Flemish Council
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The Flemish Parliament (
Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...
: , formerly called Flemish Council or ''Vlaamse Raad'') constitutes the
legislative power A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers o ...
in
Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...
for matters which fall within the competence of Flanders, both as a geographic region and as a cultural community of
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 southeas ...
(unlike the
French Community The French Community () was the constitutional organization set up in October 1958 between France and its remaining African colonies, then in the process of decolonization. It replaced the French Union, which had reorganized the colonial em ...
and
Wallonia Wallonia ( ; ; or ), officially the Walloon Region ( ; ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—along with Flemish Region, Flanders and Brussels. Covering the southern portion of the c ...
, which each have separate legislatures: the
Parliament of the French Community The Parliament of the French Community ( ; PCF) is the legislative assembly of the French Community of Belgium, based in the Royal Quarter of Brussels. It consists of all 75 members of the Walloon Parliament except German-speaking members (curren ...
and the
Parliament of Wallonia The Parliament of Wallonia (, ), or the Walloon Parliament (, ) in the decrees, is the legislative body of Wallonia, one of the three self-governing regions of Belgium (the other two being Flanders and the Brussels-Capital Region). The parliamen ...
). The Flemish Parliament approves
decrees A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state, judge, royal figure, or other relevant authorities, according to certain procedures. These procedures are usually defined by the constitution, Legislative laws, or customary l ...
, which are Flemish
law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...
s, applicable to all persons in the Flemish Region, and to Flemish institutions in Brussels; it appoints and supervises the
Flemish Government The Flemish Government ( ) is the executive branch of the Flemish Community and the Flemish Region of Belgium. It consists of a government cabinet, headed by the Minister-President of Flanders, Minister-President and accountable to the Flemish Par ...
; and it approves the Flemish budget. The Flemish Parliament meets in the Flemish Parliament building in central
Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
, 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 Bicameralism is a type of legislature that is divided into two separate Deliberative assembly, assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate ...
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 The Federal Parliament (; ; ) is the bicameral parliament of Belgium. It consists of the Chamber of Representatives (lower house) and the Senate (upper house). It sits in the Palace of the Nation in the centre of the nation's capital, Brussels. ...
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 7 December 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 13 June 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 English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...
, they are referred to as "Members of the Flemish Parliament" (MFPs), like the MSPs in
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
and the MEPs in the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
. 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)

The Flemish Parliament enacts
decrees A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state, judge, royal figure, or other relevant authorities, according to certain procedures. These procedures are usually defined by the constitution, Legislative laws, or customary l ...
, which are Flemish
law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...
s, either as a decree of the Flemish Community or as a decree of the Flemish Region (or often as a decree combining provisions for both entities). Regional legislation is only applicable to all persons in the Flemish Region whereas community legislation also applies to Flemish institutions or services in Brussels (and thus to persons in Brussels who choose to make use of these institutions or services, such as schools). No hierarchy exists between (federal) laws and Flemish decrees, as each level is supposed to have clearly defined subject-matter jurisdiction. The basis for the community subject-matter jurisdiction is defined in the Belgian Constitution, but the
Special Law In the United States, special legislation is legislation that targets an individual or a small, identifiable group for treatment that does not apply to all the members of a given class. The expression "special legislation" is legal term of art. A s ...
on Institutional Reform defines all matters in high detail. They can be summarised as follows:


Competencies for the entire Flemish Community

# 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. # 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. # 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. #
Education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...
: 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. # 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

# 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 # 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 # 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 # Scientific research: this field is the full responsibility of the regional authorities, except for aerospace and military research (that remained federal). #Public works and transport: includes roads, ports (the
Port of Antwerp The port of Antwerp is the port of the city of Antwerp, Belgium. It is located in Flanders, mainly in the province of Antwerp, but also partially in East Flanders. It is a seaport in the heart of Europe accessible to capesize ships. It is Eu ...
,
Port of Bruges-Zeebrugge The Port of Zeebrugge (also referred to as the Port of Bruges or Bruges Seaport) is a large container, bulk cargo, new vehicles and passenger ferry terminal port on the North Sea. The port is located in the municipality of Bruges, West Flande ...
,
Port of Ghent The Port of Ghent is the third busiest port, seaport in Belgium, located in Ghent, East Flanders in the Flemish Region. The first port of Ghent was situated at the river Scheldt and later on at the Lys (river), Leie. Since the Middle Ages Ghent h ...
and the
Port of Ostend The Port of Ostend (Dutch: ''Oostende'') is situated in Ostend, West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. The port services freight transport between Ostend and Ramsgate, Ipswich and North Killingholme Haven. Passenger transport between Ost ...
), the regional airports (including
Antwerp International Airport Antwerp International Airport , commonly known simply as Antwerp Airport, is a small international airport located south of Antwerp, Belgium. The airport is used for some scheduled and charter flights, as well as business and general aviation, ...
and Ostend-Bruges International Airport), and urban and regional transport. #
Agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...
: 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. #Local government: includes the allocating of financial resources to the 300 Flemish municipalities and to the five 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.


Procedure

A regular legislative session starts in September, when the Government presents its "September Declaration" (''Septemberverklaring''), a kind of
State of the Union The State of the Union Address (sometimes abbreviated to SOTU) is an annual message delivered by the president of the United States to a Joint session of the United States Congress, joint session of the United States Congress near the beginning ...
.
Plenary session A plenary session or plenum is a session of a conference or deliberative assembly in which all parties or members are present. Such a session may include a broad range of content, from keynotes to panel discussions, and is not necessarily r ...
s are usually held on Wednesdays. The Flemish Parliament largely functions like its federal, community and regional counterparts, ''
mutatis mutandis ''Mutatis mutandis'' is a Medieval Latin phrase meaning "with things changed that should be changed" or "once the necessary changes have been made", literally: having been changed, going to be changed. It continues to be seen as a foreign-origin ...
''. Bills are usually introduced by the Government (''ontwerp van decreet''), but members of parliament can also propose bills (''voorstel van decreet'' or
private member's bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in wh ...
). Bills are first considered in committee, after which they are put to a vote in the plenary. Votes are usually recorded electronically. For example during the 2009–14 legislature, 407 government bills were adopted, while only 102 private member's bills were made law.


Elections and membership

118 members are directly elected in the Flemish Region. They have voting rights for both regional and community competencies. Six members are directly elected in the
Brussels-Capital Region Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a region of Belgium comprising 19 municipalities, including the City of Brussels, which is the capital ...
by those voters who voted for a Dutch-speaking party in the Brussels regional elections. They have no voting rights for the regional competencies.'Reflections on the Belgian federal state', Patrick Peeters, ''Multinational Federations''
eds. Michael Burgess, John Pinder, Routledge, April 2007, pages 39-40 The elections take place every five years, simultaneously with the elections for the other regional and community parliaments and for the European Parliament. Thus, de facto the European decision-makers determine when the Flemish Parliament elections occur. This table shows the distribution of seats following the 2024 regional election:


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. 1995–1999 1999–2004 2004–2009 2009–2014 2014–2019 2019–2024 2024–present


Officers

At the beginning of each parliamentary year, on the fourth Monday in September, the Flemish Parliament elects its
Speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...
. The Speaker chairs the plenary sessions of the Flemish Parliament and acts as its official representative. The speaker 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 King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...
. The current Speaker of the Flemish Parliament is
Freya Van den Bossche Freya Van den Bossche (born 26 March 1975) is a Belgian ( Flemish) politician and daughter of prominent former Belgian politician Luc Van den Bossche. She is member of the SP.a political party, and she was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister o ...
of the
New Flemish Alliance The New Flemish Alliance ( ; N-VA) is a Flemish Movement, Flemish nationalist, Conservatism, conservative Political parties in Belgium, political party in Belgium. The party was established in 2001 by the right-leaning faction of the centrist-na ...
(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'') * 1971-1974:
Robert Vandekerckhove The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, praise, reno ...
( CVP) * 1974-1977: Jan Bascour ( PVV) * 1977-1979:
Maurits Coppieters Maurits Coppieters (14 May 1920 – 11 November 2005), Flemish politician for the Volksunie, member of the Belgian Chamber (1965–1971), the Belgian Senate (1971–1979) and the European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of ...
( VU) * 1979-1980: Rik Boel ( BSP) ;Flemish Council (''Vlaamse Raad'') * 1980-1981: Rik Boel (BSP) * 1981-1985:
Jean Pede Jean Pede (7 January 1927 – 23 July 2013) was a Belgium, Belgian liberal politician for the Party for Freedom and Progress, PVV. Biography Professionally Jean Pede was a notary, in a long line of notaries, from his father's as well as from his ...
(PVV) * 1985-1988:
Frans Grootjans Frans Edward Elisabeth Grootjans (24 January 1922 – 20 February 1999), was a Belgian politician and minister for the PVV. Grootjans was born at Wilrijk. He became a licentiate in the trade and consular sciences and was chief editor and dir ...
(PVV) * 1988: Jean Pede (PVV) * 1988-1994:
Louis Vanvelthoven Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also ...
( SP) * 1994-1995: Eddy Baldewijns (SP) ;Flemish Parliament (''Vlaams Parlement'') * 1995–2006:
Norbert De Batselier Norbert is a Germanic given name and infrequent surname, from '' nord'' "north" and ''berht'' "bright". People with the given name Academia * Norbert Angermann (born 1936), German historian * Norbert A’Campo (born 1941), Swiss mathematician * ...
(
sp.a Vooruit (, Dutch for Forward) is a Flemish social democratic political party in Belgium. It was formerly known as the (Flemish) Socialist Party (1978–2001: ''Socialistische Partij'', SP; 2001–2021: ''Socialistische Partij Anders'' , , SP.A) ...
) * 2006–2009:
Marleen Vanderpoorten Marleen Caroline Valère Vanderpoorten (born 21 July 1954) is a Belgium, Belgian politician from Flanders and member of the Open Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten, Flemish Liberals and Democrats (VLD). She is the daughter of Herman Vanderpoorten a ...
(
Open Vld The Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats (, , Open Vld) is a Flemish liberal political party in Belgium. The party has been described as centre-right and has smaller factions within the party that have conservative liberal and social liberal ...
) * 2009–2019:
Jan Peumans Jan Peter Peumans (born 6 January 1951 in Maastricht) is a Belgian politician from the Flemish province of Limburg. Being part of the Flemish Movement, he was at a young age already member of the Volksunie. He seated for that party in the Limburg ...
(
N-VA The New Flemish Alliance ( ; N-VA) is a Flemish nationalist, conservative political party in Belgium. The party was established in 2001 by the right-leaning faction of the centrist-nationalist People's Union (VU). The N-VA is a regionalist an ...
) * 2019:
Kris Van Dijck Kris Van Dijck (born 2 October 1963 in Turnhout) is a Belgium, Belgian politician affiliated to the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), member of the Flemish Parliament and mayor of Dessel. He was elected as a member of the Flemish Parliament in 1995 ...
(N-VA) * 2019:
Wilfried Vandaele Wilfried Vandaele (born 5 June 1959 in Bruges) is a Belgian politician and is affiliated to the N-VA. He has been a member of the Flemish Parliament since 2009 and has served as its speaker between 13 July and 2 October 2019. He is also the cur ...
(N-VA) * 2019–2025:
Liesbeth Homans Liesbeth Homans (born 17 February 1973) is a Belgian politician and is affiliated to New Flemish Alliance. She was elected as a member of the Flemish Parliament in 2009 and as a member of the Belgian Senate in 2010. She has served as Minister-pre ...
(N-VA) * 2025–present:
Freya Van den Bossche Freya Van den Bossche (born 26 March 1975) is a Belgian ( Flemish) politician and daughter of prominent former Belgian politician Luc Van den Bossche. She is member of the SP.a political party, and she was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister o ...
(Vooruit)


Timeline

ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:15 PlotArea = top:5 bottom:20 right:120 left:10 AlignBars = early DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1970 till:23/03/2025 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:01/01/1970 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:01/01/1970 Colors = id:canvas value:rgb(0.97,0.97,0.97) Backgroundcolors = canvas:white BarData = barset:Rulers PlotData= width:10 align:left fontsize:S shift:(5,-5) anchor:till barset:Rulers from: 07/12/1971 till: 09/05/1974 color:Orange text:"Robert Vandekerckhove" from: 09/05/1974 till: 14/06/1977 color:Blue text: "Jan Bascour" from: 14/06/1977 till: 24/04/1979 color:Yellow text: "Maurits Coppieters" from: 24/04/1979 till: 22/12/1981 color:Red text: "Rik Boel" from: 22/12/1981 till: 03/12/1985 color:Blue text: "Jean Pede" from: 03/12/1985 till: 02/02/1988 color:Blue text: "Frans Grootjans" from: 02/02/1988 till: 18/10/1988 color:Blue text: "Jean Pede" from: 18/10/1988 till: 13/01/1994 color:Red text: "Louis Vanvelthoven" from: 13/01/1994 till: 13/06/1995 color:Red text: "Eddy Baldewijns" from: 13/06/1995 till: 12/07/2006 color:Red text: "Norbert De Batselier" from: 13/07/2006 till: 13/07/2009 color:Blue text: "Marleen Vanderpoorten" from: 13/07/2009 till: 26/05/2019 color:Yellow text: "Jan Peumans" from: 18/06/2019 till: 11/07/2019 color:Yellow text: "Kris Van Dijck" from: 13/07/2019 till: 02/10/2019 color:Yellow text: "Wilfried Vandaele" from: 02/10/2019 till: 08/01/2025 color:Yellow text: "Liesbeth Homans" from: 08/01/2025 till: end color:Red text: "Freya Van den Bossche" barset:skip


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 ''Ad hoc'' is a List of Latin phrases, Latin phrase meaning literally for this. In English language, English, it typically signifies a solution designed for a specific purpose, problem, or task rather than a Generalization, generalized solution ...
committees, such as the Digital Flanders Committee and the Flemish Constitution Committee.


List of standing committees

* Committee for General Affairs and Financial and Budgetary Matters ** Subcommittee on Finance and Budget * Committee for Brussels and its Flemish Periphery * Committee for Administrative Affairs, Institutional and Administrative Reform and Decree Evaluation * Committee for Housing, Urban Policy, Integration and Equal Opportunities * Committee for Foreign Policy, European Affairs, International Co-operation and Tourism * Committee for Education, Training, Science and Innovation * Committee for Culture, Youth, Sports and Media * Committee for Public Well-Being, Public Health and Family Affairs * Committee for Economic Affairs, Employment and Social Economics ** Subcommittee on Arms Trade * Committee for Environmental and Nature Conservation Issues, Agriculture, Fishery and Rural Development Policy and Town and Country Planning and Real Estate ** Subcommittee on Agriculture, Fishery and Rural Policy * Committee for Public Works, Mobility and Energy


See also

*
Flemish Community Commission The Flemish Community Commission () is the local representative of the Flemish authorities in the Brussels-Capital Region, one of the three regions of Belgium. The VGC depends on the Flemish Parliament, and its council is made up by the members of ...
* Flemish Council for Science and Innovation (VRWI) * Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO) *
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 Be ...
*
Parliament of Wallonia The Parliament of Wallonia (, ), or the Walloon Parliament (, ) in the decrees, is the legislative body of Wallonia, one of the three self-governing regions of Belgium (the other two being Flanders and the Brussels-Capital Region). The parliamen ...
*
Politics of Flanders Flanders is both a cultural community and an economic region within the Belgian state, and has significant autonomy. Historically, the contemporary Flemish community (or nation, as some Flemings see it) grew out of the Catholic southern part ...
* Resolutions of the Flemish Parliament of 1999


References


External links

* {{Authority control 1980 establishments in Belgium Flanders
Flemish Flemish may refer to: * Flemish, adjective for Flanders, Belgium * Flemish region, one of the three regions of Belgium *Flemish Community, one of the three constitutionally defined language communities of Belgium * Flemish dialects, a Dutch dialec ...
Belgian legislation