Creation
Since 18 June 1989, the date of the first regional elections, the Brussels-Capital Region has been an autonomous region comparable to the Flemish and Walloon Regions.
The status of the country's capital and the organisation of its administration have long been a thorny issue in political life in Belgium.
The main outlines of what was known as the 'Brussels problem' in the 1960s are as follows:
from the Flemish point of view, Brussels was a city of Flemish origin, which should remain in the territory of the Flemish Region. Moreover, as Brussels has over the years become a mainly French-speaking city, the Flemish were afraid that, in the Belgian political landscape, they would have to cope with two French-speaking regions (the Walloon Region and the Brussels-Capital Region)
from the point of view of the French-speakers, Brussels was a French-speaking city in which they had gained power - at communal level in particular - through a process of universal suffrage. Consequently, the creation of a specific region for Brussels risked casting doubt on this power in the interests of linguistic parity pure and simple
at the time, regionalisation was popular mainly in Wallonia, while in Flanders the advocates of autonomy saw it mainly as a cultural issue. Why regionalise decision-making in a country in which they were in the majority?
In 1970, the revision of the Constitution created three regions in law: the Walloon Region, the Flemish Region and the Brussels Region. So the principle of three regions was accepted, but the practical implementation of this principle was deferred.
In the meantime, a single body for the 19 communes of Brussels was established in July 1971. This was known as the Agglomeration, and had authority in the areas of town and country planning, transport, safety, public health and cleanliness, economic expansion, etc.
A political agreement on the reform of the institutions and in particular the creation of the regions was reached in 1977 (the Egmont Pact) and clarified in 1978 (the Stuyvenberg Agreements). The Egmont Pact and the Stuyvenberg Agreements provided for the creation of three similar regions, with similar rights being accorded to the Flemish in Brussels and the French-speakers on the outskirts of the city. However, the project was abandoned when the government of the day fell...
The special law of 8 August 1980 finally created the regional institutions, but did not contain any provisions relating to the Brussels Region, as it proved impossible to reach a political agreement on this matter.
The special law of 12 January 1989 created the permanent Brussels-Capital Region, covering the territory of the 19 communes. It set up the legislative and executive bodies. In addition, it transferred to the Region the areas of competence which had remained in the hands of the Agglomeration.
Territory and population
The Brussels-Capital Region has jurisdiction over the territory made up of the 19 communes of Brussels. This territory covers 162 km2.
As at 1 January 2006, the Brussels-Capital Region had 1.018.029 inhabitants.
Ministry of the Brussels-Capital Region
The Ministry of the Brussels-Capital Region is the main tool used by the Brussels Government to implement its policy. The Ministry has competence in many different areas.
The Ministry comprises six separate administrations. Five of these administrations have competence in specific areas. The sixth constitutes a general framework for them and provides organisational and management support. Click here to view the structure of the Ministry
The Ministry currently employs 1500 people. New members of staff are regularly recruited or hired to fill a wide range of positions. You will find a survey of the job opportunities here.
A number of administrative services are developing and integrating functions which are interactive and can be consulted from a distance. The conventional desks are therefore being converted into electronic desks.
The Ministry has a number of thematic websites covering specific subjects.
The Region¡¯s authorities
The Region is run by two authorities: the Parliament and the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region.
These authorities are responsible for defining the policies to be adopted in the context of the Region's areas of competence.
The Regional Government has a number of tools which can be used to implement its policies, including its administrative body, the Ministry of the Brussels-Capital Region.
However, apart from this Administration, the Brussels-Capital Region often entrusts public utility missions to a variety of pararegional bodies and non-profit making organisations of regional interest.
There are various types of pararegional bodies in Brussels:
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Type A OIP (public interest bodies): in terms of management, they are answerable directly to their supervisory minister, that is the minister with direct responsibility for the area dealt with by the OIP)
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Type B OIP: their board of directors (or any other management body) is under the supervision of one or more ministers with competence in their field
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De jure or public interest pararegional bodies, whose board of directors (or any other management body) includes directors appointed by the Brussels Government
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Non-profit making organisations of regional interest
For the sake of convenience, we have grouped the various regional and pararegional bodies operating in the Brussels-Capital Region by type:
Like the Walloon and Flemish Regions, the Brussels Region has its own areas of competence. These include:
town and country planning (planning, urban planning, urban renovation, land use policy, protection of monuments and sites);
the environment and water policy;
nature conservation;
housing;
the economy (economic expansion, external trade, etc.);
energy policy;
the ancillary authorities (provinces, communes, intercommunal companies);
employment policy;
public works;
transport;
external relations;
scientific research.
The tasks which the legislator had entrusted to the former Agglomeration of Brussels are added to these, that is:
fire fighting;
emergency medical assistance;
refuse collection and processing;
taxis.
The Region also has areas of competence inherited from the former Province of Brabant, including the organisation of a network of French-speaking higher education, technical and vocation secondary education, special education and social development.
Community institutions
Both French-speakers and Dutch-speakers live in the regional territory. The Flemish Community and the French-speaking Community in Belgium therefore have jurisdiction here in so-called community areas, that is
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culture
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education
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assistance services
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health.
To enable the two Communities to pursue community policies relating specifically to Brussels, limited to the territory of the 19 communes, three special institutions have been set up:
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The Commission of the French-speaking Community (COCOF)
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The Commission of the Flemish Community (VGC)
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The Joint Community Commission (COCOM)
Communes
The Commune is the level closest to the people and consequently this is naturally the authority to which the citizens (or residents) of Brussels turn first of all when it comes to civil issues and local policies.
The Brussels-Capital Region has 19 communes.
[source:www.bruxelles.irisnet.be]
