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Vlaams Belang
Vlaams Belang (; ; VB) is a Flemish nationalist, Eurosceptic and right-wing populist political party in the Flemish Region and Brussels Capital Region of Belgium. It is widely considered by the media and political analysts to be on the political far-right, although it self-describes as right-nationalist and has tried to distance itself from the far-right label in recent years. Vlaams Belang is a rebrand of '' Vlaams Blok'', which was dissolved after it was condemned for espousing racism during a trial which was held in 2004. After it reorganized itself as Vlaams Belang, it continued to espouse the core philosophy of its predecessor by campaigning on a separatist and Flemish nationalist platform. It also supports the maintenance of Flemish cultural identity, it opposes multiculturalism, and it advocates the imposition of tougher law & order policies. However, the VB toned its rhetoric down and it also implemented some changes in the more controversial portions of the former ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tom Van Grieken
Tom Jozef Irène Van Grieken (born 7 October 1986) is a Belgian politician and author who has served as leader of Vlaams Belang since October 2014. Early life Van Grieken was born in Antwerp. He spent ten years of his childhood in the area of the city, which is known for its large immigrant population, and later as a teenager moved to Mortsel, where he later served as a municipal councillor. His father, Luc Van Grieken, is a retired police officer of the Federal Police (Belgium), Federal Belgian Police and his mother worked at a florist store. Van Grieken attended secondary school at the Sint-Jan Berchmanscollege in Antwerp, where he stood out by distributing pamphlets at the school gate at the age of 16 with the slogan "Stop leftist language in our classroom." According to his father, the street riots with the Arab European League that took place on the Turnhoutsebaan in 2002, which the young Van Grieken personally witnessed, further strengthened his Flemish nationalist sent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black
Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''Psychologie de la couleur – effets et symboliques'', pp. 105–26. Black and white have often been used to describe opposites such as good and evil, the Dark Ages versus the Age of Enlightenment, and night versus day. Since the Middle Ages, black has been the symbolic color of solemnity and authority, and for this reason it is still commonly worn by judges and magistrates. Black was one of the first colors used by artists in Neolithic cave paintings. It was used in ancient Egypt and Greece as the color of the underworld. In the Roman Empire, it became the color of mourning, and over the centuries it was frequently associated with death, evil, witches, and magic. In the 14th century, it was worn by royalty, clergy, judges, and governm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to the south, and the North Sea to the west. Belgium covers an area of and has a population of more than 11.8 million; its population density of ranks List of countries and dependencies by population density, 22nd in the world and Area and population of European countries, sixth in Europe. The capital and Metropolitan areas in Belgium, largest metropolitan region is City of Brussels, Brussels; other major cities are Antwerp, Ghent, Charleroi, Liège, Bruges, Namur, and Leuven. Belgium is a parliamentary system, parliamentary constitutional monarchy with a complex Federation, federal system structured on regional and linguistic grounds. The country is divided into three highly autonomous Communities, regions and language areas o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flemish Region
The Flemish Region (, ), usually simply referred to as Flanders ( ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—alongside the Wallonia, Walloon Region and the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region. Covering the northern portion of the country, the Flemish Region is primarily Dutch language, Dutch-speaking. With an area of , it accounts for only 45% of Belgium's territory, but 58% of its population. It is one of the most densely populated regions of Europe with around . The Flemish Region is distinct from the Flemish Community: the latter encompasses both the inhabitants of the Flemish Region and the Dutch-speaking minority living in the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region. It borders the Netherlands and France. Politics Immediately after its establishment in 1980, the region transferred all its constitutional competencies to the Flemish Community. Thus, the current Flemish authorities (Flemish Parliament and Flemish Government) repre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Political Parties In Belgium
This article contains a list of political parties in Belgium. Belgium is a federal state with a multi-party system, multi-party political system, with numerous parties who factually have no chance of gaining power alone, and therefore must work with each other to form coalition governments. Almost all Belgium, Belgian political party, political parties are divided into linguistic groups, either Dutch language, Dutch-speaking parties (see also political parties in Flanders), Francophone parties or German language, Germanophone parties. The Flemish parties operate in Flanders and in the Brussels-Capital Region. The Francophone parties operate in Wallonia and in the Brussels-Capital Region. There are also parties operating in the comparatively small German-speaking community of Belgium, German-speaking community. From the creation of the Belgian state in 1830 and throughout most of the 19th century, two political parties dominated Belgian politics: the Catholic Party (Belgium), Cat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flemish Nationalist
The Flemish Movement (, ) is an umbrella term which encompasses various political groups in the Belgian region of Flanders and, less commonly, in French Flanders. Ideologically, it encompasses groups which have sought to promote Flemish culture and the Dutch language as well as those seeking greater political autonomy for Flanders within Belgium. It also encompasses nationalists who seek the secession of Flanders from Belgium, either through outright independence or unification with the Netherlands. In the 19th century, the Flemish Movement emerged around a form of cultural patriotism which celebrated the regional traditions and history of Flanders and sought equal status for Dutch in the Belgian nation-state, often under the auspices of the Catholic Church. Although gaining many of its initial objectives, it became increasingly radical in the aftermath of World War I. Inspired by authoritarian and fascist politics, it was widely discredited for its association with collab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Provinces Of Belgium
The Kingdom of Belgium is divided into three Communities, regions, and language areas of Belgium, regions. Two of these regions, Flanders and Wallonia, are each subdivided into five provinces. The third region, Brussels, does not belong to any province, nor is it subdivided into provinces. Instead, it has amalgamated both regional and provincial functions into a single "Capital Region" administration. Most of the provinces take their name from earlier duchy, duchies and county, counties of similar location, while their territory is mostly based on the 130 departments of the First French Empire, departments installed during French annexation. At the time of the Independence of Belgium, creation of Belgium in 1830, only nine provinces existed, including the province of Brabant, which held the City of Brussels. In 1995, Brabant was split into three areas: Flemish Brabant, which became a part of the region of Flanders; Walloon Brabant, which became part of the region of Wallonia; an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts European legislation, following a proposal by the European Commission. The Parliament is composed of 720 members (MEPs), after the June 2024 European elections, from a previous 705 MEPs. It represents the second-largest democratic electorate in the world (after the Parliament of India), with an electorate of around 375 million eligible voters in 2024. Since 1979, the Parliament has been directly elected every five years by the citizens of the European Union through universal suffrage. Voter turnout in parliamentary elections decreased each time after 1979 until 2019, when voter turnout increased by eight percentage points, and rose above 50% for the first time since 1994. The voting age is 18 in all EU member states e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parliament Of The Brussels-Capital Region
The Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (; ) is the governing body of the Brussels-Capital Region, one of the three federated Communities and regions of Belgium, regions of Belgium. It is also known as the Brussels Regional Parliament (; ), or simply the Brussels Parliament (; ). History The Council of the Brussels-Capital Region (, ) was established with the creation of the region in 1989, on the occasion of the State reform in Belgium, third state reform. Unlike its Flemish Parliament, Flemish and Parliament of Wallonia, Walloon regional counterparts, whose regional parliaments were initially composed of those members of the Belgian Federal Parliament elected in their respective regions, the Brussels Council was immediately elected by direct universal suffrage. Initially, it had 75 deputies, divided between 64 French-speaking and 11 Dutch-speaking members. A reform in 2001, applicable from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flemish Parliament
The Flemish Parliament (Dutch language, Dutch: , formerly called Flemish Council or ''Vlaamse Raad'') constitutes the legislature, legislative power in Flanders for matters which fall within the competence of Flanders, both as a geographic region and as a cultural community of Belgium (unlike the French Community of Belgium, French Community and Wallonia, which each have separate legislatures: the Parliament of the French Community and the Parliament of Wallonia). The Flemish Parliament approves Decree (Belgium), 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 City of Brussels, 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 govern ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Senate (Belgium)
The Senate ( ; ; ) is one of the two chambers of the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Chamber of Representatives. It is considered to be the "upper house" of the Federal Parliament. Created in 1831 as a chamber fully equal to the Chamber of Representatives, the Senate has undergone several reforms in the past, most notably in 1993 and 2014. The 2014 elections were the first without a direct election of senators. Instead, the new Senate is composed of members of community and regional parliaments and co-opted members. It is a chamber of the communities and regions and serves as a platform for discussion and reflection about matters between these federated entities. The Senate today plays a minor role in the federal legislative process. However, the Senate, together with the Chamber, has full competence for the Constitution and legislation on the organization and functioning of the Federal State and the federated entities. Since the reform of 2014, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dutch-speaking Electoral College
Dutch ( ) is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language and is the third most spoken Germanic language. In Europe, Dutch is the native language of most of the population of the Netherlands and Flanders (which includes 60% of the population of Belgium). "1% of the EU population claims to speak Dutch well enough in order to have a conversation." (page 153). Dutch was one of the official languages of South Africa until 1925, when it was replaced by Afrikaans, a separate but partially mutually intelligible daughter language of Dutch. Afrikaans, depending on the definition used, may be considered a sister language, spoken, to some degree, by at least 16 million people, mainly in South Africa and Namibia, and evolving from Cape Dutch dialects. In South America, Dutch is the native language of the majority of the population of Suriname, and spoken as a second or third la ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
