing themselves…		the Communitiesthe Regions (and their provinces)the
Federal
State
Flemish
[3]		 French German-
speaking		Flemish
[3]		WalloonBrussels-
Capital
…in Dutch…in French…in German
Dutch language areaGreen tickin 12 municipalities
(limited to 'facilities')		-Green tick--Green tick--Green tick
French language areain 4 municipalities
(limited to 'facilities')		Green tickin 2 municipalities
(limited to 'facilities')		-Green tick--Green tick-Green tick
Bilingual area Brussels-CapitalGreen tickGreen tick-Green tickGreen tick---Green tickGreen tick
German language area-in all 9 municipalities
(limited to 'facilities')		Green tick--Green tick-Green tick-Green tick
 By Law, inhabitants of 27[4] municipalities can ask limited services to be rendered in a neighbour language, forming 'facilities' for them.
'Facilities' exist only in specific municipalities near the borders of the Flemish with the Walloon and with the Brussels-Capital Regions,
and in Walloon Region also in 2 municipalities bordering its German language area as well as for French-speakers throughout the latter area.

Although this would allow for seven parliaments and governments, when the Communities and Regions were created in 1980, Flemish politicians decided to officially merge the Flemish Region into the Flemish Community, with one parliament, one government and one administration, exercising both regional and community competencies, although Flemish parliamentarians from the Brussels-Capital Region cannot vote on competencies of the Flemish Region; thus in the Dutch language area a single institutional body of parliament and government is empowered for all except federal and specific municipal matters.[2][3] While the Walloon Region and the French Community have separate parliaments and governments, the Parliament of the French Community draws its members from the French-speaking members of the Walloon Parliament and the Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region, and ministers of the Walloon Government often serve as ministers in the Government of the French Community as well.

Competences

The Federal State retains a considerable "common heritage". This includes justice, defence (Belgian Army), federal police, social security, public debt and other aspects of public finances, nuclear energy, and State-owned companies (such as the Belgian Railways which is in fact an exception on regionalized transport; the Post Office was federal as well, but is being privatised). The State is responsible for the obligations of Belgium and its federalized institutions towards the European Union and NATO. It controls substantial parts of public health, home affairs and foreign affairs.[5]

Communities exercise competences only within linguistically determined geographical boundaries, originally oriented towards the individuals of a Community's language: culture (including audiovisual media), education, the use of the relevant language. Extensions to personal matters less directly attributed to the language comprise health policy (curative and preventive medicine) and assistance to individuals (protection of youth, social welfare, aid to families, immigrant assistance services, etc.)[6]

Regions have authority in fields connected with their territory in the widest meaning of the term, thus relating to the economy, employment, agriculture, water policy, housing, public works, energy, transport, the environment, town and country planning, nature conservation, credit, and foreign trade. They supervise the provinces, municipalities and intercommunal utility companies.[7]

In several fields, the different levels each have their own say on specificities. On education for instance, the autonomy of the Communities does neither include decisions about the compulsory aspect nor setting minimum requirements for awarding qualifications, which remain federal matters.[5] Each level can be involved in scientific research and international relations associated with its powers.[6][7]

Communities

Communities Flemish Community French Community German-speaking Community
Dutch name  Vlaamse Gemeenschap   (Franse Gemeenschap)   (Duitstalige Gemeenschap) 
French name (Communauté flamande) Communauté française (Communauté germanophone)
German name (Flämische Gemeinschaft) (Französische Gemeinschaft) Deutschsprachige Gemeinschaft
Location
Flag
Capital Brussels
(joint with Flemish region) 		Brussels Eupen
Minister President Geert Bourgeois (list)
(joint with Flemish region) 		Rudy Demotte (list) Oliver Paasch (list)
Web site www.flanders.be www.cfwb.be www.dglive.be

Regions

Region Flanders Wallonia Brussels
Dutch name  Vlaams Gewest   (Waals Gewest)   Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest 
French name (Région flamande) Région wallonne Région de Bruxelles-Capitale
German name (Flämische Region) Wallonische Region (Region Brüssel-Hauptstadt)
Location
Flag
Capital (Brussels) Namur Brussels
ISO 3166-2:BE VLG WAL BRU
Area 13,522 km2
(44.29% of Belgium) 		16,844 km2
(55.18% of Belgium) 		161 km2
(0.53% of Belgium)
Provinces Antwerp
Limburg
Flemish Brabant
East Flanders
West Flanders		 Hainaut
Walloon Brabant
Namur
Liège
Luxembourg		 none
Municipalities 308 262 19
Population 6,350,765 [2012][8]
(58% of Belgium) 		3,546,329 [2012][8]
(32% of Belgium) 		1,138,854 [2012][8]
(10% of Belgium)
Population density 470/km2 210/km2 7,025/km2
Minister-President Geert Bourgeois (list) Paul Magnette (list) Rudi Vervoort (list)
Web site www.flanders.be www.wallonie.be www.brussels.irisnet.be
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Belgium
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Politics portal

Flemish Region

Main article: Flemish Region

The Flemish Region or Flanders (Vlaams Gewest or Vlaanderen in Dutch) occupies the northern part of Belgium. It has a surface area of 13,522 km2 (5,221 sq mi) (44.29% of Belgium) and is divided into 5 provinces which contain a total of 308 municipalities.

The official language is Dutch. French can be used for certain administrative purposes in a dozen particular "municipalities with language facilities" around the Brussels-Capital Region and at the border with the Walloon Region.

Brussels is the official capital of Flanders. Brussels is part of Flanders, but only for its Flemish inhabitants and local institutions in matters concerning Flemish community competencies.

The Flemish Region has no institutions on its own. Its competencies were transferred to the unified Flemish institutions that combine both regional and community competencies. As a result, neither the Flemish region nor the Flemish Community has civil servants, legislative council etc. of its own; the unified institutions exercise all their power and competencies (see also: Flemish Parliament and Flemish Government).

Provinces

Main article: Provinces of Belgium

Brussels-Capital Region

The Brussels-Capital Region (Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest in Dutch, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale in French, Die Region Brüssel-Hauptstadt in German) or Brussels Region is centrally located and completely surrounded by the province of Flemish Brabant and thus by the Flemish Region. With a surface area of 162 km2 (63 sq mi) (0.53% of Belgium) it is the smallest of the three regions. It contains Brussels, which acts both as federal and regional capital, and in total 19 municipalities. The population breakdown in the region is as follows: ±85% French-speaking, ±15% Dutch-speaking. Its official languages are both Dutch and French. The Brussels Capital Region contains only one administrative district, the Brussels Capital District. However, for many administrative and juridical purposes (e.g. electoral purpose), it forms a district with surrounding Flemish areas: Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde (something considered by certain judicial authorities as contrary to the Belgian Constitution. However, this often creates dysfunctions in the public service, e.g. whenever mono-lingual French-speaking civil servants or policemen operate in the mono-lingual Flemish municipalities.

Among the national institutions outside the city of Brussels, one can find many buildings of national ministries, including the main building of the ministry of pensions, the military headquarters (in Evere) and the national telecommunications company. Finally, the particular name of the Brussels region, with the explicit 'capital' in it, seems a very symbolic proof of the ambitions from the main local politicians, and of the recognition for that capital function in Belgian legislation.

The Brussels Region does not belong to any of the provinces. Within the Region, 99% of the provincial competencies are assumed by the Brussels regional institutions. The remaining 1% is the governor of Brussels-Capital and some aides.

Within Brussels, the two Communities have their own institutions that act as "intermediary levels" of government and public service, sitting below the Community institutions, and above the municipal institutions:

Walloon Region

Main article: Wallonia

The Walloon Region or Wallonia (Région Wallonne or Wallonie in French) occupies the southern part of Belgium. It has a surface area of 16,844 km2 (6,504 sq mi) (55.18% of Belgium) and is also divided into 5 provinces which contain a total of 262 municipalities. Its capital is Namur.

The official languages are French and, only in the nine eastern municipalities that form the German-speaking Community near the German border, which were ceded by Germany after WWI, German. Dutch however, may be used for administrative purposes in the four municipalities with language facilities at the border with Flanders, and German in two such municipalities near the German-speaking Community.

Provinces

Main article: Provinces of Belgium

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Als goede buren– Vlaanderen en de taalwetgeving– Taalgrens en taalgebieden" (in Dutch). Vlaanderen.be. Retrieved 2007-07-10.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Politics — State structure". Flanders.be. Flemish Government. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-05-24.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Footnote: The Constitution set out seven institutions each of which can have a parliament, government and administration. In fact there are only six such bodies because the Flemish Region merged into the Flemish Community. This single Flemish body thus exercises powers about Community matters in the bilingual area of Brussels-Capital and in the Dutch language area, and about Regional matters only in the latter.
  4. ↑ Footnote: Apart from the municipalities with language facilities for individuals, the French language area has three more municipalities in which the second language in education legally has to be either Dutch or German, whereas in its municipalities without special status this would also allow for English. Lebrun, Sophie (2003-01-07). "Langues à l'école: imposées ou au choix, un peu ou beaucoup" (in French). La Libre Belgique's web site. Retrieved 2007-08-17.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "The Federal Government's Powers". .be Portal. Belgian Federal Government. Retrieved 2007-05-23.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "The Communities". .be Portal. Belgian Federal Government. Retrieved 2007-05-23.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "The Regions". .be Portal. Belgian Federal Government. Retrieved 2007-05-23.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Population statistics as of 1 January 2012, Statbel