52-791: Philippe Busquin ( French pronunciation: [filip byskɛ̃] ; born 6 January 1941) is a Belgian politician . Busquin was born in Feluy . He was a Member of the European Parliament from 2004 to 2009 for the French Community of Belgium with the Parti Socialiste , part of the Socialist Group and sat on the European Parliament 's Committee on Industry, Research and Energy . Busquin
104-603: A range of services, including the administration of unemployment benefits. Belgium's three principal trade union organizations are the Confederation of Christian Trade Unions (CSC/ACV) (1,705,000 members), the General Federation of Belgian Labour (FGTB/ABVV) (1,198,000 members) and the General Confederation of Liberal Trade Unions of Belgium (CGSLB/ACLVB) which has 230,000 members. Until
156-494: A result of this, Belgian decision making can be slow and expensive. On top, it tends to significantly favour the more conservative parties. Given the historically very high public expenditure, and the very strict central control over taxation, even for revenues going to regions and communities, the tendency of Belgian governments to lower taxation and especially labour charges has been limited, at least if compared to radical-liberal approaches followed by certain other countries. From
208-450: A system of revenue-sharing for funds. They have the authority to levy a very few taxes (mostly surcharges) and to contract loans. Moreover, they have obtained exclusive treaty-making power for those issues coming under their respective jurisdictions. Of total public spending (interest payments not considered), more than 30% is authorized by the regions and communities, although their financing comes for over 80% from national Belgian budgets; at
260-472: Is a highly unionised country, and organised labour is a powerful influence in politics. About 53% of all private sector and public service employees are labour union members. Not simply a "bread and butter" movement in the American sense, Belgian labour unions take positions on education, public finance, defence spending, environmental protection, women's rights, abortion , and other issues. They also provide
312-631: Is deputy to a minister and is part of the federal Government, but does not sit in the Council of Ministers. Members of the Federal Government, who are formally appointed by the King, are in fact drawn from the political parties which form the government coalition . The Federal Government must enjoy the confidence of the Chamber of Representatives. The total number of ministers, excluding
364-639: Is fully controlled by the Community. The independent/private media uses both the alternative and the original designation. In September 2011, the Community adopted a new logo that incorporates its new name. The French Community of Belgium is governed by the Parliament of the French Community , which selects the executive branch, the Government of the French Community . The Parliament of
416-474: Is in power, they serve as back offices for ministers' cabinets. Another important characteristic of Belgian national politics is the highly federal nature of decision making. Important decisions require both a national majority (2/3 for constitutional changes), as well as majorities in the two main language groups. On top of that, both these communities can activate 'alarm bell'-procedures, delaying changes. In addition, there are no national parties to speak of. As
468-493: Is made up of (language-based) communities and (territorial) regions . Philippe is the seventh and current King of the Belgians, having ascended the throne on 21 July 2013. Since around 1970, the significant Belgian national political parties have split into distinct representations for each communities' interests, besides defense of their ideologies. These parties belong to three main political families, though all close to
520-666: Is not used when it could create a legal issue (such as with the official texts published in the Belgian Official Journal ). Although the then Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme said that the federal government would not use the new name and the Flemish VRT decided not to use the new name in its news programs either, it is used by the French-speaking media, including the RTBF public network, which
572-542: Is often superseded by a de facto confederal decision-making process where the minority (the French-speakers ) enjoy important protections through specialty majorities (2/3 overall and majority in each of the 2 main communities). According to the V-Dem Democracy indices Belgium was 2023 the 8th most electoral democratic country in the world. The Constitution of Belgium , the primary source of law and
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#1732765723972624-595: Is the most important court in Belgium. Judges are appointed for life by the Belgian monarch. The election for the Belgian Chamber of Representatives is based on a system of open list proportional representation . Several months before an election, each party forms a list of candidates for each district. Parties are allowed to place as many candidates on their lists as there are seats available. The formation of
676-414: The European Parliament . Before 2014, they were held every four years and were held separately. The community and regional parliaments are elected every five years, and their elections coincide with those for the European Parliament as well. Elections for the members of Belgium's municipal and provincial councils are held every six years. The latest municipal and provincial elections were held in 2018 and
728-545: The Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region within the former body. These members are elected for a term of five years. The current president of the Parliament of the French Community is Benoît Dispa [ fr ] ( LE ). Note: Government coalition parties are denoted with bullets (•) The Cabinet of the French Community of Belgium ( French : Gouvernement de la Communauté française )
780-648: The centre : the right-wing Liberals , the social conservative Christian Democrats and the Socialists forming the left-wing . Other important newer parties are the Green parties and, nowadays mainly in Flanders , the nationalist and far-right parties. Politics is influenced by lobby groups, such as trade unions and employers' organizations such as the Federation of Belgian Enterprises . Majority rule
832-437: The lower house of Parliament proposes a new prime minister to the king. The king is also seen as playing a symbolic unifying role, representing a common national Belgian identity. Philippe succeeded his father Albert II on 21 July 2013 upon his abdication. The executive power is held by the prime minister and the ministers , who together form the Council of Ministers, and by the secretaries of state , each of whom
884-600: The 3rd century AD, Germanic Franks migrated into what is now Belgium. The less populated northern areas became Germanic, while in the southern part, where the Roman presence had been much stronger, Latin persisted despite the migrations of the Franks. This linguistic frontier has more or less endured. French Community of Belgium In Belgium , the French Community ( French : Communauté française ; French pronunciation: [kɔmynote fʁɑ̃sɛːz] ) refers to one of
936-654: The Brussels region, there is another form of intermediate government, constituted by institutions from each of the two competent communities. Those institutions ( COCOF for the French-speakers and VGC for the Flemings ) have similar competencies, although only COCOF has legislative powers, given by the French Community. For Brussels community matters common to both communities there is a Common Community Commission . Legislative powers in Belgium are divided between
988-670: The CSC/ACV in Brussels. The FGTB/ABVV is led by President Michel Nollet. Belgium is a country in which language is a major political issue. In the 19th and early 20th century, Flemings did not enjoy the same rights as French-speakers, both de facto and de jure . When the country was founded in 1830 under a census voting system, only around 1% of the adult population could vote: nobility, haute-bourgeoisie and higher clerics, all of them French-speaking. A Flemish movement fought peacefully to gain equal rights, obtaining most of these. Minor issues exist also between German- and French-speakers. In
1040-527: The Flemings living in Brussels, nor their local Flemish Community Commission ('Vlaamse Gemeenschapscommissie', or VGC) nor the Brussels-Capital Region. While the authorities of the Community acknowledge the fact that the new name is not mentioned in the Belgian Constitution, they insist that their move is not illegal, as long as the new name is used as an additional name for the Community and
1092-611: The French Community ( French : Parlement de la Communauté française or PCF) is the legislative assembly of the French Community of Belgium based in the Quartier Royal [ fr ] . It consists of all 75 members of the Walloon Parliament except German-speaking members (currently two) who are substituted by French-speaking members from the same party, and 19 members elected by the French linguistic group of
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#17327657239721144-843: The French Community of Belgium is sometimes rendered in English as "the French-speaking Community of Belgium" for clarity, in analogy to the German-speaking Community of Belgium . The Community has its own parliament , government , and administration. Its official flag is identical to the Walloon flag , which is also the official flag of the Walloons of Wallonia . Historically , this community spoke variants of Walloon , Dutch , Picard , Luxembourgish or Moselle Franconian German , but nowadays,
1196-694: The French Community, the Walloon Region and the Commission communautaire française (COCOF, a French-speaking institution of the Brussels-Capital Region ). The concept of " Wallonie-Bruxelles " is however not mentioned in the Belgian constitution , and appeared only in a few official legal texts, such as the " Arrêté du Gouvernement de la Communauté française fixant le code de qualité et de l'accueil " of 17 December 2003, mentioning
1248-435: The French-speaking Community, since the French Community has no jurisdiction in that region. Their number is unknown, given the absence of sub-nationality status and the discouragement of linguistic criteria in census-taking. Estimates of the French-speaking population of Flanders vary from 120,000, around 200,000, to around 300,000. The French Community of Belgium makes up about 40% of the total population of Belgium; 60% of
1300-630: The House, such as the budget) or can be dispensed of by the House. The Chamber of Representatives is also the only house that votes the confidence to the Government. Each of the five components of the federal system ( Flemish Community , French Community , German-speaking Community , Walloon Region and Brussels-Capital Region ) have their own, directly elected unicameral council or parliament. They vote decrees (or ordinances in Brussels), that have
1352-604: The Marxist concept of "class struggle" and seeks to achieve a just social order based on Christian principles. The CSC/ACV is not formally linked to its party political counterparts, the Christian Democratic parties (CD&V and CDH), but exercises great influence in their councils. The CSC/ACV is the leading union in all Flemish provinces, and in Wallonia's Luxembourg province . It has almost equal strength with
1404-523: The administration. The move was immediately interpreted as aggressive by the Flemish authorities, the Minister-President of Flanders announcing he would not recognize the federation as an official body and saying that documents that would be sent by the federation would be unconstitutional and therefore would not exist. That name also obscures the fact that this institution does not represent
1456-583: The basis of the political system of the Country, was established on February 7, 1831. It has been changed several times, but the most relevant reforms were performed in 1970 and in 1993. In 1970, in response to a growing civil conflict between the Dutch-speaking and French-speaking communities in Brussels, the Government declared that "the unitary state, its structure and functioning as laid down by law, had become obsolete". The new constitution recognised
1508-653: The creation of the Belgian state in 1830 and throughout most of the 19th century, two political parties dominated Belgian politics: the Catholic Party (Church-oriented and conservative ) and the Liberal Party ( anti-clerical and progressive ). In the late 19th century, the Socialist Party arose to represent the emerging industrial working class. These three groups still dominate Belgian politics, but they have evolved substantially in character. In
1560-528: The dominant language is overwhelmingly Belgian French , except for some areas alongside the border to the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg (mainly the district called Land of Arlon or Arelerland ), where Luxembourgish is still widely spoken. The French Community of Belgium includes 4.5 million people, of whom: French speakers who live in the Flemish Region are not included in the official numbers for
1612-479: The existence of strong communitarian and regional differences within Belgium , but sought to reconcile these differences through a diffusion of power to the communities and the regions. In 1993, the parliament approved a constitutional package transforming Belgium into a full-fledged federal state . The King of the Belgians is the constitutional head of the Belgian state and holds office for life. The duties of
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1664-577: The fifties, the FGTB/ABVV was the largest confederation, since then, however, the CSC/ACV has become the leading trade union force. In the most recent works council elections held in 2004 the CSC/ACV garnered close to 53% of the vote, the Socialist confederation obtained 36%, and the Liberal confederation 10%. The Confederation of Catholic labour Unions (CSC/ACV). Organised in 1912, the CSC/ACV rejects
1716-608: The foundation of the ecological parties Groen! and Ecolo . Especially in Flanders, the 1980s saw the growth of the far right, represented by the Vlaams Belang , which became one of the larger parties of the country in the 1990s. During the years surrounding the new millennium, an attempt at restructuring the political landscape took place, mainly taking the form of political cartels . Main Flemish parties: Main French-speaking parties: German-speaking parties: Belgium
1768-551: The framework of a federal , representative democratic , constitutional monarchy . The King of the Belgians is the head of state , and the prime minister of Belgium is the head of government , in a multi-party system . Executive power is exercised by the government. Federal legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament, the Senate and the Chamber of Representatives . The federation
1820-414: The king are laid out by the Belgian Constitution and other laws enforced under it. As titular head of state, the king plays a ceremonial and symbolic role in the nation. His main political function is to designate a political leader to form a new cabinet after an election or the resignation of a cabinet. In conditions where there is a "constructive vote of no-confidence," the government has to resign and
1872-745: The latest federal and regional elections were held in 2019. In Belgium, aside from a few minor German-speaking parties, most political parties are either Dutch-speaking (Flemish) or French-speaking; the only major bilingual party operating across all of Belgium is the Workers Party of Belgium (PVDA/PTB), a far-left party which first won seats in the Chamber in 2014 and as of 2019 has three seats in Dutch-speaking Flanders and nine seats in Brussels and Wallonia. Parties run their own think tanks ( centres d'études / studiedienst ), research outfits that draft policy. When their party
1924-494: The list is an internal process that varies with each party. The place on the list is considered to play a role in the election of a candidate, by giving stronger visibility to those high on the list; this phenomenon, however, seems to have lost importance since the last electoral reform. Belgian voters are given five options. They may: While there are some options to vote on more than one person, voters cannot vote for candidates of more than one candidate list (party). Doing so makes
1976-501: The name " Communauté Wallonie-Bruxelles ", and the " Arrêté du Gouvernement de la Communauté française approuvant le programme quinquennal de promotion de la santé 2004–2008 " of 30 April 2004, mentioning the name " Communauté française Wallonie-Bruxelles ". In May 2011, the parliament of the Community voted a resolution according to which it would, from then on, use the name "Wallonia-Brussels Federation" (French: " Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles ") for all its communications, campaigns and in
2028-510: The national, the regional and the community levels. The Belgian Federal Parliament consists of the Senate ( Dutch : Senaat , French : Sénat ) and the Chamber of Representatives ( Dutch : Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers , French : Chambre des Représentants ). The Chamber has 150 members; the Senate has 60. All 150 representatives are elected directly via a system of proportional representation. The Senate consists of 50 senators elected by
2080-471: The parliaments of the communities and regions, and 10 senators co-opted by the others. Since the Constitutional reforms of 1993 and 2013, the two Houses of Parliament do not sit on a level of parity: other than in cases regarding the constitutional, institutional or federal structure or international relation, the consent of the Senate either is not required (so-called "unicameral laws", voted only by
2132-531: The population belongs to the Flemish Community , and 1% to the German-speaking Community . For years there have been hints that the Community wanted to better demonstrate the link between Wallonia and Brussels , the two main territories where the French speakers are in the majority. These include the creation of several organisations such as Wallonie-Bruxelles International , a public body in charge of international cultural affairs set up jointly by
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2184-654: The prime minister, cannot exceed 15. Also, the number of Dutch- and French-speaking ministers must be equal, with the possible exception of the prime minister. Ministers head executive departments of the government. The prime minister and his ministers administer the government and the various public services and the ministers must defend their policies and performance in person before the Chamber. The regional and community parliaments and governments have jurisdiction over transportation, public works, water policy, cultural matters, education, public health, environment, housing, zoning, and economic and industrial policy. They rely on
2236-456: The regional executives are the following: The two biggest regions, Flanders and Wallonia, are further subdivided into five provinces each. The Brussels-Capital Region is directly divided into 19 municipalities. In total, Belgium counts 581 municipalities . Provincial and local government is an exclusive competency of the regions. Therefore, one should see the relevant articles for more detailed information on provincial and local government. In
2288-495: The same time, the national government controls 100% of social security, and strictly limits the taxation policy by the federalized entities. As a result, Belgian institutions still control over 90% of the effective, global taxation levels on individuals and companies. Though since 1993 article 35 of the Constitution requires the creation of a list specifying federal as opposed to regional and communities' competences, such list
2340-643: The same value and are on the same juridical level as the federal laws. The judicial system is based on civil law and originates from the Napoleonic code . It has a judicial review of legislative acts. It accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations. The Court of Appeals is one level below the Court of Cassation , an institution based on the French Court of Cassation . The Court of Cassation (Dutch: Hof van Cassatie , French: Cour de Cassation )
2392-590: The socialist confederation in the Brussels area. Its president is currently Luc Cortebeeck [ nl ] . The Belgian Socialist Confederation of labour (FGTB/ABVV). The FGTB/ABVV derives from the Socialist Trade Union Movement, established in the late 19th century in Walloon industrial areas, Brussels, and urban areas of Flanders. Today the FGTB/ABVV is the leading union in the provinces of Hainaut , Namur , and Liège and matches
2444-520: The three constituent constitutional linguistic communities . Since 2011, the French Community has used the name Wallonia-Brussels Federation ( French : Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles ), which is controversial because its name in the Belgian Constitution has not changed and because it is seen as a political statement. The name "French Community" refers to Francophone Belgians , and not to French people residing in Belgium. As such,
2496-415: The vote invalid. Political campaigns in Belgium are relatively short, lasting only about one month. They are subjected to several limitations: Belgium is one of the few countries that has compulsory voting , thus having one of the highest rates of voter turnout in the world. Elections for the Chamber of Representatives (Federal Parliament) are normally held every five years and coincide with those for
2548-517: The years before and after the Second World War, the linguistic problem became a stronger divisive issue in Belgian politics, with the emergence in the 1950s and 1960s of linguistic parties ( Volksunie , FDF and Rassemblement Wallon ). In the 1960s and 1970s, each of the main political parties of Belgium split into Flemish and French-speaking parties. After May 68 , the country saw a growing environmental and left wing movement, that led to
2600-562: Was Member of the European Commission with responsibility for research. He was awarded: This article about a Member of the European Parliament from Belgium is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about a Walloon politician is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about a mayor in Belgium is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Politics of Belgium The politics of Belgium take place in
2652-399: Was never created. Therefore, the federal government continues to exercise all competences not explicitly dedicated to the lesser levels. The Flemish parties generally favour much larger community (and regional) autonomy, including financial and tax autonomy, while the francophone parties generally oppose it. The French-speaking parties tend to favour more state control. As of October 2019,
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#17327657239722704-736: Was the chairman of the Science and Technology Options Assessment Panel. He also was a substitute for the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety and a member of the Delegation to the EU-Russia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee. His tendency to stutter has been the subject of satirical videos on YouTube , some garnering hundreds of thousands of hits. From 1999 to 2004, he
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