Flemish Parliament

Flemish Parliament

Coat of arms or logo
Type
Type
Leadership
Jan Peumans, N-VA
Since 13 July 2009
Group leaders
- majority

Matthias Diependaele, N-VA
Since 1 January 2013
 
Koen Van den Heuvel, CD&V
Since 1 December 2012
 
Bart Somers, Open VLD
Since 15 October 2014
- opposition
Joris Vandenbroucke, sp.a
Since 17 June 2015
 
Björn Rzoska, Groen
Since 25 June 2014
 
Chris Janssens, Vlaams Belang
Since 25 June 2014
Structure
Seats 124
118 from the Flemish Region
6 from the Brussels Region
Political groups

Government (89)

Opposition (35)

Length of term
 5 years
Elections
Open list proportional representation (using D'Hondt method) within six constituencies, with 5% constituency election threshold
Last election
 25 May 2014
Next election
 2019
Meeting place
Koepelzaal, Flemish Parliament building, Brussels
Website
http://www.vlaamsparlement.be/

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 community of Belgium (unlike the French-speaking community and Wallonia, which each have separate legislatures - the Parliament of the French Community 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 it approves the Flemish budget. The Flemish Parliament meets in the Flemish Parliament building in central Brussels, and its members and staff are housed in the House of the Flemish Representatives.

History

From 1830 until 1970 Belgium was a unitary state with a single government and a bicameral national parliament. 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 parliaments.

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 "Vlaamse Volksvertegenwoordigers". In English, they are referred to as "Members of the Flemish Parliament" (MFPs),[1] like the MSPs in Scotland and the MEPs in the European Union. The title "Flemish Representative" is also used in English. Since 1995 members of the Flemish Parliament have been 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.

Competencies (Jurisdiction)

Competencies for the entire Flemish Community

  1. 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. The public Flemish radio and television broadcasting company is the VRT.
  2. 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 exception of the 'language facilities' enjoyed in some municipalities.
  3. 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.
  4. Education: from kindergarten to university including scholarships, though the establishment of the period of compulsory education, requirements for awarding degrees, and pension schemes for teachers remain at the federal level.
  5. 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.

Competencies for the Flemish Region only

  1. 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
  2. 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
  3. 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
  4. Scientific research: this field is the full responsibility of the regional authorities, except for aerospace and military research (that remained federal).
  5. Public works and transport: includes roads, ports (the Port of Antwerp, Port of Bruges-Zeebrugge, Port of Ghent and the Port of Ostend), the regional airports (including Antwerp International Airport and Ostend-Bruges International Airport), and urban and regional transport.
  6. Agriculture: includes the Agricultural Investment Fund, the agricultural education, the development of rural regions, the sale of agricultural and horticultural products and the fisheries policy. By the stipulations of the Lambermont Agreement (2001), the regions are competent for almost the complete agricultural policy but a few security aspects like food security and animal welfare which remained under the competence of the federal government.
  7. Local government: includes the allocating of financial resources to the 308 Flemish municipalities and to the Flemish provinces, and administrative supervision of these communes and provinces and their laws.

International affairs

For all areas within its sphere of competence (both vis-à-vis community or regional competences), the Flemish region 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.

Members of the Flemish Parliament

Number of seats per constituency in Flanders

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.[2]

This table shows the distribution of seats following the 2014 regional election:

Affiliation Constituency Total
Ant. E-Fl. Fl-Br. Lim. W-Fl. Bru.
New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) 14 9 7 5 7 1 43
Christian Democratic and Flemish (CD&V) 7 5 4 4 6 1 26
Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats (Open Vld) 3 5 4 2 3 2 19
Socialist Party Different (sp.a) 4 4 2 3 4 1 18
Green (Groen) 3 2 2 1 1 1 10
Flemish Interest (Vlaams Belang) 2 2 0 1 1 0 6
  Union of Francophones (UF) — — 1 — — — 1
Total 33 27 20 16 22 6 124

Previous legislative terms

The following table lists each legislative term since 1995, when the Flemish Parliament was first directly elected following the fourth state reform.

The parties are ordered by size in the respective term. Green coloured parties indicate the government majority, whereas red parties form the opposition.

Legislative term Inaugural composition Government
2014–2019
(elected in 2014)		 N-VA
43 / 124
 CD&V
27 / 124
 Open Vld
19 / 124
 sp.a
18 / 124
 Groen
10 / 124
 Vlaams Belang
6 / 124
 UF
1 / 124
 N/A Bourgeois
(N-VA, CD&V, Open Vld)
2009–2014
(elected in 2009)		 CD&V
31 / 124
 Vlaams Belang
21 / 124
 Open Vld
21 / 124
 sp.a
19 / 124
 N-VA
16 / 124
 LDD
8 / 124
 Groen
7 / 124
 UF
1 / 124
 Peeters II
(CD&V, sp.a, N-VA)
2004–2009
(elected in 2004)		 CD&V/N-VA
35 / 124
 Vlaams Belang
32 / 124
 VLD-Vivant
25 / 124
 sp.a-Spirit
25 / 124
 Groen!
6 / 124
 UF
1 / 124
 N/A N/A Peeters I (2007–2009)
Leterme (2004–2007)
(CD&V/N-VA, sp.a-Spirit, VLD-Vivant)
1999–2004
(elected in 1999)		 CVP
30 / 124
 VLD
27 / 124
 Vlaams Blok
22 / 124
 SP
20 / 124
 Agalev
12 / 124
 VU-ID
12 / 124
 UF
1 / 124
 N/A Somers (2003–2004)
Dewael (1999–2003)
(VLD, SP, Agalev, VU-ID)
1995–1999
(elected in 1995)		 CVP
37 / 124
 VLD
27 / 124
 SP
26 / 124
 Vlaams Blok
17 / 124
 VU
9 / 124
 Agalev
7 / 124
 UF
1 / 124
 N/A Van den Brande IV
(CVP, SP)

Officers

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.

Speakers

Cultural Council for the Dutch Cultural Community (Cultuurraad voor de Nederlandse Cultuurgemeenschap)
Flemish Council (Vlaamse Raad)
Flemish Parliament (Vlaams Parlement)

Committees

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 usually also ad hoc committees, such as the Digital Flanders Committee and the Flemish Constitution Committee.

List of standing committees

See also

References

  1. ↑ Regional Institutions and Governance in the European Union, José María Magone, Greenwood Publishing Group, page 173
  2. ↑ 'Reflections on the Belgian federal state', Patrick Peeters, Multinational Federations, eds. Michael Burgess, John Pinder, Routledge, April 2007, pages 39-40
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