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Reanimating Brussels—The Beating Heart of the Belgian Federation

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European Yearbook of Constitutional Law 2020

Part of the book series: European Yearbook of Constitutional Law ((EYCL,volume 2))

Abstract

The constitutional framework of Brussels is characterized by a plethora of different governing bodies and an excessive fragmentation of competences. Leaving the EU aside, the Brussels territory is governed by no less than six governments with formal legislative power. The fragmented division of powers between the federal State, the Brussels-Capital Region and the Communities, and the 19 Brussels municipalities, impedes an efficient and coherent metropolitan governance. This chapter explores the relationship between different echelons of government in Brussels, the type and scope of autonomous powers of the Capital Region and its special position as the capital of Belgium. Section 4.2 elaborates on the main characteristics and some of the fundamental flaws of Brussels’ constitutional framework. Section 4.3 proposes to simplify Brussels’ complicated multilayered institutional framework by reinforcing the Brussels-Capital Region. The proposal consists of a combination of the transfer of certain community competences to the regional level and an integration of the municipalities in the Region, allowing the latter to develop a uniform and integrated policy for the entire territory of Brussels.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Less than one percent of the population, living in East-Belgium, speaks German.

  2. 2.

    Alen and Haljan 2013, p. 146; Popelier 2019, pp. 23–24.

  3. 3.

    Article 127, §2 Belgian Constitution; Article 128, §2 Belgian Constitution; Article 129, §2 Belgian Constitution; Article 130, §2 Belgian Constitution; Article 134, al. 2 Belgian Constitution.

  4. 4.

    Popelier and Lemmens 2015, p. 93.

  5. 5.

    Billen 2013, pp. 73–75; Van Velthoven 1989, p. 21.

  6. 6.

    Van Velthoven 1989, p. 21; Treffers-Daller 2002, p. 50.

  7. 7.

    Janssens 2018.

  8. 8.

    Witte 1987, p. 47.

  9. 9.

    Popelier and Lemmens 2015, p. 88.

  10. 10.

    Delwit and Deschouwer 2009, pp. 1–2; Demol 1997, pp. 5–6.

  11. 11.

    See Coordinated Acts 18 July 1966 on the use of languages in administrative matters, MB 2 August 1966.

  12. 12.

    Article 39 Belgian Constitution and Article 6 Special Act 8 August 1980 on Institutional Reform, MB 15 August 1980.

  13. 13.

    The Flemish Community Parliament in practice exercises both its own competences and those of the Flemish Region (Alen and Haljan 2013, p. 147).

  14. 14.

    Article 4 Special Act 12 January 1989 on the Brussels Institutions, MB 14 January 1989 (hereafter: Special Brussels Institutions Act).

  15. 15.

    Articles 9 and 45 Special Brussels Institutions Act. A judicial review of regional decrees, comparable to the existing review of ordinances, was introduced in the case law of the Court of Cassation (Belgian Court of Cassation, no. C.08.0452.F, judgment of 21 April 2011).

  16. 16.

    The federal government held on to these constitutive competences as it didn’t want to allow Brussels-Capital Region to modify the institutional mechanisms protecting the Dutch-speaking minority in the capital (Peiffer 2015, pp. 88–94).

  17. 17.

    Articles 14 and 23 Special Brussels Institutions Act.

  18. 18.

    Three-quarters of MPs in a linguistic group in the Brussels Parliament can table a motion declaring that the provisions of a proposed ordinance are of such a nature as to seriously threaten relations between the communities. This motion suspends the parliamentary procedure, and starts a consultation mechanism at executive level (Article 31 Special Brussels Institutions Act).

  19. 19.

    Qualified majority ordinances can only be voted or amended when a majority of MPs in each linguistic group vote in favour (Article 28 Special Brussels Institutions Act).

  20. 20.

    Article 43 Special Brussels Institutions Act.

  21. 21.

    A mirrored version of these same mechanisms can be found at the federal level where institutional pacification mechanisms protect the French-speaking minority (e.g. parity in the federal government, qualified majority laws, veto powers). See Van Ypersele 1997b, pp. 61–65.

  22. 22.

    Swenden 2002, p. 74.

  23. 23.

    This ‘solution’ has not been fully welcomed by local German-speaking politicians, who have been demanding a transfer of all regional competences to the authorities of the German-speaking Community. This would make the community responsible for all community and all regional competences (Grundsatzerklärung des Parlaments zur Positionierung der Deutschsprachigen Gemeinschaft im Prozess der Staatsreform, Parliamentary documents of the Parliament of the German-Speaking Community 2010–11, no. 83/2, p. 2). This article does not elaborate further on the German-speaking Community as the discussion will be focused on the Brussels Capital Region.

  24. 24.

    The adherence to a community can either be established on the basis of an institutions’ organization (Article 128, §2 Belgian Constitution) or on the basis of an institutions’ activities (Article 127, §2 Belgian Constitution).

  25. 25.

    Dumont and Van Drooghenbroeck 2011, pp. 201–226; Van Ypersele 1997a, pp. 20–21.

  26. 26.

    Article 136 Belgian Constitution and Article 60 Special Brussels Institutions Act.

  27. 27.

    Article 138 of the Belgian Constitution allows the French Community to transfer the community competences exercised in the French-speaking area to the Walloon Region, and transfer the community competences exercised in the bilingual region of Brussels-Capital to the COCOF.

  28. 28.

    Article 135 Belgian Constitution and Article 60 Special Brussels Institutions Act.

  29. 29.

    The president of the Government of the Brussels Capital Region however only has an advisory voice (“voix consultative”, “raadgevende stem”) when presiding the executive organ (“collège réuni”, “verenigd college”) of the COCOM (Article 77 Special Act 12 January 1989 on the Brussels Institutions).

  30. 30.

    Vande Lanotte et al. 2006, p. 90.

  31. 31.

    See Sect. 4.2.5.

  32. 32.

    Alen and Haljan 2013, pp. 36–40.

  33. 33.

    Articles 41 and 162 Belgian Constitution.

  34. 34.

    Belgian Constitutional Court, no. 89/2010, judgement of 29 July 2010, B.18.2.

  35. 35.

    Belgian Constitutional Court, no. 89/2010, judgement of 29 July 2010, B.18.4.

  36. 36.

    De Ceuninck et al. 2010, pp. 810–811.

  37. 37.

    Article 165 Belgian Constitution; Article 1 Act 26 July 1971 regarding the Organisation of Agglomerations and Federations of Municipalities, MB 24 August 1971.

  38. 38.

    Article 4 Act 26 July 1971 regarding the Organisation of Agglomerations and Federations of Municipalities, MB 24 August 1971.

  39. 39.

    Van Orshoven 1993, p. 249; Clement et al. 1993, p. 133.

  40. 40.

    Article 5, 2 Belgian Constitution.

  41. 41.

    Delwit and Deschouwer 2009, p. 1; Maskens and Vandenbergh 2019, p. 19; Van Wynsberghe 2013, p. 100.

  42. 42.

    Government Agreement Di Rupo I, 1 December 2011, p. 27, https://www.lachambre.be/kvvcr/pdf_sections/searchlist/Accord_de_Gouvernement_1er_decembre_2011.pdf Accessed 1 November 2019.

  43. 43.

    Van Wynsberghe 2013, pp. 100–101.

  44. 44.

    Belgian Constitutional Court, no. 184/2011, judgement of 8 December 2011; Belgian Constitutional Court, no. 67/2012, judgement of 24 May 2012.

  45. 45.

    Dumont and Vancrayebeck 2008, p. 252; Lievens 2014, p. 287.

  46. 46.

    Article 135bis Belgian Constitution and Article 4bis Special Brussels Institutions Act; see Lievens 2014, pp. 282–286.

  47. 47.

    The main feature of COCOM decision making—a requirement of a special majority for all its competences, requiring half or a third of votes from both language groups—could be maintained for ‘bi-person-related’ matters within the regional system. Another option—that does not need to be linked to our proposal—is to evaluate and potentially adapt the special majority system.

  48. 48.

    Thus both the Region and the Communities are providing rental wheelchairs to people with disabilities (see Loosveldt 2017, p. 406).

  49. 49.

    Dumont and El Berhoumi 2018.

  50. 50.

    El Berhoumi et al. 2019.

  51. 51.

    See on sports: Parliamentary Proceedings of the Parliament of Brussels Capital Region 2002–03, nr. 55, p. 10.

  52. 52.

    See Sottiaux 2013, pp. 29–30.

  53. 53.

    See Cadranel and Mossoux 2014, pp. 449–457.

  54. 54.

    Lagasse 2012, pp. 6–7; Sottiaux 2013, p. 28.

  55. 55.

    See Cadranel and Mossoux 2014, pp. 455–456; Lagasse 2012, pp. 6–7.

  56. 56.

    Lagasse 2012, p. 8.

  57. 57.

    Ibid.

  58. 58.

    For some examples, see Maskens and Vandenbergh 2019, pp. 25–29; Nassaux 2018, pp. 18–19; Van Haute et al. 2018, pp. 33–104.

  59. 59.

    Nassaux 2018, pp. 31–32.

  60. 60.

    Article 41 Belgian Constitution.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Law, VU Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Johan Lievens

  2. Leuven Centre for Public Law, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

    Karel Reybrouck

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  1. Johan Lievens
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Public Law and Governance, Tilburg Law School, Tilburg, The Netherlands

    Ernst Hirsch Ballin

  2. Department of Public Law and Governance, Tilburg Law School, Tilburg, The Netherlands

    Gerhard van der Schyff

  3. Department of Public Law, Faculty of Law, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands

    Maarten Stremler

  4. School of Law, Singapore Management University, Singapore, Singapore

    Maartje De Visser

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Lievens, J., Reybrouck, K. (2021). Reanimating Brussels—The Beating Heart of the Belgian Federation. In: Hirsch Ballin, E., van der Schyff, G., Stremler, M., De Visser, M. (eds) European Yearbook of Constitutional Law 2020. European Yearbook of Constitutional Law, vol 2. T.M.C. Asser Press, The Hague. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6265-431-0_4

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