Belgium

The Kingdom of Belgium (Dutch: Koninkrijk België, French: Royaume de Belgique, German: Königreich Belgien) is a Federal state in a continuous process of devolution. It is a developed country in North-Western Europe that is bordered by the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, France, and the North Sea. Belgium has a population of over ten million people in only thirty thousand square kilometres, making it the 17th most densely populated country in the world. It ranked ninth on the 2005 United Nations Human Development Index.

Communities and Regions of Belgium

The constitution was revised on 14 July 1993 to create a federal state and several governmental entities have been created. Apart from the Belgian federal government, there are subdivisions into Communities according to language:

Related Topics:
14 July - 1993 - Federal - Belgian federal government

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• the French Community of Belgium (French);
• the Flemish Community of Belgium (Dutch); and
• the German-speaking Community of Belgium (German).

Another subdivisions, based on regions, are:

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• the Walloon Region;
• the Flemish Region; and
• the Brussels-Capital Region.

The Flemish Community absorbed in the Flemish Region in 1980 to form one government (see Flanders{{ref|flanders}}). Furthermore, two peculiarities are to be noted: the territory of the Brussels-Capital Region is included in both Flemish and French Communities and the territory of the German-speaking Community is utterly included in the Walloon Region.

Related Topics:
1980 - Flanders

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The different governments share their competences according to the following scheme (conflicts between the different bodies are solved by the Court of Arbitration):

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• Federal government: Jurisdiction over foreign affairs, development aid, defence/military, police, economy, social welfare, security (including pensions, health care, social aid and employment controls), transport (including railways and air transport), energy, telecommunications, scientific research (partially), limited competencies in education and culture, as well as strict control over taxation by regional authorities; the federal government controls more than 90 per cent of all taxation.
• Community governments: Language, culture and education. (e.g. schools, libraries, theatres, etc.)
• Regional governments: Land- and property-based issues within their area (regional economy, zoning, housing, transportation, etc.) and international trade.

A school building in Brussels belonging to the public school system, for example, would be regulated by the regional government of Brussels. But the school as an institution would fall under the regulations of either the Flemish government, if the primary language of teaching is Dutch, or the French Community government, if the primary language is French. It is a complex, somewhat unstable and expensive, but peaceful compromise that allows distinctly different cultures to live together.

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